Horse Head injury, how long would you wait to ride? *Graphic picture*

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Amber905

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My horse hit her head a few days ago. She had a small injury on top of her head (no bone chips or anything, purely flesh wound) It was stitched up with 7 stitches, looks good to me. The bridle doesn't touch near the wound. Would you ride?

It doesn't seem to bother her :)

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No not for at least a couple of weeks- a knock to the head that is hard enough to cause that sort of injury is bound to leave the horse feeling a considerable amount of pain and discomfort even if 'it doesn't seem to bother her. Did you ask your vet this question?
 
No, I wouldn't ride until well after the stitches have been taken out/dissolved (as appropriate). Poor girl probably has a nasty headache, in fact I think I would have a physio appt for her before riding. She may well have tight muscles from 'protecting' the injury.
 
MrsJingle said:
No not for at least a couple of weeks- a knock to the head that is hard enough to cause that sort of injury is bound to leave the horse feeling a considerable amount of pain and discomfort even if 'it doesn't seem to bother her. Did you ask your vet this question?[/QUOTE

Honestly, I forgot in the heat of the moment and I just wanted to get some opinions :) Not my regular vet I used.
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Yeah ... At work we ride them the next day! So it's up to you! If it were one of my own I would give it a 3 or 4 days if I had a good reason to carry on riding. But given that I don't have time to ride my own these days they would end up with months off to go with the year and a half off they have already have!
 
It would depend on the horse's usual routine. If they were stabled and exercised every day then I would ride, probably mainly walking. Also if I was working on fitness in a specific time frame. If not I would probably give a couple of weeks off.
 
Looking at that injury the question would not be about when I could ride, but about how I could make my horse the most comfortable.

I would not box rest, but then I would not chuck out in the field either, especially if with others. I think I would walk for half an hour each end of the day, in hand. I would not go faster than a walk for a fortnight, and then only if the wound itself looks OK. I may switch to riding at walk after a week.

When to turnout would depend on what turnout was available, after the wound knits together, and that would be 7-10 days on average for a stitched wound, then I would turnout if the horse looked well and it was not into a field of bullies.

Faster than walk would wait 2 weeks and be as long as the horse looked well in himself.

I have worked in a commercial environment where the horse was there to do a job, and in that case it would possibly get one day off and be back to some form of work, but my "at home" horses I want to enjoy their time with me, so they would have the time off.
 
It looks nasty but it only seems to involve the skin. If the horse isn't being too precious about having its head touched I don't see a reason not to ride though I'd keep it gentle until the stitches were out.
 
SpringArising said:
Would you want to go for a jog after a laceration to your head and stitches after a few days?
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I have had a couple of facial injuries and I most certainly wouldn't want to go out for a jog the footfall really reverberated and hurt like hell . .But no I didn't stay in my room a very very quite stroll was ok but I was very guarded and was conscious of guarding the injury so a stroll in hand to pick the hedgerow would be the most I would consider
 
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