I did cry! need to think of a strategy for dealing with the next two months.

**Vanner**

**Vanner**

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Hi all,

My boy has had is op and I brought him home yesterday lunchtime.

First problem - if left in his box without my sec a next door he starts going mental, squealing, bucking and charging round his stable - so sec a left in.

Next problem - yesterday and this morning he was fine being walked out to graze for 10 mins a time as instructed - however tonight he was like a thing possessed - jumping, spinning, fly bucking and generally being a nightmare (during which he managed to clip a friends X5 :eek: ) the situation brought me to tears - now I'm worried he'll have done damage to his knee - although there was no obvious issue an hour on.

He has been in for a month already has has two months to do! I'm just wondering what the hell to do. Someone on the yard suggested sedalin but I'd rather go for a herbal calmer or something if possible. Any advice would really be appreciated.

I drowning my sorrows with a horlicks as I really need to sleep tonight.
 
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Hi, Sorry to hear about your boy, I havent read your previous post so Im sorry I dont know what op he has had.
Just wanted to share my experience. My boy fractured his radius and had to be cross tied for about 10 weeks, then further box rest for about 6 weeks. Leahurst had told me he had to be walked out for 10 mins a day building up to a hour 2 or 3 times a day. It was a nightmare. I took him in the school thinking it was soft and enclosed but he exploded and it took 2 of us to try to get him out safely. I was told one false move and his leg could shatter, so I tried sedalin which was fantastic for a few days but he got so excited when he seen me obviously anticipating walkies that it wouldnt work, so I gace up on it and bought a chifney, to try and keep all 4 feet on the floor. His walks never got longer than 20 mins and we never left the hardstanding of the enclosed yard as he was just so uncontrollable. We used to just walk up and down, again and again and I think in the end he was as peed off as me.
I too shed many tears, it was awful at the time but it is a distant memory now as thankfullly he made a complete recovery.
Hang in there, you will do it. I suggest a chifney, shooling whip, hard hat and boots and not leaving hard standing. Im not sure any natural calmer will help as they are just too far gone when they go off on one.
 
When we had this problem it got so dangerous we put him on a professional livery yard for 2 months and he went on the horse walker which was almost outside his stable. Recommended by my vet, the lady was used to difficult box rested horses who were big, fit, and rude! It was the perfect, safe answer. He had a routine, she managed him beautifully and everyone was safe. Insurance paid for the "rehab and use of horsewalker" - she invoiced a minimal livery fee and put the rest as rehab and horsewalker. If can do this option it is brilliant.
 
Someone on the yard suggested sedalin but I'd rather go for a herbal calmer or something if possible
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The only reason my filly coped with being led out to graze when she was on box-rest after doing the above, was sedalin. It really worked and I did work out what was a nice low dose that just kept the edge off her and meant that everything/everyone was safe. Don't be too worried about giving him sedalin, it is tried, tested, safe and effective.
 
Try Nupafeed calmer - I've used this and 'think' it helps!

Also - try stable toys - things like a nut ball are good - I put Badminton Grass Replacement Nuggets in it which my boy loved! He did a 6 month stint on box rest - and then 7 months! Also - a good, regular routing. He will get used to it - don't despare! When you lead him to grass - how about having a small bowl of feed with you to distract him (or have a friend take it)? And use a bridle everytime! Good Luck!
 
Thanks guys x

just to add he was in a bridle and I had a lunge line and gloves on!

Louby - I'm crying reading your post because it's so similar to the experience I've just had. I'm hoping to god he hasn't done any damage - glad your boy made it through.

I'm really considering the idea of him never leaving the yard until we get go ahead to be ridden. We have a courtyard that is ideal for boring walking in hand with the closure of a few gates!
 
If you have somewhere to walk him without grazing it would be safer and less exciting for him,he can then get the walk he needs.You can hand pick grass/nettles/thistles etc and he can have them while in his box.
Trying to hand graze a fresh horse is difficult and I can see why you would not want him on sedalin all the time.
I hope it gets easier as he gets into a routine.
 
Hi I had the same trouble with my boy at the beginning of the year. He is very attached to my mare and having managed to get an infected navicular bursa and ddft the box rest was going to be long!so first things first he had a grill fitted to his stable as he tried coming over the top when my mare was moved. I thought this would be enough but very lame horses can apparently still rodeo round the stable!so we brought him a stable mirror. He loves his new friend and it calmed him down to the point my mare could go out. It didn't solve it completely but I felt safe enough to leave him and once he got used to the idea he was then calm about it. Other thing I used was an uncle jimmys hanging ball he went mental for it!
I can't help with the walking out part as we skipped this because my boy is Erm in words of the vet "not the easiest horse to handle"
The vets had him on sedaline when he was there, I hated seeing him drugged up like that we did think he might of needed it at home but luckly he has been very well behaved with his barging! ( touches wood).
 
Try horse first relax me. I had a similar situation with my 17.1 warmblood on box rest. The minute the horse next door was taken out she put holes in the stable walls with her back legs and had rubbed her neck raw on the door. It took 5 days to work but the result was fantastic. She's lead out twice a day for 20 minutes in her bridle and still has moments but no where near the explosions before hand and even the vet had commented that she'd stopped trying to kill him. I now have the horse I bought back, before all the prodding, poking, xrays, operations and box rest.
 
If you want to go herbal, then you could try Valerian (available in bottles online quite readily). When i tried it it pretty much comatosed my 17hh ex racer and we had to stop it! Good luck, sorry you are having problems.
 
**Vanner** said:
Thanks guys x

just to add he was in a bridle and I had a lunge line and gloves on!

Louby - I'm crying reading your post because it's so similar to the experience I've just had. I'm hoping to god he hasn't done any damage - glad your boy made it through.

I'm really considering the idea of him never leaving the yard until we get go ahead to be ridden. We have a courtyard that is ideal for boring walking in hand with the closure of a few gates!
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Awww poor you, dont cry, I know its hard though.
What op has he had?
I also picked grass and put it in a hay net, he loved that.
I tried taking him on to the car park after a week or two but he started leaping so I decided never again and stuck to the yard, it just wasnt worth it. We did eventually progress to a stable sized area of turnout but he churned it up after a couple of days, doing the wall of death :( so we brought forward the proper turnout. I sobbed as he gallopped up and down but after that day he was fine. A week later I rode him and was absolutely cacking it and you know what, he was a total dobbin.
I was spending hours at the stables as I felt sorry for him but it really got me down as I was worrying so much and there was nothing I could do so I mucked out, groomed, walked and made sure he had hay 24/7 and went home and did the things I wouldnt normally do, like meeting friends, shopping etc
It is so hard and heartbreaking at the time but although you dont think it now, time will fly by. You can do it :)
 
Louby said:
What op has he had?
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He's had keyhole surgery to remove a bone fragment from his knee.

He's a very loving boy and craves attention and loves his work so I know he is already miffed by being stuck in. He's also been put on a strict diet to aid his joints (he's only 5 but a big boy!) so unfortunately I can't appease him with food.

I know we'll get through it just got to stay positive.
 
I know how hard box rest is, i to have been reduced to tears this yr a few times when my boy was on box rest after breaking his jaw, it was completely awful and he was depressed and i was depressed for him :( i just got so upset seeing him so down. But we got through it in the end and its been worth it, i have my lovely boy back now and so will you just stay strong xx
 
I agree with those who have suggested sedalin. My mare is a complete dope on a rope normally, but she is a big girl when she gets excited and five and a half months of box rest made her dangerous to lead if something upset her. She's only 15.3hh but would grow two hands and shove her considerably sized chest in my shoulders and go mental.

I took to sedivet for every time the yard was busy and I needed to handle her (she was ok in her box, and by the time she came round properly in her field she was busily eating anyway) and I wouldn't have trusted anything herbal over that, to keep me safe.

Don't forget it's not only himself he's risking by being an idiot (though if my mare would have done herself in again (tendon) I would have completely lost the plot anyway).
 
I've tried the Valerian, when you use to able to buy at feed stores, then it suddenly stopped as they couldn't get hold of it and it didn't work on any of my horses, so go with the Sedalin, it helps calm them down with out going overboard, which from the sounds of it is what you need at the moment
 
Is he the one in your Avatar? He is gorgeous.

My boy had a bone chip removed too but about 6 mths after as vet had hoped it would dissolve. There were multiple fragments that did dissolve but this one abcessed. Luckily his was removed standing under heavy sedation (colicked after that) and it came out quite easily. I was lucky though as he is stabled at a vets so I did have help and support along the way. It is a scary time.
Shame about the diet, Leahurst had said I was lucky his head was ruled by his belly.
Try to keep positive.
 
Thanks again for all your replies - although it's sad so many have the same experience I am comforted that I am not alone in this.

Off to the yard to try the am walk out - into the courtyard ;)
 
I feel your pain! You're definitley not the only one who's sat & creid after bad walking-out experiences so don't worry :) My youngster (then 4) had a similar problem to yours during the early part of this year. Somehow managed to get a puncture wound about an inch above her knee which after 2 weeks wasn't starting to heal so vet scanned it & found bony irregularity & what looked like a tiny chip. Box rested for another 3 weeks & re-scanned and it still looked like it was there so vet made the decision to book her in for op & remove it. For one reason or another it kept getting put back and in the end the lump around it was getting smaller so i told them to hold off & see what happened. Thankfully it must have been small enough to re-absorb itself as when the vet came back to look again a month later it had almost gone and he was happy that we didnt need to go through with the op. Its been well over 6 months now & she's back in work with no problems. About 2.5-3 weeks into our box rest though the vet wanted me to start walking her in-hand. She was an absolute star the first time so took her in the indoor school the second time as she'd never put a foot wrong in there under saddle but boy was i wrong! That was the first time she's ever reared in hand, i mean vertical & boxing at me kind of rear. Kept hold & she started tanking & bucking so i had to let go in the end and run out of the school as she kept coming back at me, bucking and rearing. First time i'd been scared of a situation on the ground in a very long time. I was watching with one eye closed until she calmed down worrying she's buggared her knee up completely, managed to catch her & took 2 of us to keep her on the floor long enough to lead her back to her stable (which was almost opposite the entrace thankfully!) Tried walking out again just on the yard 2 days later (complete with bridle, lunge lines and helpers) and it was rear after rear so had to give up in the end. At the time there wasn't a gate on the path up to her field or the path to the drive which led to the road so it wasnt safe to keep trying in case she got loose and galloped off down the drive, vet agreed and walking in hand was abandoned. Sedalin has never touch her for some reason and it was just before domosedan gel came about or i'd have tried that. Didnt do her any harm other than coming off box rest with a proper haylage belly(!) as she had a fairly big stable to mooch around in and was pretty calm when she was in, as soon as you took her out & put her back in again she's be jogging round the stable, rearing at the door & generally trying to get out again. She lives out 24/7 which didnt help the situation as has never really liked being in.

I hope your am walk out goes ok today and all continues to heal well. I'm sure he'll be fighting fit again before you know it :)
 
i would try sedalin, he may be extra excited as he is back home and he used to go out there so is anticipating. Also keep on the safe enclosed place as you are much more in control and safer if anything does go wrong. I have known a few horses have sedalin for a week and then when they were settled in a routine they were able to come off it.
 
Much better today - walked him out am and pm in the yard with gates closed and he was superb. He has also stopped the jumping round his box - perhaps he is accepting this is the new home routine.

Thank you to everyone your replies really made me feel better :)

Double deckers all round!
 
I've heard good things about Equine Science calmer bars, although I've not tried them myself. I had to walk my mare out after she had a bone chip removed from her fetlock. I managed two days before I phoned a rehab yard to get her booked in there as they have a huge horsewalker. It was really expensive and it crippled me financially, but I would rather that than cripple me physically. She was downright dangerous. She did nine weeks there in the end and toward the end, I went up three times a week and long-reined her out and finally sat on her in the last week and walked her out so that I knew it would be easier once I got her home.
It's so difficult to do and you need guts of steel. Good luck!
 
Can you give him a feed daily? if so try Molli Chaff calmer with your normal feed. it worked a treat for our mare. if this does nothing try getting a rope halter that tightens when you horse rears/pulls which will stop him eventually.THE ROPE HALTER DOESN'T HURT THE HORSE!!!! (many peope think it does)
~Lozzybell
 
i had a simillar experience last night.
i have a tb mare on box rest due to a slipped achillies tendon and she isnt too happy about it. she was supposed to go into a small field this week for some gravzing and a walkabout but due to there not being one free she is having to stay in. so i took her for walkies in a bridle, lunge line and i had my hat on and she went mad after a lap of the yard, bronking, rearing and bucking.... and also trying to kick a fence down.. a little bit scary when she's 16Hh :eek:
 
Louby said:
Hi, Sorry to hear about your boy, I havent read your previous post so Im sorry I dont know what op he has had.
Just wanted to share my experience. My boy fractured his radius and had to be cross tied for about 10 weeks, then further box rest for about 6 weeks. Leahurst had told me he had to be walked out for 10 mins a day building up to a hour 2 or 3 times a day. It was a nightmare. I took him in the school thinking it was soft and enclosed but he exploded and it took 2 of us to try to get him out safely. I was told one false move and his leg could shatter, so I tried sedalin which was fantastic for a few days but he got so excited when he seen me obviously anticipating walkies that it wouldnt work, so I gace up on it and bought a chifney, to try and keep all 4 feet on the floor. His walks never got longer than 20 mins and we never left the hardstanding of the enclosed yard as he was just so uncontrollable. We used to just walk up and down, again and again and I think in the end he was as peed off as me.
I too shed many tears, it was awful at the time but it is a distant memory now as thankfullly he made a complete recovery.
Hang in there, you will do it. I suggest a chifney, shooling whip, hard hat and boots and not leaving hard standing. Im not sure any natural calmer will help as they are just too far gone when they go off on one.
Click to expand...

I had an almost identical experience with my horse - who also fractured his radius. We managed 3 days of walking out in hand (on sedaline) before he just exploded on day 4. It took all my strenght to get him back in his stable in one piece (with myself also intact!) - and my horse is usually such a gentle boy. (I think I remember getting advice from Louby too back then). He was rearing vertical and striking out at me. I don;t know what I was more worried about - him trying to clonk me on the head with his hooves, or the fact he was 6 foot in the air waving a broken leg around!

We had to give up on the walking in hand as it was too risky for him - and me. We left him on box rest for another 4 weeks, then moved onto turnout in a teeny pen (12 x 12ft) which we gradually made bigger. We gave him a big dose of sedaline each day before walking him to his pen - and apart from a little leap around on day one, he was so happy to be out he was really calm. By that time he'd also done over 5 months box rest, so was really tired after just a few hours out. I always led him out in a bridle and had a feed in there waiting for him plus lots of grass.

My horse is back in walking work after 9 months off so we made it through the tough times too. Good luck - its awful at the time but you will get there. x
 
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