I'm not doing box rest (cringe...will be shot down in flames!)

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Sharonr

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I posted a few days ago that my horse was diagnosed with a tear to his deep digital flexor tendon and of course, was told to keep him on box rest.

Well, he wasn't coping at all with it. He wasn't eating or drinking, had bad diahorrea, sweating up, box walking, and just generally very anxious. So as he was going down the route of getting colic, I ended up phoning vet and basically telling him that I was turning Taz back out into a restricted paddock.

Vet was ok with it as long as I keep him bandaged overnight and psychologically, it is better for Taz to be outside. He seems so much brighter this morning than he's been for the past 2 days. And thankfully, he put his head down as soon as he was out and started to eat.

I did find an article written by someone in America that did say that horses are designed to repair whilst on the move so turnout is essential to them healing as nature intended. I have also found this article which seems to confirm the theory:

http://hr-hr.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=126293454675&ref=mf

I did feel that if he was kept in for a couple of months then all that healing time would be undone in 5 seconds flat when he eventually got turned out as he's go ballistic.

So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I've made the right decision. So far, so good, he just got turned out yesterday and he's come sound already whereas he was crippled the day before!!!

I think if he's happy he'll heal quicker too. Farrier is coming out next week to glue some wedge shoes on so he doesn't have to go through nails getting banged into his foot either.

So happy horse, happy mummy at the mo!!

Anyone else gone against the route of box rest?
 
I wont shoot you down in flames! Its your horse and your risk & I tend to agree with a lot you said. However, I've not experience with tendon problems.

I've gone against the grain slightly on box rest. My horse had an arithscopy (sp?) on his fetlocks and I was told to box rest him for 4 weeks followed by walking out in hand for x weeks and so on. Whilst he was brilliant on box rest the only reason for keeping him in was to ensure the wounds were healed and the walking out was to reduce the stress on his tendons as they hadn't been in use for a long time.

I walked him out after a couple of weeks for a pick of grass and turned him out normally after 3weeks. I figured the longer he was in the weaker the tendons would become and the more the risk of anything worse happening. At the end of the day in was my choice and my risk and I was prepared to accept the consequences - which in this case was one happy horse.

Fingers x for you, it sounds more stress free.
 
I think it really depends on the individual circumstances, Most horses do succumb to their fate after a week or so whereas others don't. If they are hooning and broncing around their stable then that is not good either. Sometimes caught between a rock and a hard place. Our young horse had 4cm of damaged bone removed at Christmas and spent 6 weeks in the stable, sedated everyday as no matter what we did he would not stay calm all day, he just had a little shot in the morning. He has now suffered a trauma injury to Tendon sheath and has a lesion in DDFT which was scanned on Tuesday, We have not box rested him, we have put him in his paddock and over the last week has gone from 3/10th lame to 1/10th if we were being picky. This is with PMF field therapy and cold therapy twice day and support to both hind limbs. May just take longer for those to heal that are paddock rested as opposed to box rested. I am sure there are lots of people who are for and against both ideas. Good luck with him anyway.
 
I won't be shooting you.

I happen to agree unless it is for something that the horse has to be practically immobilised for. All horses react differently though, some take to it happily, others don't. It really is a case of 'know your horse', working/compromising with your Vet and of exercising common sense.

I have a mare with stitches in her leg at the moment, she box walks which I consider worse than mooching in a pen. For the last 4 days she has actually been in a round pen in the same field as her herd. No fussing, no fretting. She can pick grass or eat hay as she wishes.

I don't give unnecessary pain killers either though, pain is natures way of telling an animal to take things easy as far as I am concerned (obviously each case is individual) My Vet also happens to agree and in many cases recommends horses being out in a restricted area.
 
I wont be shooting you down either - I actively TRY to keep horses out as much as possible where injury permits. They are happier which I believe aids recuuperation.
 
i dont see a lot of difference in him being in a 12 x 12 stable or a similar patch of grass outside...exept that obviously Taz is happier!!

as he's your horse, you must do what you think is best for him in the long term

good luck
 
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I wont be shooting you down either - I actively TRY to keep horses out as much as possible where injury permits. They are happier which I believe aids recuuperation.

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I'm with you on this one.
 
Monty had to have 7 weeks box rest.......but he weaves, box-walks, cribs and wind-sucks when stabled so pretty soon whipped himself into a frenzy. We are lucky since, he is field kept but the farmer has a shed next to his house which has a doorway leading to a VERY small concrete area with a five-bar gate.

Monty loves it up there!! He has the cows for company and doesn't feel claustrophobic like he does in a stable. It's not big enough for him to gallop about in and he doesn't panic and do more damage. Perfect!
 
Been there seen it done it and got the t-shirt
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I came to the conclusion that I needed a sane horse as well as sound.

Vet not keen & said he would have to take his chances but I have to say I think he has recovered more this way than cantering round his box & double barrelling the walls.

At the end of the day you also have to think of your safety as regards handling an unhappy stressed horse on box rest.

Hope all goes well
 
I'm totally with you on this one! My mare had half her splint bone removed and we were told 6 weeks box rest. She had been used to living out and I knew it would send her over the edge being stabled away from her friends (think 16.3 TB 14 year old mare!) - would never have worked.
So I made a paddock up out of electric fencing no bigger than a stable - about 12x14 - kept her happy and I could easily move it around every couple of days or so.
She healed nicely, came sound and went back into work. I hope that gives you some hope!
 
my mare did her tendons in and my vet told me to keep her in the field knowing full well how she would react a) in the stable and b) the 1st day she would be allowed out.
she was quieter in the little paddock with my old pony for company next door. She moved about as much as she could so it kept her quiet
 
Thanks everyone!!!

Was worried that I wasn't doing the 'done' thing, but I know my horse inside out and knew that it was not going to work out keeping him in.

He's a 16.2 ex-racehorse so you would think he would have been used to being stabled but since I've always had him turned out for the 3 years I've had him, think it brings back bad memories for him being stuck in.

He's not stupid and won't run round on a sore leg and doesn't have the space to do so anyway.

JM07 - the difference between a small paddock and a stable is that in the paddock he has the sun on his back, his friends around him and things to watch/look at. In his stable he had a wall to look at. So you can see why the paddock is the better option.
 
I live in fear of having to have my horse on box rest - as he simply wouldn't tollerate it.

So, no shooting from me either......
 
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I wont be shooting you down either - I actively TRY to keep horses out as much as possible where injury permits. They are happier which I believe aids recuuperation.

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I'm with you on this one.

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Me too...in fact, when my demented one had a fractured cannon-bone he was soooo stressed in his box he spent half the time in a very small turn out paddock with a mini shettie for company....legs bandaged and ACP'd ......he was weaving to to the point of trotting on the spot and barging the door on his stable- it was awful, he was doing more damage in there than in his pen....

I always turn out if theres an injury- unless the horse is too lame to walk, and luckily my vet agrees that the best thing is to keep 'em moving to get any swelling down and reduce stiffness.
 
Maddie dislocated her pastern - she was supposed to be on box rest for 2 months intially.

After 2 days I watched my lovely easy going mare turn into a lunatic who was hating being in, she was cantering round her box and attempting to jump out of her box.

I decided if she was that unhappy in I would sedate her turn her out in a tiny paddocl with an old mare for comapny and if the worse happened have her PTS in the field where she was happy, rather than risk something happening in her box and her be even more distressed.

She went out ACP'd up to her eyeballs and settled instantly. She had the summer off before being re-introduced to ridden work.

Worked for me - at the end of the day there was no way I could have walked her in-hand as a 2-y-o on box rest she double barrelled me and chipped my hip.

It was a case of vet opinion v's sanity and safety. I opted for the latter!
 
The key to good tendon healing is actually controlled exercise. Many many vets still think its 3 months or more in a stable. This is not the best method according to more recent research. Yes, turning out in a 10 acre field is not a good idea, the exercise has to be contolled and progressive.

This promotes the tendon fibrils to be repaired in a similar fashion to healthy tendon i.e. in alignment rather than haphazard. If the fibrils are in alignment they will be more elastic.
 
Totally agree with you, though it depends on the horse and the injury. An elderly pony at my yard, about 27 +, did something similar in August and was told 2 months box rest.
This was quite impossible without bringing in a permanent companion, which was equally impossible, and even then I doubt it would have worked. After two days, when he attempted to jump the stable door, she turned him out in support boots and hoped for the best. He's behaved impeccably, is doing really well and is now going out for short walks. Like you, the stress was about to give him colic.
You can only do your best, and sometimes the treatment causes more problems than the original injury. Hope your chap continues to make a good recovery.
 
My gelding also has a recent DDFT injury (left hind) - no box rest! Vet said that it would be much better for him to be on field rest. My vet is FRCVS, very well respected and I totally trust his opinion. Horse on field rest for 6 months, then we will reassess.
 
When my elderly TB injured herself, vet said she should be rested but then she would never walk out the box again. Putting a small pen in the field was not an option, so shoes off, feet cut back so footsore and no bute - sounds cruel but I had to keep her not wanting to do more than a slow walk - she did on both occasions make a full recovery.

Fleur - she had to stay in as she did a very nasty cut that was then put in a plaster cast - movement would have caused the cast to rub and create sores. Luckily she was the sort that was happy to just eat and sleep most of the time.

Farra was supposed to be kept in with her abscess - but as I pointed out to the vet, there would be not much stable left - she has SI and would take the walls down due to her size when rubbing.

She had a small pen in the field and I was lucky that the weather stayed dry so I did not worry about the dressing get wet. Very happy to have a bale of hay and stay there and Stinky never left her side.

I would personally rather a small fenced off area of the field than a stable and most vets I have found are happy with this solution and the horse is too.
 
It is all very encouraging what you are saying and I agree that box rest seems to be an overused method of treatment.

I'm sure that the muscle wastage that would be caused by immobilisation could cause it's own problems!!!

Funnily enough, I was really upset about the injury but it was the actual box rest that was upsetting me even more. Now that he doesn't have to do that, I'm feeling more comfortable with the injury as he has all the time in the world to get better.
 
Yes I had a horse who part cut his foot off in wire and damaged the tendons in the pastern. I took him out for walks all the time and he healed so fast the Vet was speechless when he saw him next time.

I'd have done what you did.
 
My mare did her deep digital tendon, and after rearing in the box on the injured leg the vet said to turn out.

It took two years for her to be totally sound and rideable altogether, but I'd rather it took longer with a happier horse than have her confined to her stable. Emotional wellbeing is as important as physical in my opinion.
 
Although not personally done it- i agree with you and the findings. My friend had tendon injured nag and he was scary to the point of dangerous on box rest. She did restricted t out and he was back to his old self very soon just minus the fat belly
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Good on you.

A healthy mind is just as important as a healthy horse. I would much rather people act like you, than keeping their horses in box-rest until the horse goes daft in the head.
 
You have done the right thing for your horse. our veteran had no box rest for a hole in his supensory.

Dont make the mistake of thinking he is sound though after a week. Ours looked sound in a very short time but we left him for four months. I didnt even try to trot him.
 
I think you did the right thing. Not long ago one of our vets told the owners of a horse with a tendon injury (off for a year) that restricted/limited walking was hugely beneficial. Horse recovered very well, despite behaving in a very un-injured TB fashion several times
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