Is it the end of the road? Has another tendon gone? please help :(!

charleysummer

charleysummer

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My mare has been doing so well since her injury- she tore her ddft in her front right fetlock, and through very graduated work and over a year training up she was back in jumping (has been jumping for a while now, no problems totally sound)

brought her in today to ride as usual- and not her front leg- but her back right leg was lame! she trotted up lame and i cold hosed it for a while, there is a big puffy squishy lump about the fetlock which is painful to touch- she was not putting weight on it to start with, then after cold hosing she put weight on it a bit.

have put her in the stable for now and will call vet out if not better inthe morning.

anyone had similar experiences? it has just come up over night .

so worried, because i know damn well that if it is serious then theres no hope for my precious girl :'(
 
Doesn't sound too good :-(

How long is a piece of string? Some people will persevere with a horse forever and others like myself reach a point when you have done all you can and you also haven't got any money left.

Only you can really decide how far you are prepared to go with your horse if she has sustained another injury. probably best to get the vet out so at least you know where to start. Sorry ,not much help I know.
 
I can't believe it, Im devastated. Realistically I can't keep her as a field ornament- and also it would drive her crazy, she went bonkers last time. Shes just so young, such a lovely natured mare and such a pretty girl :( . i've got her through so much I don't know what I'll do..

have a feeling she may have slipped in the mud yesterday as she likes to charge around
 
My mare tore her DDFT 3 yrs ago now, the bit within her hoof. She recovered from that ok but last year, a year ago as of now to be precise, she came in limping on the other front leg. She had been charging around, it being Spring and she being on restricted turnout, (yard rules) and it turned out she had injured her SDFT. This tendon was weakened due to her compensating on that leg for the DDFT injury previously. Shes had a year off and looks to be ok now.

Recently she has moved to a new place to live with 24/7 turnout, better for her but on the first day she ran about and nearly slipped down on her side. Next day her back leg was swollen in the same place as your horse's. I just gave her some Metacam which was left over from the year before for 2 days and the swelling has now gone and she looks to be fine.

Dont panic, your horse may have done the same sort of thing by charging about like my mare. Get the Vet out if your atall worried, my guess is they will say bute and box rest for a few days. My mare isn't back in work at the moment, she will be at the end of the month. What I'm trying to say is it may not be bad news for you. Its hard when they have had tendon injuries, you tend to think the worse news every time they seem lame.

Hope its not bad news for you, good luck.
 
Thankyou so much youve cheered me up a little, I have read lots of your replies regarding tendon injury and you write brilliant replies I have to tell you ! what is metacam? I have a huge box of 100 butes which may come in handy as I hadnt needed them. I am guessing she has slipped over as her mane is all muddy and she is muddy on one side.

Always prepared for the worst but it is nice to know that there may be a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. I will give her a break for a couple of weeks, keep her in for a few days and see how it goes with cold hosing.
 
Metacam is an anti inflammatory-pain killer, same as bute really. Its in a liquid form and administered with a syringe. I think you can give it in food but I just syringe it straight down her throat. My dog is on it too as shes an old lady. Vet prescribed it for Izzy last year when she injured her SDFT. You give it according to the horse's weight (guided by weigh tape) and Izzy had the 500kg dose once a day. This time which was only last week, she had the dose and I turned her out. She would have stressed more had she stayed in the stable at her new home and apart from her field mate. That would have brought some other problem Im sure such as colic or lami (stress induced), would just be my luck with the grey beast!

Having said that she wasnt limping like your horse so I would suggest box rest and cold hosing as you are doing. Ring your Vet, they will probably say not to bute until they have checked your horse out first as you could be masking another problem, making it difficult for them to diagnose properly.

It really does sound like a case of slipping over from the mud you describe being down one side. Thats why I have moved Izzy away from her livery yard to 24/7 turnout. Shes a bit flighty and being on restricted turnout did her no favours, she injured her tendons 2yrs out of 3 and always in March. I call her the Mad March Mare. Spring is in the air, the birds are singing
the grass is growing and they know it! We did however have a "sound" year in 2010...bless her!!

Glad my replies are helpful, I try not to waffle but its a subject close to me and I sometimes get carried away.. let us know how you get on x
 
Hopefully she will be fine, OP. I had a horse that did both his tendons on his front legs point to pointing. One of them he did for a second time and so was retired from racing and came to me with two massively bowed tendons. I reschooled him and he became a very flashy dressage horse. Never had another day lame until sadly he suffered a compound fracture of the hind leg hooning about in a muddy field. But that was just bad luck and had nothing to do with the tendon injuries he had recovered fully from. My mare had a massive shoulder injury a couple of years ago, again hooning about in the field. It was the bicceps brachi tendon. Sadly, her riding days were over but she became paddock sound. I expect that your mare will not be so unlucky, but if the worse came to the worse, then it is possibly to happily retire ANY horse, if they are paddock sound and your heart is in it. Some horses cannot just be left in a field 24/7, but thrive on being brought in and having attention and something to do. There are loads of things you can do with an unridable horse to keep them entertained and happy. But it takes love, devotion, time and money.
 
Thankyou for the replies, It is reasurring to know that other horses have pulled through. The swelling has greatly reduced today (without bute) but she is still lame in trot and there is heat around the coronet band and hoof. Cold hosed for 1/2 hour today (found myself talking to myself) gave her some bute and big dose of MSM power. Shes going crazy but visiting her 3 times a day to keep her entertained and with plently of hay to munch on.

Have not called the vet out yet as there has been a bit of an improvement. If the leg loses heat and she trots up better I will turn out next week sometime but she will have a few weeks off. Dont want to think if it gets worse :(
 
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