Success stories when turning away due to injury?

[dapple_grey]

Hi all. Unfortunately I'm in the position where after months and months of vet visits I've still not been able to get to the bottom of my horse's niggly lameness, so I made the decision to turn him away for a year. He's only 5, I bought him as an unbroken 3 year old and he is just one of those horses that has been a constant walking vet bill (previous lameness, sarcoids, cellulitis) despite never having done much work in his life!

He went lame in October and the whole winter was spent carrying out all the usual diagnostic techniques including a hospital stay. The insurance was all used up and I became so burnt out from the stress of it all, so I took his shoes off and moved him to a lovely new field to enjoy the 24/7 feral life.

Does anyone have success stories from when they've exhausted all avenues with vet treatment, but turning away for a year has helped them? It's great to see him looking so happy and relaxed in the field, but I can't help worry about paying for an expensive lawnmower for the next 20 years if this doesn't work.

 

[Abacus]

I've often turned away, even before exhausting all vet options. Had one pony with a fetlock/ligament issue who took a good year to look field sound, and eventually came right (prob wouldn't pass a vetting, but she's living a quiet lead rein life with friends). At 5 you want a properly sound outcome, but on the plus side he's young and growing and healing well, so it may just go with time. My general answer to most lameness is rest or work rather than intervention.

 

[Poppy+MrDarcy]

Turning away is a great idea, I have turned a few away In the past and they have all come back sound after

 

[Hallo2012]

mine banged his SDFT in the lorry-wasnt lame at all, couldnt even make him lame with nerve block in opposite leg or on a 6m circle on hard, but the damage was visible on scans.

the only thing that alerted us to the issue was a prominent vein in that leg and that the pony wouldn't do canter half pass to the left-he would do all the trot work, flying changes etc but not canter HP that way.

he had a full year out, then did 12 weeks walk, 8 weeks building up trot, started canter, re scan couldn't even find the original damage.

time is the greatest healer.

 

[ycbm]

@Starzaan will tell you all about time fixing "unfixable" injuries that have already exhausted all the treatment options.

I know of 5 year old horse with a very poor prognosis for a stifle meniscus tear who came back from a year resting and went on to spend the rest of his life jumping.
.

 

[sbloom]

I think for known things that rest should help it's a great idea. The longer I've worked as a saddle fitter the more I think that most horses, especially those with unknown issues, need more help and need to fix the way they move, that doesn't happen in the field. There are a lot of people now looking at posture and compensatory movement patterns as one of the biggest causes of these not quite right issues (of course there are plenty other types) and postural groundwork is suitable for horses of all ages.

 

[w1bbler]

It's what we used to do years ago. Year off in a field & slowly bringing back into work. If it was a mare, breed a foal & either bring back into work, or breed another if she still wasn't right.
The latter option has me wondering if that's why we have so many horses with problems now. I can think of some mares from my past who had clear kissing spine symptoms who bred numerous foals.

 

[toppedoff]

I follow Gawsworth Track Livery on Facebook, they sometimes share their success stories but their set up is of course, a track. I just find their stories interesting.. their barefoot insights too are quite nice. I hope everything goes well for you

 

[paddi22]

we get injured horses surrendered, and its amazing how many come right after a few years at grass. one thing i'd add though, is that a lot of horses with symptoms you mentioned often have compromised immune systems and have got bacteria issues that are the underlying cause of a lot of the symptoms you mentioned.

Have even seen some with intermittent lameness that ended up having gas pockets in hooves causing the issues. the lameness would just show up on some turns and on some surfaces, and would be dependent on temperature.

 

[claracanter]

I once had a tour around a hi- tech rehab yard in Newmarket and I asked about turning away instead of all the fancy treatments they try on young thoroughbreds. The manager pretty much said that if they were all turned away for a year or two, 99% of them would come right. They just don’t have that luxury of time as most owners want to see them back on the track asap. I think you’re very sensible to turn away and I would do it before all vet avenues have been exhausted

 

[Fieldlife]

If it’s poor posture / a mechanical issue / an arthritic issue turning away is unlikely to help.

If it’s a growth or soft tissue injury, turning away may well help.

 

[vam]

After months of looking and eventually going for a bone scan, i found that mine had a tear in her middle patella ligament in her stifle. As it took nearly a year to find (wasnt lame until we we stopped working her for another issue) i decided to turn away as it was a now an old injury and i wasnt hopefully with other treatments. She spent time in a small paddock, then the rest of the summer in her small track like normal and she has spent this winter turned out in the middle again like normal. She is pretty much sound after a year so i started bringing her back into work in Feb, i am hand walking until April then i'll reassess in hopes of getting on and carrying on the walk work.
To be honest there was times when i didnt think she would come sound, she has other issues going on so work really is what keeps her sound and together. Not sure if its a success but its definitely positive.
I turned away for 3 months for a foot issue 5 years ago, i think it was soft tissue but didnt scan and nothing on x rays, she came sound, stayed barefoot and was better than ever. Turning away is always something i would consider at the start.

 

[sbloom]

If it’s poor posture / a mechanical issue / an arthritic issue turning away is unlikely to help.

If it’s a growth or soft tissue injury, turning away may well help.

Agreed, though I would add that of course so many soft tissue injuries are really the result of poor movement patterns ie related to posture. Yes, time off for the acute condition to heal, as per medical advice, but where possible I'd be looking at in hand work to help the horse stop moving in compensatory patterns.

 

[EmmaC78]

Mine was turned away for 14 months (after vet checks) and came sound after a ligament injury. I think it is always worth a try.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

I do sometimes wonder if we just go completely over the top with injured horses.

As a toddler, I dislocated my shoulder a few times. I kept spraining my ankle as a child because I ran ‘like a horse’ and jumped things all the time. And then one ankle was broken when I fell off my pony and he trod on it.

I did my cruciate ligament at 14. Then I hurt my back in a xc fall. And recently, I hurt my neck a bit more seriously slipping in the yard, nowhere near a horse.

Today, my shoulders are fine, my ankles are fine. My knee is fine, although if I’m critical, I’d say it probably doesn’t move as freely as it used to be. My lower back niggles occasionally - I think most people’s do! And my neck is recovering but slowly.

I’m sure, as a ridden horse, I would have a very poor prognosis after most of those accidents.

But as a human, we don’t expect to feel 100% better in 4-6 weeks. It took over two years for my knee to be strong enough that I didn’t feel protective of it - I know because that’s how long it took before I could start dancing again. It took about five years my back to feel good again.

I have a DDFT horse in my field right now, and she’s been resting since August. I fully expect her to need another 2 years pottering before I put her in a school. If it’s sooner, great, but I’d be surprised.

 

[sbloom]

The question is not can we get a basic healing of the symptom, and how long that might take (for sure we all need more patience in these things) but what compensations may arise in the meantime, and if we fix the underlying issue that caused the soft tissue to fail, or the wear and tear on the joints to end up with a pain and mobility issue. My broken collarbone from 40 years ago has influenced my movement patterns ever since and is at the root of many of my asymmetries and aches and pains.

 

[dapple_grey]

I once had a tour around a hi- tech rehab yard in Newmarket and I asked about turning away instead of all the fancy treatments they try on young thoroughbreds. The manager pretty much said that if they were all turned away for a year or two, 99% of them would come right. They just don’t have that luxury of time as most owners want to see them back on the track asap. I think you’re very sensible to turn away and I would do it before all vet avenues have been exhausted

This is interesting. I do find that being insured means you are often under pressure to try all the diagnostic techniques rather than turning away first. If I gave him a period of rest first, I'm sure the insurance would question why treatment was delayed and I'd risk having problems with them paying. There is also the issue of only being covered for that claim for a year

 

[dapple_grey]

If it’s poor posture / a mechanical issue / an arthritic issue turning away is unlikely to help.

If it’s a growth or soft tissue injury, turning away may well help.

Absolutely. I really wanted to get to the bottom of it and have a diagnosis before turning away because of this very reason. Unfortunately it just got to the point where the horse was no longer tolerating vet treatment and was screaming out that he'd had enough. He actually cow kicked and caught my vet in the head - the vet practice has since changed their rules and they now wear hard hats to every call out!

 

[Goldenstar]

There’s turning away and turning away .
Theres many variables some issues will need small paddock turnout working up to larger areas .
The ideal turn away for a year field would huge undulating with poor grass .I am young enough to remember when turn away on moor was done with horse with all sorts of issues because there where few veterinary interventions available .

 

[dapple_grey]

I do sometimes wonder if we just go completely over the top with injured horses.

As a toddler, I dislocated my shoulder a few times. I kept spraining my ankle as a child because I ran ‘like a horse’ and jumped things all the time. And then one ankle was broken when I fell off my pony and he trod on it.

I did my cruciate ligament at 14. Then I hurt my back in a xc fall. And recently, I hurt my neck a bit more seriously slipping in the yard, nowhere near a horse.

Today, my shoulders are fine, my ankles are fine. My knee is fine, although if I’m critical, I’d say it probably doesn’t move as freely as it used to be. My lower back niggles occasionally - I think most people’s do! And my neck is recovering but slowly.

I’m sure, as a ridden horse, I would have a very poor prognosis after most of those accidents.

But as a human, we don’t expect to feel 100% better in 4-6 weeks. It took over two years for my knee to be strong enough that I didn’t feel protective of it - I know because that’s how long it took before I could start dancing again. It took about five years my back to feel good again.

I have a DDFT horse in my field right now, and she’s been resting since August. I fully expect her to need another 2 years pottering before I put her in a school. If it’s sooner, great, but I’d be surprised.

Yes, I agree. Where do you draw the line? He has had foot and lower limb x-rays, back x-rays, gait analysis, bone scan and was seen by a specialist during his hospital stay - and we still can't get to the bottom of it! I just had to say enough is enough in the end. It's great we have all these diagnostic techniques but you could just keep going on forever.

 

[sbloom]

I think when you're chasing pain, and symptoms, and finding nothing, you need a different perspective. This not recommending against vet intervention, but in humans plenty of people get a better result from an osteopath, a movement specialist, a naturopath, someone who can look at patterns, especially of movement.

As I said earlier the right kind of groundwork, with the right support, can be a good way to proceed when you are in your situation. There are more and more physios and osteos working holisitically themselves, either giving an exercise programme themselves, or working with a team including other bodyworkers as needed, an in hand rehabber, farrier, dentist and eventually saddle fitter. Your vets may even have someone like this that they can recommend.

If you want to consider this approach then if you let us know where you are we may be able to make recommendations.

 

[Goldenstar]

I do think that horses can get to the stage where they just have had enough of being treated and investigated.
I think it’s perfectly reasonable to turn away in these circumstances as long as the horse is reasonably pain free and you are thinking through the ethics of the thing all the time .
However you need the right situation to do this a suitable field and companionship .
Foot balance , if you turn away you must keep the feet very well cared for and be on top of thrush and things like that .
I also think with some catching them and doing nice things is well worth it .
The thing I ask myself is this individual worth this to me .
Sounds harsh but doing this type of thing takes time and money and you also have to add in the attachment and how gut wrenchingly destroying it is when you toil and toil and lead about and do ground work and exercises and pay and pay lie awake thinking about what more can I do ,what should have had done and then lose the fight .
It’s a thing that’s very much about that horse, that person and the situation they live in.

 

[dapple_grey]

I do think that horses can get to the stage where they just have had enough of being treated and investigated.
I think it’s perfectly reasonable to turn away in these circumstances as long as the horse is reasonably pain free and you are thinking through the ethics of the thing all the time .
However you need the right situation to do this a suitable field and companionship .
Foot balance , if you turn away you must keep the feet very well cared for and be on top of thrush and things like that .
I also think with some catching them and doing nice things is well worth it .
The thing I ask myself is this individual worth this to me .
Sounds harsh but doing this type of thing takes time and money and you also have to add in the attachment and how gut wrenchingly destroying it is when you toil and toil and lead about and do ground work and exercises and pay and pay lie awake thinking about what more can I do ,what should have had done and then lose the fight .
It’s a thing that’s very much about that horse, that person and the situation they live in.

Yep, exactly this. I've had to take a step back and look at the whole picture, as this is far from being the only issue he's had. Most of my time owning him has been spent nursing him from one issue to the next. So when he went lame for a second time, I just felt so deflated. He's in a 30 acre undulating field in a small herd, and I've never seen him look so relaxed! He does so well being out 24/7. He's been very on edge and strained the last few months with all the intervention, so it's nice to see him looking so much better mentally.

 

[maya2008]

I have seen it work really well for soft tissue problems. Time is a good healer.

 

[ponynutz]

Wasn’t a conscious decision from us but our old girl had arthritis in her hocks. Hock injections never worked and neither did whatever they did in horsey hospital. We made the decision to fully retire her as we’re not totally wealthy and at 19 she had nothing to prove anyway.

1.5 years later and we brought her out of retirement to be a happy hacker. Before she couldnt even walk in from the field without risk of going lame and after she went galloping at the beach and even popped some small jumps with me when I moved onto horses.

This was a while ago and she’s back in loose retirement again due to time issues but point stands time significantly helped. Her problem was long-term and known which is why she only hacks as we don’t want to risk it but for smaller unknown problems I don’t see why the same sentiment can’t bring them sound while in full work.

 

[scruffyponies]

Knackers in old times used to take dead and broken down horses. Good ones made huge sums of money by knowing which horses to turn away for 6mths and kept fields outside the city for that purpose.

Goldenstar's point about the type of grazing is an important one. The welsh used to keep certain fields as 'hospital paddocks' for sick sheep; They would be poor grazing with high biodiversity, so the animal can choose plants with the right minerals and pharmaceutical qualities, and has to move around constantly to find them.

 

[tda]

Goldenstar's point about the type of grazing is an important one. The welsh used to keep certain fields as 'hospital paddocks' for sick sheep; They would be poor grazing with high biodiversity, so the animal can choose plants with the right minerals and pharmaceutical qualities, and has to move around constantly to find them.

Movement over a variety of surfaces and levels too

 

[Zoeypxo]

My horse is currently ‘turned away’ due to soft tissue damage in the foot caused by NPA.

she still comes in everyday for a couple hours for foot care an (now barefoot) and a bit of a fuss/groom/treating thrush etc. has bodywork every 6-8 weeks to counteract compensatory pains and niggles.

the field she is in is probably about 8 acres with a small herd, has uphills, downhills , stoney bits, soft bits , hard bits , you name it. I think if she was in a small soft flat field she wouldnt have improved anything like she has now.

she has gone from 6/10ths lame in early November to 1/10ths lame in March.

i got sick of remedial shoes, vet visits, box rest and still having a lame horse .

i am hoping in a month or so i can start some groundwork and hand walking to improve strength and posture

So for me it is working currently but i havent just turned her out and left her alone ,its hard work still and we have longer to go still

 

[Starzaan]

@Starzaan will tell you all about time fixing "unfixable" injuries that have already exhausted all the treatment options.

I know of 5 year old horse with a very poor prognosis for a stifle meniscus tear who came back from a year resting and went on to spend the rest of his life jumping.
.

Yep! I’ve been in equine rehab for a long time. My mantra is still ‘if in doubt, Chuck it out!’
You’d be amazed how many ‘unfixable’ injuries I’ve fixed, by flinging them in the field and giving them time.

 

[dapple_grey]

For anyone interested, it's now 6 months later and I have a sound horse Couldn't believe it when I trotted him up for the vet (bearing in mind he's now barefoot and this was on concrete) and he said he looks great, no reason why you can't get back on. Planning on keeping him barefoot and have invested in some hoof boots. Will take everything very slowly but fingers crossed he stays sound