Tendon Injuries - Starting Ridden Work

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Smurphy

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Can you share your experiences and offer me any advice.

My tb injured his SFT in March and he has been turned out in a small paddock for a month now, I cant wait to get back on him, vet hasnt given my the go ahead yet but just thinking ahead for when the time comes.

I think he may be silly the first couple of times out, so I may sedate him a little
 
hi my horse damaged his collateral ligaments in nov07. we then had 3mths box rest with in hand walking after the first 4weeks, building it up to 30mins twice aday in april. then i was to get back on and start ridden walking - oh my god !!! it was not a nice experiance, after 38yrs of horses, having been there done that etc.. its the worst thing i've ever done and the closest i've come to loseing my nerve. having said that, all horses react differently and having the right facilities and being forwarned helps.
i would suggest that you wear a body protector and get someone to lead you the first time. if you give sedalin do not give too much as it can be dangerous - horse may trip/fall - just a ml or so. also be aware ( and i speak from having had the experiance) that a horse can come out of sadation instantly if his adrenalin kicks in as in a spooky episode!!. having said that i could not have managed without the sedalin we were on it for 8 weeks or so. by the right facilities ( and unfortunalty i did'nt have these) i mean an indoor school with a good surface would be great, no distractions. if you like me have to go straight onto the road, please be carefull and if poss ride with someone else or get someone to walk with you. also try to do a circular ride so your horse does not get over excited when he turns round, bearing in mind you will only be walking , no troting allowed at first!
sorry if i sound over dramatic its just that i had such a bad time doing re-hab, i was nearly killed a few times - seriously and trying to get any advise was hard. the other people on the yard have since said i used to arrive back from my ride 'white'!!
the turning point for me came when i rode out with a friend a couple of times because i was losing my nerve my horse spooked , leaped, half reared even kicking out at cars and this horse is good on the road as a rule etc etc and just talking to my friend as we rode calmed me down which of cause calmed my horse and then i got the go ahead to turn him out into a 10 x 10 m paddock. we are now happly back to normal.
a good book to read is one called 'back to work'
good luck with your re-had xx
 
Nice to hear what other people experiences and knowledge they have learnt from it. My eventer did a tendon just before going advanced for the first time this March. He has been on box rest but kept on the walker as a "live wire". We have had 2 setbacks (one last Sunday), i decided to give a 10min hand graze, well he heard something, kicked out as jumped 5 bar gate into field and decided to show how he could be a rodeo horse, his leg did swell but we seem to be back on track. I got injured as he jumped the gate, slashed my hand open and fractured my arm, hand, and stress fracture in elbow, so since that we haven't done any more grazing!
We have kept him on the walker twice a day, building up to an hour. Over the last 2 weeks we have started ridden work (were up to 30 mins with a circle of trot), but jumps in the arena are dragons, so we are using about 2/3 mls of sedalin, mostly 2ml but on some days we dont use any, depends on my nerves and weather. On sunday we decided to passoa at walk but he thought differently after 10 mins by cantering/buck/ etc so not sound again, and not to put weight on legs we are back to the walker. Will start to ride again after the weekend as have BE grassroots champs this weekend.
Not brave enough to go on roads, as we are still highly strung when doped, and occassional have the leg not quite locking out, so will wait until up to canter before we can go on the roads with nannies or even turned out into field. He seems happy in his house though, and very keen to walk to school, but any excuse for fun! I know i apparently look S*** scared, as not sure what we might do, from slighly raise the back, bronk or be as good as gold.
Wish all the luck with your recovery, and just seeing the vet bills rack up, with scanning every 6 weeks.
 
Ahh now I'm shitting myself after reading those posts!!!! lol

I hate feeling like this, before hes was injured, I would do anything and go anywhere on him and all that confidence has gone. Im just worried that I might fall off or he spooks and gallops off and reinjure himself again and we would be back to square one.

Its good to hear I'm not the only one to feel like this
 
Take it VERY slowly and do lots of work on hard ground - not on a surface. Road work in walk, slowly building up the time spent, including hills if you have them. Keep out of the school and NO CIRCLES. You need to condition the tendon carefully. I would be thinking at least six weeks of progressive walk work on a hard surface before introducing any schooling.
 
sorry to make it sound so awfull, but you do get through it. just get people to help you, ride quiet time of day, keep kids gagged and under control- lol oh and dogs too
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. and dont forget sedalin is your new best friend!!!
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also if your horse is bad at taking scringes ( they also cost a fortune) talk to your vet very nicely and explain ,cause under exceptional circumstances they can give you acp tablets, much much cheaper and you just pop them in the middle of a polo mint. you also know just how much they've had to . i found that 3 tabblets was good at the beginning going down to 2, i went down to 1 but i think that was for my benefit - lol
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. keep us imformed on how you manage and don't rush the re- hab or you will be back to square one .
 
Don't worry, I've brought my TB back into work after numerous box rest episodes and I'm still here to tell the tale! If the injury allows and you have the facilities then a horse walker can be great, however obviously this is not always the option. I'd talk through with the vet whether you can turn out before you ride. I took this option when bringing mine back into work after a suspensory injury as he simply wasn't safe to sit on. You can sedalin to turn out if necessary. I have also used sedalin when ridden on the advise of my vet. Yes you can't use it if you want to do lots of trot work etc but it's fine to use in walk. Good luck.
 
Think I was very lucky as my mare needed no sedalin at all, and she had a total 9 months box rest in all. In hand walks were done with a headcollar and chain round the nose. First ridden walk of 20 mins was round the farm where I had been hand walking her and she was fine. Went out hacking when was up to 30 mins walk had to get to 1 hour before could start trotting. One thing though if its winter and all you can do is walk you get very cold and you cannot trot to warm up! also cars might get a bit annoyed when you cannot trot to the most suitable passing place if you meet them on country lanes.
 
if its any consolation, my very sharp 6yo did a tendon 12 months ago. she simply wasnt safe to ride out, so , as our roads are fairly quiet, i gave her 2ml of sedalin and walked her out with a chifney on for 45 mins per day for 6months. i spoke to my vet and he was perfectly happy with that. on windy cold days we gave her more, on quiet days less. and the chifney was there just in case. and before anyone starts on how strong / bad chifneys are bear in mind pls, the other option was in all likelihood to put my mare down. we both got through it and at least i know i tried my best, and there was only me to walk her out so i couldnt risk her putting me in hospital! ok she jumped around and i probably tugged on her mouth more often that id liked. but she is now safe, sound and on the way to recovery out in the field (yes, i got the vet out to dope her, and we topped her up with sedalin for the first 48hours!) id just say, you know your own horse, always err on the side of caution, have patience and be positive! you CAN do it! if he is out in a small paddock, you are probably miles ahead of what we started with, but take it slowly and you will get there. little and often and you clock the miles up! :-)
 
First time I rode my boy after all his time off i was quite worried as he can be sharp, but he was actually really lazy!!!! He walked round all dippy backed pretending like I weighed about 20 stone, and sighed really loudly several times!!!

I think he enjoyed his life of leisure a bit too much!!!

I am still paranoid about his leg (it was a tendon in his hock that he injured), but he has been back in work for about 9 months now and doing prelim dressage and just started some pole work.... fingers crossed for you!!
 
Hi,

My horse has a current lession to his DDFT and evidence of damage to the collateral ligaments of the coffin joint. This occurred in March 2008 but he has been sound on it since 3 weeks after the injury.

I have just been given the go ahead to start bringing him back into work. The program I am currently on is to walk in hand for 20 mins increasing 5 mins a week up to 60 mins (think I will be getting very fit!!).

Once we get to 60 mins we re-assess and if he remains sound I can go to 30 mins ridden walking then increase 5 mins a week etc. After 60 mins we start introducting trot work and hills are introduced on 45 mins.

I to am concerned about the riding element but have plans to find a friend to go with me for the first month. Also I have tacked him up to take him walking in hand (currently at the 30 min stage). I also stand him by the mounting block and lean over him etc so he is getting used to weight in the saddle etc. I think my horse thinks I am a bit mad though because he just turns his neck around and looks at me after a few minutes as if to say isn't it about time you got on.

Anyway hope things progress well for you and good luck. I will probably put a posting on if we get to the ridden work as planned !! (in about 7 weeks) So will let you know how I get on.
 
I'd strongly recommend, for the first few weeks at least, getting a reliable friend to walk with you or failing that pay for a knowledgable instructor to walk out, really to help if needed, and to control traffic. That way you won't feel alone and will have support as it can be very nervewracking!

Good luck
 
Hi My lad damaged his SFT in May, he is still on box rest but has been in a controlled exercise program for 2 weeks now, starting with 10 mins walk on the roads and currently at 30 mins.

He is naturally a bit lively to ride, during the box rest has been repeatedly rearing in hand and throwing his weight around so naturally I was very concerned and my vet adivsed we may need to look at sedation.

I got back on him for the first time, unsedated but with someone on the ground....you could have struck me down with a feather!! He was more calm than he usually is to ride and has been like a completely different horse, even allowing lorries to pass him when normally he would try to spin and bolt!

I still make sure I have a neck strap BP and hat on but I am very pleasantly surprised.

Good luck to you when your time comes...
 
I'd strongly recommend that you give yor horse as much time as possible to recover from a tendon - I give them a year minimum.

I also wouldn't recommend sedatives and would very much question why anyone would be getting on a horse they feel they can't control without administering sedatives first. Get someone else to ride it instead to start with if you feel like that.
 
There is a great deal of evidence and research to suggest that a very slow controlled exercise program is far better than a year off in relation to tendon rehab.

It does actually take you about a year to get your horse back to anywhere near normal work.

I hope that I do not need to use sedatives when I (hopefully) start the ridden part of my horses rehab. However I would have no problem with using them if required. This has been discussed with my vet who has no problem with this during the walk work as a short term solution.

These horses need to get out walking and for those on box rest it is often not safe to ride without sedation. I am more than capable of riding my horse in most situation but if I need sedation I will use it. I have waited months and months to get on my horse again and do not want anyone else to be doing his rehab program.
 
yes totaly agree with wjgfred. walk is the most dangerous pace as the horse can do anything from it - the airs above ground etc etc. to sedate as a short term measure (if needed ) is a sensible option not only for the rider ( no matter how experianced or brave the rider is ) but the horse, as the risk of him injuring himself, through spooking spinning, bolting etc is great and the last thing you need is a set back. the walk part of re-hab , means walk!!!
 
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