Tendon injury- any tips?

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ribena73

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My TB mare has just been diagnosed with a tendon injury, SDFT and possibly DDFT, we're having a scan on Thursday to completely assess the extent of the damage. The vet said it will more than likely mean box rest for several months with lots and lots of cold hosing. I was wondering if anyone who has been through this had any tips on how to help the healing process. I've got some tendoneaze and was thinking about some magnetic wraps, has anyone used these and were they effective?

I am so frustrated as have only had her for two months and bought her so I could hack out with my 7yr old son on his pony to help break the boredom of constantly being in the school. I guess that's out the window now.

Luckily she is insured and NFU seem to pay for injury in the first 14 days but not illness so hopefully she will be covered as its a new injury.
 
Hi, my boy had a tendon injury last year, DDFT near the tendon sheath. He went into an equine spa immediately for a fortnight (courtesy of NFU) and think this really helped keep the swelling at bay and promote healing and helped prevent scar tissue etc. He had a good six-eight weeks box rest (lots of stable toys and visitors), he was allowed in hand grazing which I did three times a day and then he was promoted (!) to a small pen (5m x 5m for an hour three times a day (lots of electric fencing needed as built 4 permanent pens and then two mobile ones). As he became and remained sound, the size of the pen, gradually increased and so did his time out there. At this time he was being walkied in hand, giving HA injections and flexion exercises of the fetlock joint. After about three months and with small amounts of sedaline, I got back on board and did walking for 4 weeks, added trotting in for the next for weeks and then increased to canter work for the last four weeks. He went back for a final check up at the vet before the ridden work started.

All in all about 4-6 months before back to full work but time is of the essence and I have a fabulous vet and equine vet clinic up the road so was very lucky. A year on we have started jumping again and have even had a dabble at cross country - we stick to 2'6-2'9 at the moment and I'm so happy we appear to have turned a corner. I still get paranoid about any swelling etc but am learning to try and get back on with things as that's the only way forward.....


Goodness sorry to babble on and on! My advice is give lots of time, patience, follow the vets advice to the letter, invest your money in stable toys and electric fencing (if vet says can go in a pen) and lots of tlc. Good luck and please PM me if you want any further babbling!
 
Hi,

I would wait and see exactly what the scan shows. Tendon injury comes in many forms and depending on the seriousness of it will depend on the best management program for your horse.

I could give advice on the management program I have followed, but depending on what is wrong, this may not be appropriate.

Please let us know what the scan shows then people with experience of that actual injury should be able to help.

Good luck, I hope it is a minor injury.
 
I will keep it brief (I am usually not known for my brevity when posting regarding tendon problems) as I am in a rush - COLD THERAPY (preferably hosing) is essential within at least the first couple of weeks after injury. PATIENCE is key - tendons do not fully heal until one to two years after the injury. All work must be VERY GRADUAL when your horse is allowed to start. LISTEN to your vet, he/she knows your horse and your horse's individual injury. Be open to ideas and suggestions. Most importantly, DON'T scare yourself silly by trying to read up on tendon injuries on the internet, unless you are a very down-to-earth and sensible person!
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Re: the Tendoneaze and magnets - I don't like Global Herbs as they seem to think people will buy their supplements without seeing a list of ingredients first, but supplementing MSM is probably a good idea to help the tendon repair. Make sure your horse gets the correct amount of protein in his diet too. I have some Bioflow boots for my horse which would have been invaluable for keeping her swelling down whilst she was on box rest, which helps the area to heal (well my horse's tendon tore right down in her hoof, but my principle is that if the boots reduce the swelling in her lower legs then maybe they help in the hoof too!) Static magnets have not been proven to do anything beneficial in the horse though (pulsed magnets are a whole different ball game). IMO, worth a try as long as you aren't heating the legs up unnecessarily
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Thanks for all of your advice, its nice to hear that horse get through this. I have actually contacted her old owner as my vet says it was an old injury that has reared its ugly head, and whilst she can't give me my money back she is willing to swap the horse for one of a similar value and will then nurse this mare back to recovery herself and sell her on when she's sound again. It's an option that I hadn't considered, and even if the horse wasn;t ideal it would be one that I could at least put straight back on the market and have some fun on until it sold. Not sure what to do at the moment though. Not bonded with this mare yet so sending her away wouldn't be emotionally traumatic for either of us I don't think. Her old owner doesn;t want her scanned though by my vet, she wants to do it all herself so that no claims are made on insurance policies. I'm going to speak to my vet this morning and see what he thinks. I don't want to make her injury worse by not knowing exactly what it is and not treating it accordingly, whether I'm keeping her or not.

I'm in South Wales btw
 
PS I know my first post said it was a new injury, it is as far as I'm concerned (according to my vet) but he said she has had an injury there before so has a weakness. My guess is it hasn't been allowed to heal properly and so flying about the field has made it worse.
 
My horse split his DDFT found by ultrasound and confirmed and debrided by tenoscopy.

He was on box rest until I removed the stitches with walking out in hand twice a day for 10 mins each time.

Once the stitches were removed his exercise was gradually increased and he was able to go into a very small turnout area.

The key was slow, gentle regular exercise to prevent adhesions forming within the tendon and to help align the new tendon fibres.

I also fed Tendoneaze and Windgall from Global herbs. I already had magnetic boots for arthritis and once the stitches were out I put these on for a few hours a day. I would also recommend a calmer for the box rest period. Leading out a box rested horse twice a day for 10 mins, gradually increasing to 15 and 20 was not for the faint hearted and J is usually a laid back lazy person.

My horse had a very nasty injury and was not thought to be able to potter around a field. 12 months later we were back to hacking as normal.

I would see what the scan shows, but the tendonease, windgall and magnetic wraps definitely helped my horse. Also, I gently massaged his swollen fetlock in an upwards direction to help with the swelling, but I checked with the vets before I did this.

Tendon injuries take 12-18 months to heal.
 
if it has been an old tendon injury that has flaired up i would be a big concerned if this is the case i would be inclined to take her back and get another horse in her place as there will def be a weekness there
 
If it was a fresh injury definitely msm and cold therapy - however if it is an old injury flairing up then I would send her back as although you may get her sound, it may keep re-occuring. As a matter of interest did you buy from a dealer and was the mare vetted?
My chap has just had the all clear after a nasty tendon injury from hunting back in January and I found the most useful thing was a 'cool gaiter' made by aerborn - basically an ice pack boot which I applied 2 -3 times a day, which reduces heat and brings down swelling. He was on box rest for 6 mnths with controlled exercise from 3 months.
Good luck whatever you decide.
 
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