tendon injury, how long lame?

[zulu705]

Hi,

My mare has a tendon injury we think, the one that attaches to the pedal bone the vet thinks (not sure what thats called). She did it 3 weeks ago and has been on box rest since. At first she was lame in walk and didn't want to trot. Now she is Ok in walk and a bit lame in trot. I was assuming she would become sound again soon, is that a valid assumption? Is the degree of lameness associated with the seriousness of the injury? Is it worth getting ultrasound scans?

 

[brightmount]

Do you mean the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT)? That one is a booger to heal

If you are insured it woud be worth an MRI scan. I think it could be a long haul if it's the DDFT, but best to get the vet to talk you through it.

 

[zulu705]

Vet didn't mention the exact name but thats probably it.
She injured it jumping a small but wide jump and misjudging the distance, hitting the back bar and stretching to land without falling. Does that sound like he DDFT then? Any advice on how to proceed with treatment ? Vet was a bit vague, gave me bute and said box rest then out in field. I presume I should wait until sound in trot before turning out though?

 

[vicijp]

If your mare has a tendon/ligament injury it is quite likely she will be lame for some time.
If the vet has already diagnosed, she really should be on box rest - as in not a lot of walking and no trotting. Work hard on getting the inflammation down (bute and cold treatment) and then scan when the initial swelling has gone down. The vet will then be able to give you a time span for recovery from injury.
Depending on the severity it is likely she will rested for 12 months, and being close/on a joint it is best to stand in stable bandages.
As to the degree of lamenes giving a point towards the seriousness of injury - not at all. When an injury is that low down in the leg there will nearly always be some lameness, but not all the time. In the initial treatment period you shouldnt use the lameness to try and gauge the injury. The horse should be on plenty of bute to lessen the damage, thus masking the lameness, thus you shouldnt trot it up.

 

[zulu705]

Vet thought injury was at back of pastern and said bandages not needed. There is no heat or swelling so is cold hosing/bute still needed? Do you cold hose/bute until not lame?

 

[Patches]

I was always lead to believe that horses can return to near soundness pretty quickly following a period of rest after a tendon injury. However, just because they appear sound does NOT mean they are ok to be turned out in a large field or ridden.

I have never heard of a horse having less time on box rest or in a tiny paddock than 3 months following an injury like that, with up to another year off as field rest.

I am probably talking jibberish but I wouldn't rush your horse's recovery at all.

 

[vicijp]

I cold hose/bute until the initial inflammation has gone and then I get it scanned. I then go by the scan and give treatment accordingly.
Until you get it scanned no one can advise you on further treatment. If she scans clean you could start lead outs etc, and play it by ear as to how the leg reacts.
If the scan shows a hole/bruise/shadow/etc then it will give you an indication of how much box rest she needs.
The bute and cold treatment will mask any swelling/lameness so dont use that as too much of a guide. When you get the vet to reassess remember not to cold hose/bute in the 24 hours previous.
Personally I would tell the vet you have been using to stick to budgies and get another one. Any tendon/ligament damage that low in the leg needs support, it has been known for likewise injuries to cause the fetlock to drop to the floor.

 

[brightmount]

The other thing with an early scan is you can get further scans at later stages of the rehab process which will enable you to decide when it is safe to turn out in a small field. If you get this wrong and turn out too early all the box rest will be undone in an instant.

Ultrasound may not reach the DDFT depending where the lesion is, which is why MRI is so much better. You will need insurance cover though as it's about a grand a pop

 

[1928sky]

Its not all doom and gloom with a DDFT injury- my mare strained it but wasn't lame just some swelling. We had it scanned which showed a strain quite near the top. Followed vets advice to the letter- she did it in june and was back showjumping at the end of september after satisfactory scans.

 

[TequilaMist]

Echo what others are saying about scanning leg otherwise you can't really tell the severity of damage if any.My daughters pony did front tendon last October,initially we thought tendon really badly damaged but on scanning vet said not as bad as initially thought(pony is a real woos).She was boxrested initially,cold hose etc.As mare appearred sound and showed no sign of injury we were advised by vet to commence ridden in walk,was fine for a bit then leg showed some heat so ceased work.We then managed to get heat out of leg then put mare in a small field for short periods increasing time as we went - with bandages.She was then turned out 24/7-without bandages.Fraid to say we have just started bringing her back into work now a year on.Hoping the time left in field running about with her pals has helped strengthen her leg(touch wood)This was a personal choice probably could have brought her into work sooner but thought I'd err on side of caution.

 

[debbielinder]

my horse damaged her superficial flexor tendon a few years ago was only lame in trot but there was no heat or swelling my vet scanned the leg and she was given cortesone injections (sorry about the spelling) and had laser treatment she was off work for about 2 months and then we gradually built her up

she had recently damaged her deep digital flexor on her near hind just above the hock the damage was severe its been 5 months since she first went lame and at the mo we are up to 1 hours hacking a day with 20 mins of trot . which isnt to bad vet thinks if she keeps improving the way she has itll be another 2 months untill shes back to where she was. she was off work for 3 months but never on complete box rest our yard is a very small private yard and we allowed her to wander round and stand and eat the hay from the bale this helped keep her sane and then she was walked in hand twice a day after being in 2 months, its slow but the can see the improvements daily