Tendon injury - Light at the end of the tunnel !!

[cyearsley]

I know that a lot of people on here at the moment have horses with tendon injuries and wanted to share my light at the end of the tunnel moment.
Four months ago my horse was diagnosed with damage to the DDFT (hind leg). Two weeks in a spa (!) and another 6 weeks pen/box rest, he was diagnosed almost sound and put gradually back into work.
Following another month of walking, and then a month of trotting, we went back to the vets today and was told he is SOUND and given all clear to proceed to canter work. I am sooooooo excited and pleased (though obvioiusly scared and paranoid at the same time!) We are to build the canter work over the next 4 weeks after which time he can return to schooling, faster work etc and the vet sees no reason why we shouldn't be back doing everything we used to.
I am so pleased as many times I felt completely dispondent and wondered if he would ever come right again Whilst I know we are still in the early days, the thought that I only have another weeks or so of building his daily turnout pens and the fact that we can enjoy hacking together has made everything worthwhile.
I wanted to add this post as I know I read this forum a lot and found other peoples experiences useful and hope some of you in a similar boat will find this positive and helpful.
Yippppppppeeeeeeee!!
Sorry.....it's out my system now, am calm again !

 

[kerilli]

congrats, hope he stays sound and that the dreaded tendon injury never rears its ugly head again!

 

[H's mum]

I've missed your story Clare - glad to hear all is progressing well though - give your gorgeous boy a hug from H...who is also in rehab work after an op on her anular ligament (l hind this time!)
Kate x

 

[RachelB]

That's fantastic news! So pleased that at least someone has some luck and is getting back on track!
I only have another six months (and a week) of field rest left for Maiden... slowly getting there! Done seven months off work already!

 

[cellie]

What damage has your horse done to its tendon.Mine has small tear in front leg and maybe small lesion .He has had 5 weeks rest stable and restricted. .Im really fed up because he has been off all summer with a split heel and bruised cannon bone .Last year he did his curb ligament .Having a bad year.
The good news is he will make a full recovery as he has only 5 to 10% damage so the prognosis is good.Just need a lucky break .my vet wants another 6 to 8 wks rest with light walking out in hand .Trouble is he is very fit young tb and can spin on a sixpence even in 10 by 10 small turnout area.
How much longer before you can excercise.

 

[RachelB]

Hi cellie, welcome! I don't know if your post was aimed at me or not, but anyway - my horse tore her deep digital flexor tendon and the cartilage on her pedal bone is degenerating, leaving the possibility of adhesions forming and making her permanently lame. She had 4 1/2 months box rest, then when it was diagnosed she had a series of Cartrophen injections and was turned away. My vet told me she had 25% chance of returning to "full work" (which was only being a bog-standard all-rounder anyway, no jumping over 2'3", but he didn't bother asking that) and basically told me not to bother with her any more, and to dump her in a field as a companion and move on. The vet who did her MRI told me 30% chance of return to "full work" (he didn't bother asking what she did either). I got rid of the first vet and my new vet told me it was unlikely that I'd ever be able to even school her again but hacking should, hopefully, be fine if she came sound after 9 months on field rest. So we're 1/3rd of the way through that now! In April I'll get the vet out to do a full check-up and take it from there, probably with long-reining and walking in-hand to start, then loads and loads of walking work. Then if I'm really lucky I'll be able to find a happy hacking home for her (on loan).
It sounds to me like you are having a bad run at the moment! Which tendon did your horse tear? That makes a big difference to how much rest they have to have, and to what they can potentially safely do once back in work.
Maiden used to regularly jump out of her 4' high pen, she was fairly fit for a lazy ID X and was a bit nutty! As soon as she went out into the field though, she was fine and settled well (and is now still a big lazy fat lump!). Have you tried giving your horse a calmer? Or even ACP if it's really bad?
I hope your horse recovers!

 

[henryhorn]

Great news for you, tendons can be a long road.
Our small event mare had a 6% tear in her flexor tendon last season, she's had over a year off, started work slowly and the last six weeks has done fast work including over rough ground when checking our horse herd. (daughter whizzes round them bareback but at speed!)
On Sunday we do her first HT so that will be the test of whether she is totally back to normal.
I too rate the spa, it certainly helped her, but at 60k a bit expensive to keep at home!

 

[joannemarson]

Get this for a story! I saved up for ever until i had the money to get my dream horse, i found her a welsh d mare. she had been with the same family since for 6 years and they wanted to bring her over for us. the day after she came we noticed swelling at either side of her leg just above her fetlock, like a huge windgall. A vet that was coming out to sedate some horses said it was wingalls and to cold hose and rest for 2 weeks, i was upset but thought thats only two weeks it will give her chance to settle down.
No better after two weeks got my vet out who referred her straight to horse clinic near us for scanning. Had her scanned it was annular ligament so she had to have an op to release the pressure, i was devestated at this point but he said her prognosis was good, that was until the operated and found a tear of the deep flexor tendon, so now i was properly devestated as im sure you can imagine the prognosis of all that.
so i thought id bought myself a very expensive broodmare! (we think she did the injury when they boxed her to bring her as she messes about going into the trailer)
after 12 months of rest we took her back to be scanned and re assessed so she could be written off on the insurance, they lunged her, flexion tested her and scanned her and she is 100% sound!!!! Hardly and adhesions at all and he said i had done a fab rehab job!
We kept her moving through her rest period but controlled, she wasnt allowed out of walk so she had tiny paddocks in the field so she wasnt stuck in a box and was hand walked. she also had a magnetic wrap on day for about 12 to 14 hours. the vet said although not proven he thinks this is why she had so few adhesions. so im now considering some of those bioflow boots for her.
we are still in the walk stage of riding but we are doing half hour in the school and about 3 miles hacking now, we are getting new shoes on friday so another few weeks of walk and we might start trotting!
Its so nice to hear when others horses have come through these kind of injuries, fingers crossed everyone gets back to doing what they want to do.
Jo x

 

[cellie]

Hi new to site but yes I was refering to your problems.He has done his ddf tendon but the scan showed only a small tear and maybe small lesion .He is behaving at the moment but tbs can be really nutty at times so I have just started doing some inhand work to keep his brain occupied.He responds well with parelli obviously only walking and backing up with join up.My vet has told me I can start walking him out in hand or under saddle in a couple of weeks but wants to do another scan.Funny thing is he was never lame with the tendon injury when we trotted him up I was just concerned with the swelling.I hope I got to it early before there was any major damage.Its such a shame because he was a complete loony at first rearing bucking you name it.I worked so hard to get him sane and his jumping was excellent .We did our first show then everything went pear shaped.