Tendon Injury

S

starllight

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 September 2006
Messages
188
Visit site
Just wondering once a horse has recovered from a tendon injury is there anything they cannot do. Are they restricted after the injury? Does the age of the horse make a difference? Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
depends on the nature of the injury, the severity, which tendon(s) it is, and also the age of the horse makes a little difference i think.
for instance a bruise (from a bang to the leg) or a slice through a tendon actually usually heals better than a strain, because the naturally crimped tendon fibres have not been pulled straight (as they are in a strain.)
i believe that younger horses might heal a bit better. older horses' tendons lose their elasticity a little too, wear and tear over the years adds up.
the extent of the damage makes a big difference, small lesions can heal completely with the right treatment and enough time, large lesions are more catastrophic, obviously.
sdft injury is not as bad as sdft + ddft injury, i think.
some horses go back to full work. some are not allowed to gallop and jump. depends on what treatment they had etc too.
hope that helps a bit.
 
A lot of racehorses who break down are advised not to race again because jumping at such a speed increases the risk of them breaking down again. However, a huge amount end up going hunting or eventing because its not as strenous on their legs. I have had racehorses who have broken down early on in their career and hunted them till they were ancient and hunting them hard - i.e. all day!!!

Obviously avoiding very deep sticky going at speed is always advisable!! You just have to be sensible and keep an eye on the leg. I always feel my horses legs first thing and last thing at night and know them so well (hopefully) that I'd immediately be aware that something wasn't right.

Hope that helps a bit.
 
I would have thought that it would depend on the type of damage done, which tendon and the extent of damage.

Yhere are some very good treatments out there.

What is your horses problem?
 
my old mare stopped racing due to tendon injury when she was 7. when i brought her i was told by various onlookers that ill have nothing but problems with that leg, need to ice after evey ride.... blah blah and to be honest i never did anything to it and she never had a problem. we did a little of everything except hunting really.
 
He damaged his superficial tendon in November last year. The leg is still slightly bowed, which will probably be permanent. However, he is gradually coming back into work and is hacking out. I have not cantered him yet although he tends to like to freak out and break into canter when he feels like it! I am waiting for the vet to ring me to see what his long term prognosis is. Was just wanting to get some more opinions and anyone elses experiences of this. The only problem is he is 20 years old and I was wondering if this would be against him.

Thanks for all your input though. It is all really helpful.
 
My horse split his DDFT and feltlock cartilage last year. He has returned to hacking and schooling and the thing which limits him now is his arthritis.

My horse is 15.

Play things by ear and slowly is my advice. The vets didnt think my horse would be comfortable pottering around a field, let alone ridden.

I feed tendoneaze to my horse for a year which I am convinced helped the tendon repair.

I would ask your vet for a prognosis/advice.
 
Some racehorses go back to racing after tendon damage, I know an eventer who is doing 3* after a tendon injury. My horse tore her DDFT in February 2007 and will be lucky to ever be hacked again just in walk, let alone trot or canter, and she will certainly never be schooled again or jump. It depends on the severity of the injury as the others said, plus the conformation of the horse. Generally SDFT injuries come back to do dressage and jump if they're lucky.
 
You are very welcome.

I was hacking him out in walk about 3 months post surgery. Trotting at about 5 and canter at about 9-10 months.

I was doing light gentle schooling in walk at the 3 month mark as I knew Jake would be hyper on a hack. We avoided full circles until about 6-7 months.

Jake had his injury in the February, had surgery at the end of april last year and we had our first lesson at the end of April this year. It takes 12-18 months for a split/damaged tendon to repair.

Regular gentle exercise is the key to get the new tendon fibres to lay straight in the tendon sheath.
 
As others have said - depends on severity of injury, how it has healed, and what your vet recommends. My chap has just finished 6 mnths box rest, with 3 mnths of that in controlled walk work. My Vet is happy for him to gradually increase work with gentle cantering/jumping possible by winter.
Although after the initial injury (hole plus tear) the horse was only given a 40% chance of recovering soundness, he has healed so well, my vet thinks he will be back to normal RC activities next spring and should be ok to hunt the following season too.
Every tendon injury is different so there is no 'carte blanche' on recovery period, prognosis etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top