tendon re-injury

[jojo180]

it was all going so well!
taz pulled tendon 5 months ago and he is having the winter off. last night i went up and its swollen with heat and obviously lame.
vet coming this afternoon im just so dis heartened. im back to the beginning with my angel.
Ive been scouring internet for any more i can do, my vet didn't take x-rays last time, should she have? iv lost faith in my vets.
When it happened last time vet said few weeks box rest and see from there, he was sound and turned out in box paddock, iv monitored him and since last month he's been turned out in larger paddock.
i thought once i bring back to work next year id have him re-assessed but now this

.
Im just having one of those days

 

[lavroski]

Many years ago I read an article on the benefits of marigold oil.When it was used on a horses that had broken down they showed massive improovement in a very short time(within a week).Marigold oil is also known as calendula,and in a potent form it has been found to be very affective for healing.
If you google marigold oil,you can purchase it online and the stronger the form the better.It comes in oil form and is mixed with a carrier oil.This is applied externaly directly to the affected area.
Marigold oil is also great for skin problems and is said to endorage hair regrowth.

 

[kerilli]

x-rays aren't necessary for tendon injuries, ultrasound scans are. if you didn't have them done last time, insist on it this time - it's the only way you can really know what is going on in there.
fwiw i have known horses whose legs looked and felt fine but which showed lesions on scanning, and vice-versa, so ultrasound is the only thing i believe 100% now.
there are certain things you can have injected e.g. Adequan which might help.
turnout in a crew yard or similar (ideally on a roughened-concrete floor, so the horse doesn't trust his footing enough to charge about and do more damage to his tendons) is the best thing, for months. tendons take AGES to heal, as in, at least a year, ideally 18 months. In the olden days they used to cut off the tendon-injured horse's tail at the bottom of the dock and not start working him again until it was totally grown back down...!
awful as it is to say it, tendons do not heal well, because the crimps which make them so strong and so elastic do not re-crimp once they have been pulled. if a horse has broken down once, it is very unusual if he does not break down again, usually just above or below the original site of injury. (the new breakdown occurs where the scar tissue joins the healthy tissue. this is why firing worked pretty well, because it created a continuous band of scar tissue, i think.)
if he is insured, you could ask your insurance and vet about stem cell treatment, i've heard good things about that now.
very very best of luck.

 

[cellie]

Im having treatment done on torn tendon.Like kerilli explained it can take a long time to heal.I can tell you what treatment we are using if that helps .My vet will re scan every 6 weeks to see if there is any improvement before we consider starting work or increasing turnout.My boy has been in restricted paddocks for several weeks /months and stabled at night.
Ive had two years of bad luck and injuries so I know how you are feeling

I have also changed my regular vet because he missed early signs on check ups

 

[RachelB]

I am 99% certain that when my horse tore her tendon last year, it was the second time she'd done it. Depending on where the injury is, it should show on ultrasound (my horse's tear was in her foot so couldn't be scanned, but most injuries occur higher up and can and SHOULD be scanned). Your vet needs to make a positive diagnosis, and you need to although I'm assuming you are

) be cold hosing as much as possible for the next two weeks ish.
The only other thing I can say is to relate it to my horse's injury - it was a really bad tear and she was on box rest for four and a half months, followed by 18 months pootling about quietly in a field (well apart from the time she jumped out!) She eventually came sound enough to start light walking work in-hand to strengthen the tendon, and she is now on month four of her rehab work (still walking for another month technically, though I've had a sneaky few trots recently!) She may never be strong enough to canter again with me on her, and will never school, lunge or jump again.
That is worst case scenario for your horse. He may have just tweaked it again rather than done any major damage... my horse went hopping lame 13 months after her initial injury, but that only lasted a few days. I'm pretty sure she just stood on her bad leg awkwardly and the whole thing blew up as it was still feeling fragile.
All you can really do is to get your vet to make a definite diagnosis of the injury, and make sure that if you can have its progress monitored by ultrasound then you do. You have no idea how much I'd love to be able to afford the MRI for my horse's leg again to see how much progress we've really made!
Tendons are just awful IME... you just have to keep being exceptionally patient with them and keep cold hosing!

 

[nicolaread]

my horse has just had a check ligament injury + the vet scanned to see the extent of the damage and scanned again 4 weeks later 2 see how the leg was progressing. xrays arent any god as they only show the bone. ask your vet for a scan this time, it should help see the scar tissue from the last injury as well.

 

[jojo180]

iv written this out then lost it by pressing back oooo,
anyway quick reply instead then.
vet came out yesterday, his swelling and heat had just about gone and only very slightly lame.
she said to box on bute for two weeks then reassess. she said she could do as scan if i wished but if i was resting him off for winter anyway to have it looked at when i start to bring him back into work.....surley they need to know excatly whats going on? well im having her back monday to do one, but then i keep thinking about her saying wont change anything, so am i wasting money then!
Its money i could do with saving this time of year, but wont think twice if someone says its not a waste he is my baby after all and i can then i suppose have a later scan to see progress etc.

 

[kerilli]

no, you aren't wasting money, it is vital to know the extent of the damage (size of the lesions etc) so that you can compare the scan pics in spring so see how much progress has been made.
tbh she doesn't sound that experienced on tendon injuries, all the experienced vets i have used have said that it is essential to know what is happening in there!
there's no point scanning immediately, usually vets want to wait at least a few days after the injury (swelling can disrupt the ultrasound i think, not sure, never had one done immediately.)
do you have a small concrete crew yard he could wander around in? the trouble with box rest is that although it works while they are doing it, it tends to make them stir-crazy so that the moment you take them out after 2 weeks, they go mental and can undo all the good work...

really hope your boy is sensible and heals well.

 

[jojo180]

thankyou, thats all i needed was someone to say im not, im really having a awful time with vets.
One good vets stopped doing equine practice so now 2 vets in my area to do horses, previous ones i felt the 2 vets in practice hadn't a clue as for sure thought other year he was lame in hind had three opinions in the end and this vets im with picked it up. but as you say sounds as though shes not brill knowlege and with me not having knowlege on the growth/forming etc of them its a joke!
Im starting to feel i need to know when these things i.e scans need doing just incase its wrong, i want the best for him.
Anyway taz is a star when it comes to box rest, i do always have a good two weeks of inhand grazing though and small paddock just incase but he's never been a loon its just odd occations he'll have outburst of few buckaroos like all really.

 

[kerilli]

have you seen pics of tendon scans before? i've tried to find some online with no luck, can scan some in and post them if you want, so you have some idea of what you are looking at etc.

 

[jojo180]

have pm'd you kerilli

 

[paulineh]

This may help

http://www.vmth.ucdavis.edu/vmth/clientinfo/info/laus/lausbroch.html

Pauline

 

[RachelB]

[ QUOTE ]
no, you aren't wasting money, it is vital to know the extent of the damage (size of the lesions etc) so that you can compare the scan pics in spring so see how much progress has been made.
tbh she doesn't sound that experienced on tendon injuries, all the experienced vets i have used have said that it is essential to know what is happening in there!
there's no point scanning immediately, usually vets want to wait at least a few days after the injury (swelling can disrupt the ultrasound i think, not sure, never had one done immediately.)
do you have a small concrete crew yard he could wander around in? the trouble with box rest is that although it works while they are doing it, it tends to make them stir-crazy so that the moment you take them out after 2 weeks, they go mental and can undo all the good work...

really hope your boy is sensible and heals well.

[/ QUOTE ]
I totally agree with all that.
The other thing I would say is, I changed vets once my horse had been diagnosed and my new vet needed all the info I could give her. If something happens to your vet (not necessarily that you change vets, your vet may leave her job or something!) the next one will need something to go on - an ultrasound scan from the point of injury would be VERY useful indeed to compare to one taken next year. I have read countless pieces of literature as well that say, in no uncertain terms, that frequent re-assessment of the tendon and its progress is vital.
So you are doing exactly the right thing getting a scan done. Good luck

 

[jojo180]

i give up, must be me but rang vets up this am to see what time they can do his scan and they proceed to tell me the only vet that does scans is off on holiday for a week.
I know he can wait a bit, but why on earth did she not say when she came out. the person on phone also said aswell a scan will not change anything he still needs rest , so told her yes but so i can get idea of exactly what is going on.
i have no luck do i, so it'll now be after xmas!
may try john brooks vets, bit further out but someone recommended them, its just changing again just is really annoying.

 

[RachelB]

That's why I changed vets - they (even the receptionists) seemed to think they knew my horse better than I did. They were in no hurry to get any paperwork through, or to book my horse's MRI referral. I cried at them down the phone for a week and they eventually caved in. My new vet practice is VERY hot on paperwork and getting everything organised and done ASAP. They are so much more customer-focused, and as such the vets can then just get on with their jobs as all the support work is done on time.
I still can't believe they don't want to scan. Even my old vet wanted my horse MRI'ed (but we knew for certain she had to have a year off in any case!) Keep pushing, or change vets.