Tendon strain?

Swift00

Swift00

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So my pony came in from the field last Wednesday almost on three legs, left fore had a lot of heat in it and swelling, I cold hosed the leg for 10mins and stables him, my friend popped down an hour later to check on him and he was by that point not as lame,
(4/5) less heat and swelling localised to above the fetlock towards the back, so put support boots on and left him in.
I rang the vet who advised to have farrier out to check for abscess etc.
Wed evening he was a lot better, still lame at walk but not as bad.
Thursday lunchtime he was better again (3/5)farrier trimmed him and confirmed no abscess etc said he was tight all the way up the leg and had probably pulled his ddft. He said field test with boots for 1-2 weeks and he should be right as rain.
I was relieved to hear this as he lives out 24/7, and being in for 36 hrs he was already really stressed, pacing and not eating (very unusual for a greedy Welsh!)
At that point he was almost sound at walk, but lame at trot.
I moved him to a smaller field on his own with grass and hay to try to keep him from moving too much, but since then he has gotten lame at walk again, still has a bit of heat in it, but not most of the swelling has gone.
It's now almost a week later and this morning, he is still quite lame at the walk 3.5/5 lame?. Obviously he is not going to of recovered in 1-2 weeks!
Do I give him the extra week, and see how he goes, or shall I just call the vet to confirm what's wrong, get him some anti-inflammatories? I guess it will be field test anyway for a period of time, longer than 2weeks?
Don't know if it's relevant but he is 17yr old 13.2 Welsh sec c
It's the first time he's been lame in the 10yrs I've had him, so I do t have any experience of this sort of thing, I trust the farrier but any advise would be great fully received.
Sorry that was so long? Thank you for reading
 
A tendon injury that causes them to be that lame is not going to be fixed in 2 weeks, more like 6 months, you need a vet to diagnose and help you plan the treatment, putting boots on will be counterproductive, it needs to be cooled not kept warm.
 
Thanks, hadn't thought of that with the boots, I have been putting an ice pack under them once a day to try to help with the heat.
Think another call to the vet may be needed then, hard to know when the experienced people around you don't seem to think much of it 😕
 
You need a full lameness workup by a good equine vet - flexion tests etc - to establish why the horse is lame and put a plan together for how to fix him. I'd keep him in until your vet can come, or you can get the horse to your vet practice. I would also NOT give anti inflamm drugs as you need the vet to see how lame he is.
 
My pony pulled a tendon recently and I was told by my vet 6-9 months recovery. He lasted 1 month on box rest and he started going ape. (Also used to living out 24/7) then he lasted another month in a small turnout on his own before he started trying to jump out. Finally I took a risk and went against my vet advice and turned him out in the field as I thought he might settle better. I wont be bringing him back into work for another 6 months.

Like your pony, mine had never been lame before and is a really tough little pony. Older horses take much longer for tendons to heal. I hope he is ok. Rushing him back to work can have catastrophic results so take it slow and get the vet.
 
Also he hasn't been 'worked' properly in years, just a happy hacker once a week walk/trot, hasn't been ridden in at lest 4/5 weeks at this point anyway. So I'm in no rush to get him back to work.
 
My mare is four months into paddock rest (yes, indeed, vet recommended and everything), for a tendon injury. It took two weeks from her leg swelling to becoming lame, and even then she wasnt in walk, maybe a tiny tiny bit if you looked close enough, but definitely in trot. She's now fully sound, not heat in the leg but still has some swelling. She will be coming back into work in April and I will be re scanning her prior to this and then following a very strict, very controlled and slow fittening/rehab plan. Dont expect him to heal overnight - he won't. Time is your best friend here.
 
I had this happen 4 weeks ago to
My ISH. He came in from the field with a very swollen tendon and was lame. I boxed rested him straight away applied cold kaolin and gave Bute. Vet came out 3 days later swelling had gone down but due to the swelling where it was he advised scan in a weeks time and keep in box rest. He thought suspensory ligament torn so I was thinking the worst. Luckily scan was clear so presume he struck into himself. Op you need to have a scan done to see what you are dealing with. Good luck and keep us informed x
 
Thanks, I will ring the vet shortly, field rest would be ideal even if it's for more than a year, he hates being in! But at least knowing what it is for definite will be a good start
 
That farrier is breaking the law and compromising your horses welfare .
Get The a vet ASAP .
That's one of the ridiculous things I have heard in a while .
 
He wasn't my normal farrier, we moved yards in December and I'm still looking for a permanent farrier, he was who I could find at the time. Thankfully I did register him with the local vets when we moved. I rang them a few hours after I found him lane, Farrier first was their suggestion, I will be ringing them shortly
 
My horse also hates being on box rest- he likes being out 24/7. I think though initially you will need to try even just for a shot time and then try a pen. My vet gave me acp tablets which were a life saver!!
 
Vet coming tomorrow with portable scanner, so fingers crossed they will find what it is.
Thank you everyone for your advise so far 😊🤞
 
So vets been out, feels it's an abscess bruise or mild lami, although he wasn't ruling out a fracture! wasn't sure re abscess because he got better so quickly originally, but hoof testers point to a sore spot on his sole, off to one side not front, he did flinch when tendons being checked, but he also did this to some degree on the right too. V lame on hard ground, esp on stones, not so bad on soft but still lame.
So in on box rest and poulticed untill Saturday then reassess hopefully it will be an abscess if not more investigation.
🤞 Although he is already going nuts being on box rest, we had a little rearing fit this morning trying to get out the shut gate 😳
Any tips for bix rest calmness, since going lame he has just been a giant bundle of stress and anxiety!
 
Swift00 said:
Any tips for bix rest calmness, since going lame he has just been a giant bundle of stress and anxiety!
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Try and ignore his stressy behaviour, be very low-energy in your dealings with him, and don't overstimulate him with toys/treats/stuff. He is going to have to learn to deal with it, and acting like it's normal is the only way that you can help him.
 
Auslander said:
Try and ignore his stressy behaviour, be very low-energy in your dealings with him, and don't overstimulate him with toys/treats/stuff. He is going to have to learn to deal with it, and acting like it's normal is the only way that you can help him.
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^^ this. Has he got company indoors?
 
Thanks, I've been trying to be as normal as possible, unfortunately we only have two stables, and the horse he's usually out with will be just as stress as much as him if she came in! He's usually ok on his own, has been on his own before albeit t pasture. when I walk off he seems to stops creating, seems he only really does it when someone is around to 'listen'.
He has cushings, which isn't a problem, in medicated, but he doesn't seem to be eating (soaked hay) and drinking which is what is worrying me more.
 
Swift00 said:
Thanks, I've been trying to be as normal as possible, unfortunately we only have two stables, and the horse he's usually out with will be just as stress as much as him if she came in! He's usually ok on his own, has been on his own before albeit t pasture. when I walk off he seems to stops creating, seems he only really does it when someone is around to 'listen'.
He has cushings, which isn't a problem, in medicated, but he doesn't seem to be eating (soaked hay) and drinking which is what is worrying me more.
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He will play up when you are watching then probably give up if you leave him to relax, if he really doesn't want to eat then give him a big tub of well soaked fast fibre or something similar so you know he is getting some fluids but in all probability he will start to eat and drink once he accepts that he is stuck in and has no other options, tough love is required until you know what it is and hopefully he can get out again soon.
 
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