Tendon swelling

[crystal]

Not sure if anyone can help, my daughters horse has an old tendon injury to his front leg which flared up after we bought him just over a year ago. He was on box rest for months and has gradually been brought back into work over the past year and is now allowed to walk and trot. He has never been lame even when the injury was found by our physio who came to treat his back and found swelling in his tendon!
The question I have, is should we be worried that his tendon still swells slightly in warm weather or after a long ride? I understand he will probably never jump again but would love for him to be ok to hack out and maybe enjoy a gallop again but am not sure if he will ever progress to this?

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

you can get vet to scan, but personally, I would cold hose after every session, you can get ice boot but only 20 mins therapy.
Never trot on roads.
I would remove shoes to stop concussion ............ that is known as barefoot, it is not as simple as taking off shoes........ there are lots of posts,
the thing is you need to check for heat in tendon every day ........ that is the first symptom ,,,,,,,,,, one tendon will be warm compared to the other and yes it is a worry, sry. Next time vet comes get him to explain things again.
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/10127/tendon-injuries-in-horses
keep going down to examination part.
If going for a long hack, then no trotting is best. Generally regular slow exercise is thebest you can do at this time, but vet need to advise.

 

[Eventrider92]

I think getting the vet out would be the best idea . Tendons are pretty serious things . My old horse blew his before I purchased him but his never came up / changed however he had a lot more going on inside his legs than we realised but only found out due to an x ray . At least having an x ray done you can find out what's causing the swelling rather than worrying about it and wondering

 

[AmyMay]

What is the opinion of the vet who initially treated the horse for you?

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

I think getting the vet out would be the best idea . Tendons are pretty serious things . My old horse blew his before I purchased him but his never came up / changed however he had a lot more going on inside his legs than we realised but only found out due to an x ray . At least having an x ray done you can find out what's causing the swelling rather than worrying about it and wondering

do you mean ultra sound scan? ........ X rays are for bones

 

[Eventrider92]

do you mean ultra sound scan? ........ X rays are for bones

Yep some sort of scan to identify issues I'm not a vet so don't know ins and outs but my horse has to have both at the time

 

[crystal]

Thanks, he has been scanned twice so far and is due another scan at the end of July. The vet was quite guarded and at the second scan said the injury was worse than he thought, but he was happy for us to continue with 'controlled trotting ' and physio suggested some pole work to help with his lack of muscle. We use ice boots after work. We bought him to do cross country and jumping so is very frustrating but he has such a lovely personality it's a real shame! Was thinking of getting the vet again so will do that I think.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

I can't agree with trotting on any sort of hard surface if there is any sort of reaction at any time, and if there is reaction after a long hack [ie the day after], then that is too much, in my opinion you should only do as much as is possible without causing any heat/reaction.
Make sure boots are only on for 20 minutes max otherwise it is counterproductive. You can ask the vet, but I am not sure you need another scan at this time. Your aim is to get to the stage where there are no visible symptoms.

 

[Eventrider92]

I found the equilibrium magnetic boots were fantastic . He wore them each night and my horses never flared up after that !