thats another one of us out for the season, advice PLEASE

[Malibu]

So vet said my horse had torn a tendon, not as bad as some but very serious so out for this year, back to work in 4-6 months! i am in tears and i am so upset as i feel it is all my fault, we were eventing yesterday and during sj it happened, my poor baby just about puts weight on it! it soooooooooo swolen so had a few jabs and on bute for a while, a nd wait for 4 days to see how much better it goes, i am icing (peas) 5-6 times a day some for 40 mins other for 30 mins, not much else he said i can do, putting stable bandages on at night as usal and massive big bed

got magnet rug on but not putting magnet boots on leg as obvious (as i want to take swelling down

also giving him arnica, whihc i know is for bruising but wont harm, anything else?

IS THERE ANYTHING ESLE YOU GUYS KNOW I COUld do?

just anything i can get the swelling down or aid recovery time, has anyone else had previous tendon injuries like my boys? just i know all of you guys have tips and tricks of the trade and i hope in my desperation that you may have experiance to pass onto me?!??!
thanks i advance

 

[tigers_eye]

Hydrotherapy, or standing in the sea, I found the small equissage units in the boots they provide with them also helped. Was this a new horse or one you already had? Did you find one in the end?

 

[Malibu]

yes i will def try that, but that i pursume that woudl not be tried untill a while after he is recovering, not this is my horse of 4 years that i have owned him,
foud a new one, getting him vetted within next week or so, once i get organised!

thanks you TE

 

[tigers_eye]

hydrotherapy is useful from the start, it is most beneficial at the beginning, ask your vet about the equissage.

 

[Malibu]

I will ask, just my boy is finding it hard to weight on it so i coudln't get him in a box and get him to the hydro therapy canter which is an hour a way, so would i wait untill a coupl of weeks? the equissage, have you used it please elaborate more about it, is it the same as the equissage rug?

 

[SillyMare]

I'm so sorry to hear about your horse - I know exactly how you feel (my lovely eventer India finished her career earlier this year with a tendon injury).

As far as I know (I am not a vet, but I do have an interest in tendons) the best thing you can do is follow the advice of your vet to the letter in terms of cooling / box rest / controlled walking and make sure she has plenty of rest.

Don't be in any hurry to get him back - as horrid as it sounds to you now, 4-6 months is actually quite a short rest for a tendon injury. Tendons can be very deceptive - he will be sound and the leg will look as though it is settled a long time before it is actually safe to get him back in work. Taking your time now and giving a long rest may pay off in the long term.

There is limited evidence to recommend anything over conservative treatment and rest. There are a lot of surgical options you can discuss with your vet but none of them have great evidence for success. We decided not to go down that road with India because her injury was not severe and the chances of a better outcome were small compared with the stress to her of putting her through the operation. You will need to make a descision based on your own circumstances.

When you start bringing him back, be prepared to call the vet and get him scanned regularly if there is any shadow of doubt in your mind. It costs just under £100 for a call out and a scan from our vet - definitely worth it for peace of mind. Because we were scanning regularly we picked up the fact India's injury was getting worse far sooner than we would have done otherwise.

Most important of all, don't blame yourself - these things happen - tendon injuries are very common, especially in eventers at this time of year.

I hope your new horse passes the vet so you have something to play with while your boy is out of action.

 

[mrdarcy]

I'd recommend MSM supplement. Aids in repairing tendons and ligaments. Certainly helped with one of ours.

 

[Malibu]

Thank you so much SillyMare!

i will not rush him at all just want to make sure i am during everything i can to make him feel better and recover sussesfully! thanks again

 

[aran]

Sorry to hear about your horse.
I wouldnt put an ice pack on for more that 20 mins at a time. 20 mins is the recommended time - not more and not less! All you can do is ice it 3-4 times a day, bandage (cautiously as to not make the problem worse), box rest and give anti-inflammatories to get the inflammation down as fast as possible. then scan to see how much damage is there. usually you give 2 months box rest, then re-scan, then see if you can start in hand walking etc. the more conserved the recovery the better the outcome!

good luck

 

[henryhorn]

bad luck, it seems quite a few horses are off this year due to tendon problems.
I investigated thoroughly when Jonty did hers, and the sooner you can get the horse to a spa the better the chance is of recovery. We hosed for a week which on reflection should have been the spa instead.
I would be pretty alarmed if the tendon is very swollen and the vet says just a few months, we had two opinions on J and they said 9 months to a year, the other a year..
We rested J in a box for a couple of weeks then had to turn her out in a small flat paddock as she was going potty, now she is out with the brood mares who don't run round really and appeared sound last time we looked..
We scan again in a few months to assess the healing, then take the work build up from there.
You can have stuff injected into the tendon but the results weren't good enough for me to justify the expense (£500)...

 

[Malibu]

the vet said 4-6 months untill i can start walking him, so basically the start of next year but he has not been scanned yet so that will show how severe but the vet said it is not minor but coudl be worse, he is getting scanned next week as he is getting peas, cold water hose, and bute for a week then the scan, i woudl liek to get him to the spa but my onlu concern is the travelling and hour there and an hour back will that not put strain on the tendon?

 

[Clodagh]

I can't help with the travelling query, but would recommend the spa, if its at all possible. My insurers (NFU) paid out £1000 for my horse to have spa treatments, and also 50% (I think) towards her livery costs, so she stayed there, and they spa'd he twice a day. Might be worth finding out?

 

[Malibu]

thansk so much will get onto the insurance asap!