That's the end of the orange one's eventing season :( DDFT injury.

I'm sorry to hear that too and it sounds as if the lesion is too small for stem cells/PRP.

I'd go with your idea and leave him out 24/7. Ime it's the ones who go in and out who get naughty - they tend to do silly things either when you're leading them or just after you've released them. We've got a couple on the yard with tendon/ligament injuries and have magnetic boots on them. A little short on science but I'm coming round to magnets in general and they definitely increase the blood flow to the area which can only be a plus?
 
How awful, my mare suffered a serious DDFT injury- the lesion was quite large with lots of scarring and fibre misalignment, the vet suspected it was a reinjury from something she'd had as a youngster. The problem was that it would have never had a proper chance to heal and always been niggling away until it just tore.

It was pretty evident that she would not every jump again or do any amount of work- but I did a lot of research in to it and found that the scar tissue will break down and the fibres will realign given the time and correct level of exercise. It wasn't looking promising when every time she had her 'in hand walk' during box rest, she galloped off at 100mph bucking and rearing as she couldn't be handled! I then decided stuff it and put her out in a small paddock that she could just walk around all day in grazing.

After a couple of weeks of her 5 minutes ridden work riding, i took her shoes off as I'd been reading about hoof shock absorbtion and have never looked back since. And less than a year later she was in schooling for up to an hour 5 days a week - and then at 10 months post injury i introduced her first small jump. At a year on she won her first 2'3 jumping class and now 20months or so on (I think.. i've not had much sleep hence why this may not make much sense!) she is in no less than full work with no signs of lamenessand has never been lame once- by full work I mean 2 hours solid xc training over 3'3 fences, winning speed classes at 3ft, 4 hour fast hacks, schooling with lateral movements. I am still in disbelief how well she came back from it and though for a long time it would go again- but for about a year it has proven to be fine; however I ensure she has MSM and other joint supplements (she has a mobility lick too) plus cold hosing after every single ride and a day off after shows or other strenuous work.

I did write a scientific paper on tendon tissue and healing so I learnt a lot about the process- I may upload it to the internet and post it on here for people to see as its just sitting on my computer waiting to get an EPQ grade :)

As the injury is so small i'm sure the horse will come back just as well :) fingers are crossed!

Oh and eta- she now has full sets of 'keep cool' boots as heat will break down tendon tissue, I never school in boots and jump in 'airlites'
 
Gamebird said:
I'm sorry to hear that too and it sounds as if the lesion is too small for stem cells/PRP.

I'd go with your idea and leave him out 24/7. Ime it's the ones who go in and out who get naughty - they tend to do silly things either when you're leading them or just after you've released them. We've got a couple on the yard with tendon/ligament injuries and have magnetic boots on them. A little short on science but I'm coming round to magnets in general and they definitely increase the blood flow to the area which can only be a plus?
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i did think magnets might be worth a go - not sure about the scientific evidence but they're not really expensive.

lesion just looks like a slight misalignment of fibres rather than a discrete lesion thankfully as I dont think my finances stretch to stem cells/PRP without insurance!
 
What a rotten shame - so sorry :(. My lot always do lots of cooling at first then they do as the vet tells them re exercise. After that they turn them away for ages and usually don't bring them back into work until the next season as they believe time is the best healer.
 
What a shame, but its good you caught it early. I used the builders security panels, its called arris fencing, to make a pen for Kizzy. The panels bolt together & stand in big feet, much safer & more secure than electric fencing, you will need help to move it around though as its bulky & heavy. Am sure you could hire or borrow some if you know a builder.
 
Gutted for you. I had to have my horse in tiny electric fenced pens, the size of 2 stables. I made a whole bunch of them up using hundreds of metres of electric tape and about 13 handles, so that he could be moved twice a day so that he had enough grass and poo-picking was a constant affair.

I had him on James Hart Solutions V-Kalm and it's amazing stuff, really calmed him down. Also chamomile flowers, I can't remember where they're from but it's the same people who make "winter glow summer shine". I noticed a difference when they ran out.

I know how gutting it is to have dreams taken away like this, but the time will fly by, honestly. And thank heavens it's nothing more serious.
 
Nothing useful to add, but just wanted to express sympathy and say how fantastically well you have done this season. Hope Monty heals quickly and quietly x x
 
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Given that the injury was simply due to mechanical damage rather than a strain. I would doubt that turning him out in a larger field would cause any problems even if he does hoon about a bit at first. Keeping him penned up however is highly likely to leed to some form of equine lunacy .Its a catch 22 situation really. Ultimately however my choice would be a large field (ideally without too much grass ,so he has to work for his dinner) with a couple of quiet horses for company. Such a shame ,he was doing so well.
 
Oh no, how frustrating for you (and Monty). Hope it heals soon and you can begin focusing on next season.
 
Mike007 said:
Given that the injury was simply due to mechanical damage rather than a strain. I would doubt that turning him out in a larger field would cause any problems even if he does hoon about a bit at first. Keeping him penned up however is highly likely to leed to some form of equine lunacy .Its a catch 22 situation really. Ultimately however my choice would be a large field (ideally without too much grass ,so he has to work for his dinner) with a couple of quiet horses for company. Such a shame ,he was doing so well.
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i was field resting him but he was going mad galloping around (fit eventer suddenly not being ridden) and every time he galloped the leg filled so I cant keep doing that or he'll end up with a permanent inflammation of his flexor tendon sheath. I think it is a strain in that he must have done it somehow at the same time as getting his leg caught in the fencing but dont know exactly how. The DDFT is buried under the SDFT so it cant have been direct trauma. Going to have to convince him to rest somehow.
 
So sorry to read this. You've had such a great time over the past 12 months. Hope you get him to rest & recover, perhaps if /when he switches off a little more within a pen he may settle better to field rest after that.
 
Oh no, so sorry for you! Well done though on getting it spotted. The time will go by a lot faster than you think and you will soon have your fit and healthy horse back. Maybe book a nice holiday with the money you will save from eventing and make the most of the enforced break? Give yourself something to use up the time with. He'll be OK soon, it wont take long :).
 
Firewell said:
Oh no, so sorry for you! Well done though on getting it spotted. The time will go by a lot faster than you think and you will soon have your fit and healthy horse back. Maybe book a nice holiday with the money you will save from eventing and make the most of the enforced break? Give yourself something to use up the time with. He'll be OK soon, it wont take long :).
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I think I'm going to do my lorry test with the money. I had a week's holiday off work booked and was going to do lots of competing but I think I'll get my lorry test done. I'm thinking of selling my 4x4 and trailer as 4x4 is on its way out and costing a fortune and can put the money towards a lorry ready for next season as realistically he's not going to compete again this year.
 
Hi i'm very sorry to hear this :( Things were going so well for you both!

Tam didn't do her DDFT but had a different tendon injury in 2010, and we used Ultrasound from the physic and it did help. We found she hated box rest(started kicking the stable walls) and just turned her away for 9 months. It needn't have been that long, but our vets thought in the long run it's better to give them as much time as possible.

Listen to your vet, obviously, but I'd give ultrasound a go. We now fitten Tam by swimming to avoid weight bearing, which may be an option for you in the future?

I think time will be the best thing to sort it out, and I hope you don't get too depressed about everything. Keep positive, I know how hard it is. xxx
 
star said:
I'm sure that was not funny at the time but seriously, she tried to burrow her way out???
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Err, yes she did. We laugh now, but it wasnt funny at the time. She was actually in what we call 'the barn', which is a 2 stable block with a concrete pen in front with plenty of room, located in the paddock next to the main stable block. We turned up one evening to find the bottom rail of the fence knocked out and hoof marks in a large hole underneath, plus her hair on the top rail where she tried to get out. You are talking about the mare that ignores electric fencing by dipping her head underneath and scooting through it, so no surprise for us. To be fair we ended up putting her back in her stable as all she did was pace around and fret, plus we had the pantomine of taking her back through the field to go back into her stable at night.

Hope your orange one is ok - it is a ball ache, but we found it went fairly fast looking back. Mind you, the weather is so vile, hardly any events seem to be running.
 
TheoryX1 said:
Err, yes she did. We laugh now, but it wasnt funny at the time. She was actually in what we call 'the barn', which is a 2 stable block with a concrete pen in front with plenty of room, located in the paddock next to the main stable block. We turned up one evening to find the bottom rail of the fence knocked out and hoof marks in a large hole underneath, plus her hair on the top rail where she tried to get out. You are talking about the mare that ignores electric fencing by dipping her head underneath and scooting through it, so no surprise for us. To be fair we ended up putting her back in her stable as all she did was pace around and fret, plus we had the pantomine of taking her back through the field to go back into her stable at night.

Hope your orange one is ok - it is a ball ache, but we found it went fairly fast looking back. Mind you, the weather is so vile, hardly any events seem to be running.
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kinda hoping the events I was entered in cancel so I get a refund as they are refusing to give me one otherwise. I decided against riding tonight given the weather. Our ten minute walk can wait for a nicer day I think!
 
just caught up on this - oh bugger, hun, that's horrible - tho at least hopefully you've caught the damage at an early stage.

Fingers crossed for a full recovery soon.
 
Just wanted to say how sorry I was to hear about the orange one's injury. How frustrating and worrying for you! Just when you were going so fantastically well!

I have one at home with a different tendon injury (actually, a severed tendon is a more accurate description!) but same result, so I know how you feel. It's gutting. :(

Best wishes to the orange one for a very speedy recovery! It sounds like he's not an easy patient.
 
To his credit he's actually a complete star - he is an angel in his box and is walking out in hand twice daily with no hysterics. What I'm concerned about is turning him out and him flaring it all up again. Although vet said turnout was ok as long as he didn't canter (difficult to enforce!) I'm inclined to keep him in and make him rest it for a bit longer.

Severed tendon sounds ouch. Sending good healing vibes in your direction.
 
star said:
and I really must stop googling DDFT injuries - scaring myself witless with reports of bad prognosis after bad prognosis :(
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Google is not your friend! You caught this injury early when lots of people wouldn't, and you took it seriously. It's to your credit, and I'm sure it will help the orange one make a full recovery.

Thanks for the vibes - definite ouch! Had the horse all of 4 weeks and he manages to sever a hind extensor tendon half jumping, half running through a fence! :eek: Vet is optimistic of a full recovery, but it's going to take a very, very, VERY long time.

HHO horses seem to be having a bad time of it right now!
 
Stop googling immediately, I will personally guarantee it will make you cry. ;) Ditto with scientific journals and papers. Desist!! :p

My jumping horse had a marginal 4mm lesion of the outside of right fore DDFT. He did it after going stone mad after spooking at a deer. strict box rest for eight weeks then larger and larger pen for a total of six months. Then did walking in hand for two months and controlled gradually increasing exercise for six months. Jumping for three months now, jumping 1.10m in lessons and 90cm-1m in competition. I doubled the recommended guidelines. He is better than ever now and there is no lesion visible at all on the scan, it has healed totally and without any adhesions. Not too shabby for a horse I was told to put down, that he would never jump again and that surgery was only possible option!! :) :)
 
So sorry to hear this :( how gutting for you after such a great start to the season.. Fingers crossed he is back in action soon.
 
Morganlafaye said:
Google is not your friend! You caught this injury early when lots of people wouldn't, and you took it seriously. It's to your credit, and I'm sure it will help the orange one make a full recovery.

Thanks for the vibes - definite ouch! Had the horse all of 4 weeks and he manages to sever a hind extensor tendon half jumping, half running through a fence! :eek: Vet is optimistic of a full recovery, but it's going to take a very, very, VERY long time.

HHO horses seem to be having a bad time of it right now!
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at least it was an extensor tendon - they do heal eventually and they dont tend to cause further probs as they dont really do anything too important. how gutting though - 4wks into ownership - that really is crap.
 
Sorry to hear your neds got a tendon injury - if it helps you feel a bit better, mine has too but a lot more serious :( He was given 50/50 chance of coming right enough to ride (and to what level they couldnt say) but 2 days ago he's damaged the tendon further (even on box rest, no idea how) so his outlook is now even worse :( I doubt I'll ever ride him again now, let alone compete which is so sad as he adores eventing and show jumping. Had planned a CIC* next month but thats all over now. Best of luck with your horses rehab, at least on the bright side his outlook isn't nearly as depressing as mine!
 
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