Tie back and hobday recovery tips wanted

[Gailbriscoe]

Hi beware ?
Long rambling post from a chronic over thinker.... I can’t help myself haha
I’m just looking for tips for my boys recovery really and what’s ahead.
Harry’s just come home today after having his op on Monday. The hobday wound is very strange, hearing him blow through it and seeing the discharge hasn’t phased me.
Cleaning that up I’m fine with no issues there.
It’s feeding him I’m frightened of and I can’t settle on what I’m going to do for him. Vets were all a bit vague really.
He’s having soaked hay on the floor as directed.
I’m nervous of feed but it will be needed.
He’s a huge heavy 17.3 Irish sports horse, I’ve owned him 6 years.
He usually lives out on grass all summer, with no hard feed really. come September October I have him in overnight and he will get fed twice daily over winter. We swap and change accordingly with work and his weight and manage him fab he looks mega and I obviously want him to stay that way.
things have all changed now as obviously He’s on box rest and I want to do right in all aspects so this operation is a success.
What did people feed there horses during recovery? Like from the first week?
Also what’s with this no sugarbeat?
what did you feed long term also? What worked for you? What didnt?
What about carrots ect can horses have veggies once recovered?
I need all the tips please haha feed is a mind field at the best of times.
Also I’m interested to hear return to work schedules you had going.
If you got this far then thank you ?

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

With the racehorses they are fed from the floor. Soaked haylage and then they would normally be fed a scoop of cubes and a handful of Alfa instead We soak the cubes so they are more like mush but not slop and scrap the Alfa. They get this for 2-3 weeks before gradually returning to normaly feed. Leave off the carrots/treats for a couple of weeks just so there is nothing hard or harsh going down but after about 2 weeks it should be well healed enough to not be a problem.

I can't remember how long they are off work for but when back in they start off slowly in walk for a few weeks then add on trot, then steady canter. It's about 6 weeks before they do anything that will tax their breathing.

When cleaning the wound keep smelling it. It should always smell clean, if it starts smelling off then get a vet to check it as you don't want an infection setting in as they take a while to clean up.

I personally can't stand cleaning wind ops. It's the one thing that makes me gag and it's not the wound itself etc it's the iodine we use to clean it with! I hate them smell!

 

[Gailbriscoe]

Some great advice there, so I’m presuming that you manage to get horses back to a pretty normal no frills diet down the line?
im such a worry wart I’d hate him to asperate on something I’d given him.
He’s doing so well I had built it up to be way worse than it is upto now.
He keeps trying to neigh and that’s just blowing through the hobday ? that’s taking some getting used too x

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Yes pretty much though the racehorses are only ever fed haylage, cubes, alfa a and grass whilst they are with us.

I took one home who had had a hobday and I fed him all sorts over the years! He liked to dunk his own hay/haylage in his water but that was nothing new and I always feed both hay and feed from the floor though he had both at height when he was a racehorse no problems at all.

In the long run you should have no problems and you'll get used to them wheezing instead of neighing! It's a god send if you have an annoyingly vocal animal ?

 

[ihatework]

The vets that didn’t one of mine weren’t particularly concerned with what he was fed long term, just that to feed of the floor and either damp hay or haylage. Ideally not to be travelled with a haynet and to just remove any feed from them 10-15 mins prior to exercise.

 

[Gailbriscoe]

3 weeks in and hobday is totally healed
Thank the lord as that was pretty gross
He’s eating fine
He has a neigh like a little dinosaur roar cute, he was the noisy butch neigh you could hear for miles so that’s taking some getting used to.
Far less dramatic or traumatic than I’d anticipated thankfully
He’s hand grazing living the dream being the yard lawnmower grazing down the edges of the tracks,
I can’t wait to ride him even if it is just a gentle hack but all in good time,
How long did you soak hay for? So hopeful that isn’t a long term thing ?

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

We usually soak the hay for 4-5 weeks just to make sure everything is healed inside.