Update on my horse

Birker2020

Birker2020

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I took my horse to my local riding club yesterday to hire out the outdoor school so I could up the ante prior to the vet coming out on Tuesday. Hopefully he will be able to start canter work, he was last seen on the 31st March and was meant to be seen after a month but it will be 6 weeks to give him that bit extra time. I thought I would do a little canter work prior to the vet coming out, so I could push him and the vet could then see the results especially as I am certain the vet will say to carry on and he had an extra two weeks more than was anticipated. He has a suspensory branch injury which is a very mild sprain and vet said he would be back jumping after three months of careful bringing back into work.

I did lots of trot work in large circles and some canter on large circles on both reins. They had just finished the dressage show and everyone had gone so I had the whole arena to practice in with a couple of arenas marked out that I just rode through. I got him used to the banner and was able to despook him as well!

I am really pleased as his leg stayed down and afterwards (my Ice vibe boots have been a real help) and he was sensible as yesterday was the first time since mid October that he had been out at grass as they have been in a sandpit all winter for turn out so I expected him to be a bit silly but he was very well behaved apart from a little spooking at the banners around the fence line!

Afterwards when I went back into the office, the staff who are very experienced had watched out the window and said that they couldn't even tell what leg he had been lame on! So I was really pleased. He boinged out into the paddock today like a spring lamb, with no stiffness, fetlock down and cool, - its just me that's stiff as my back was killing me today after three months without cantering! Will have to build up some muscle again as his stomach is very dropped and his bum is all weedy again, but these things will take time. Off for a nice hack later this afternoon. So glad he was such a good boy, bless him - straight in the trailer to come home as well, couldn't have been more proud of him.

Here are a couple of photos after I'd ridden him before I untacked him with his ice vibe boot on cooking!
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Fingers crossed it all goes well. He's a very lovely looking horse. I love my ice vibe boots too ! Do forget to do lots of walking on roads and tracks to strengthen up. Add a bit of MSM. You could also look at a bit if magnetic therepy. I rate veredus and bio flow magnetic stuff premier equine slips. I usually do magnetic in tralier on they way ther and load with ice vibe boots on for the way home.
 
milos said:
Fingers crossed it all goes well. He's a very lovely looking horse. I love my ice vibe boots too ! Do forget to do lots of walking on roads and tracks to strengthen up. Add a bit of MSM. You could also look at a bit if magnetic therepy. I rate veredus and bio flow magnetic stuff premier equine slips. I usually do magnetic in tralier on they way ther and load with ice vibe boots on for the way home.
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Thank you for your comments. Yes I use Bioflow, he has worn them every day for ten years now and they are very useful for keeping his windgalls down and keeping the stiffness at bay. His joint supplement (been on Equine America for eight years) has MSM in so we are good on that score too. I do loads of hacking - probably about four maybe five times a week. The vet said to ride on as many surfaces as I can so we have trotted across fields, up lanes, through water, on two different surfaces in a school. Good idea about the magnetic boots on the way in the trailer! I am putting the IceVibe on prior to exercise to loosen the ligaments/tendons and then put the Icevibe with the ice packs on after. Trouble is by the time I use the ice packs they are melted so I have instant icepacks always in the first aid kit in the boot of the car and the photo shows the ice vibe boot on over one of those. The type that you place in your palm and strike with your hand to release the crystals which then need a good shake to make them cold. They are only £1.99 for two from the chemists by where I live.
 
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Starbuck said:
Good luck with the vet. It all sounds very positive. He looks lovely, by the way.
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thank you that's very kind, he really is a lovely horse, very kind and gentle, will take a tic tac from between your finger and thumb with his lips and when I ride him and give him a sweet as a treat he stops dead sticks his head right round to my knee with his mouth open and I place a mint on his tongue and he won't shut his mouth until I take my hand away! I am very lucky and priviledged to have him.

I rode him last night and my friend filmed me for the vet to see later today, I shall have to try and put it on here via a YouTube link as he looks very good at the stage he is at in his rehab.

Thank you everyone for your support and kind words. Will let you know how I get on with the vet.
 
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applecart14 said:
I took my horse to my local riding club yesterday to hire out the outdoor school so I could up the ante prior to the vet coming out on Tuesday. Hopefully he will be able to start canter work, he was last seen on the 31st March and was meant to be seen after a month but it will be 6 weeks to give him that bit extra time. I thought I would do a little canter work prior to the vet coming out, so I could push him and the vet could then see the results especially as I am certain the vet will say to carry on and he had an extra two weeks more than was anticipated. He has a suspensory branch injury which is a very mild sprain and vet said he would be back jumping after three months of careful bringing back into work.
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I'm sorry, but I am really shocked to read this. I don't really post on HHO any more, but when I saw this I just had to reply. Your vet has said to keep trotting until your next checkup when he MAY be well enough to canter, and you took the decision to start cantering before then? What happens if the vet comes out now and says that your horse is NOT alright and should not be cantering? What exactly is the point of rushing with this kind of injury? It could make a massive difference in whether your horse recovers, and doing too much too soon will certainly have an impact of how quickly he recovers.

If you're not going to listen to your vet, why have him out? My horse had a similar injury, and you can bet that I took it all as slowly as possible, and built him up for even longer than the vet recommended. I didn't jump him for a year after the injury, because why risk something catastrophic happening? Take it as slowly as possible, and then hopefully you will have a fit and healthy horse to ride in the future. Hopefully you haven't done any further damage by cantering when he's not ready.

Best wishes for a full recovery,

Isabelle
 
IsabelleJ said:
I'm sorry, but I am really shocked to read this. I don't really post on HHO any more, but when I saw this I just had to reply. Your vet has said to keep trotting until your next checkup when he MAY be well enough to canter, and you took the decision to start cantering before then? What happens if the vet comes out now and says that your horse is NOT alright and should not be cantering? What exactly is the point of rushing with this kind of injury? It could make a massive difference in whether your horse recovers, and doing too much too soon will certainly have an impact of how quickly he recovers.

If you're not going to listen to your vet, why have him out? My horse had a similar injury, and you can bet that I took it all as slowly as possible, and built him up for even longer than the vet recommended. I didn't jump him for a year after the injury, because why risk something catastrophic happening? Take it as slowly as possible, and then hopefully you will have a fit and healthy horse to ride in the future. Hopefully you haven't done any further damage by cantering when he's not ready.

Best wishes for a full recovery,

Isabelle
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Hi Isabelle

As I have already dealt with the same injury on another leg with this horse and have owned the horse for 11 years and know him inside out, I think I am more than qualified to make a judgement call on whether to canter the horse prior to the vet coming out. Whats the point of letting the vet see the horse when you haven't pushed it a bit before he comes??? That way the vet can see for himself whether the horse has coped with the next phase, and if he hasn't to what degree he hasn't. We are talking seconds of cantering on a large circle on a very good surface, not going round badminton twice!

As I said in my previous post the vet came out last night and as I suspected said I can start cantering and was happy that I'd had a little canter before he came out, in fact he actually nodded in agreement when I told him what I'd done and I was able to provide him with video evidence to show how well he was as my friend had videod me riding him prior to the vet coming out. I always do this and it is a very useful tool for the vet to see. We lunged him and he was sound and the vet agreed with the previous vet in that his recovery to date had been exceptional and implied that it was to do wtih the way I had managed him. He said that the half sachet of bute he was on a day whilst in recovery would not make any difference to the pain he would encounter in the supsensory branch which is a relief to me as it was clear if he felt this he would be lame.

I have done everything to the letter and he has been given 11 days over the time period the vet suggested for reassment the second time and 14 days more for this third and final assessment. The Icevibe boots have definetely helped in his recovery as has the fact that he has not been out at grass for seven months but in a sandpit with the other horses.

I'm not prepared to discuss his management anymore as I have done nothing wrong. The horse has not been pushed at all in his recovery and his excellent recovery is testament to that very fact.
 
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I guess most would wait for assessment/scan that is all as a just in case things haven't progressed as expected rather than push it to see what happens before a vet visit (apart from on the occasion a vet has asked you to do so). Usually because if a horse hasn't coped with the next phase it's too late with tendons and ligaments and they are broken again. But then we know that we think differently!
 
ester said:
I guess most would wait for assessment/scan that is all as a just in case things haven't progressed as expected rather than push it to see what happens before a vet visit (apart from on the occasion a vet has asked you to do so). Usually because if a horse hasn't coped with the next phase it's too late with tendons and ligaments and they are broken again. But then we know that we think differently!
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Well most people I've spoke to agreed that they would ask a little more of a horse before a vets visit, this being the very purpose the vet is coiming out, to reassess the horse. What's the point of reassessing what has already been assessed? Especially when you feel confident what the outcome will be and you feel very certain that the horse will cope okay.

On reflection I suppose I should have added that I fell off Bailey a week prior in the menage on a windy day whilst mounting - he shied at something as I was getting on. He had his dually on as I often ride him in that, and I was concerned that he would get caught up or step on the reins with disasterous consequences. He galloped, bucked, farted and slip to stops that Amercian saddlebred horses could only dream about whilst I frantically tried to cajole him into thinking I had a sweet for hi and bless him, he gave up his freedom to come over to me (I never shout when I recatch), and his leg stayed perfectly sound afterwards.

He went out in the paddock four days ago - the first time on grass since mid October 2014 and I cancelled my vets visit that was meant to be on the day before and coincidentally on the day I fell off, to the following Tuesday to allow for any messing in the field that may have resulted over that period in order that the vet could see any change had he pushed himself to far.

The words credit where credit is due obviously doesn't apply to me on this forum, but i will reiterate once again that the horses recovery is down to his management and the vet has told me this. I cannot do anymore. Be nice for a 'well done Anne for all your hard work' from you Ester but its obviously not going to be forthcoming so I shall say no more on the subject.
 
I am another who would always wait for another scan before upping the ante .
Don't see the point of having one otherwise .
 
applecart14 said:
What's the point of reassessing what has already been assessed?
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To see whether there has been improvement since the previous assessment before proceeding/upping the ante?

I have a frozen shoulder - I swim as part of my rehab - but before I tried to push myself in the pool (swim in a sprint, for instance) or do anything that would test the recovery, I'd want my doc to run more MRIs/associated tests to let me know whether my injury had progressed enough for me to do so . . . even if it felt better to me.

And, no - I'm not a horse. But I do have soft tissue injury (actually I have several and due to my own neglect/non adherence to medical advice my right hip is pretty much buggered) - and I know that you mess with/accelerate rehab at your peril.

P
 
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