What boots for supporting leg after mild tendon pull

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cellie

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I wondered if anyone could recommend some boots to support leg after tendon problem.I had the vet out and he said he might have torn a few fibres but the tendon looks ok .He did a tendon tear in the other leg last year so I have bought some turnout boots .He does all the damage in his field .If anyone has any views or recommendations for supporting or preventing further damage .
I dont want to weaken his legs keeping the wrong boots on but when he is feeling good he charges and does skidding stops .I think this is what has caused damage in the past.Apart from hobbling him or keeping on complete restricted turnout I am at a loss at how to prevent him reinjuring himself
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I know this might sound odd, but my first thought was that a bandage of a suitable pressure (over gamgee) might be very supportive. You could perhaps put a loose t/out chap over the top to keep things dry.
None of this should be too tight.
I feel for you with the paddock behaviour - My horse has a spell a few times a week where he decides to charge up and down the field, skidding around and losing his legs underneath him. It is really difficult to guard against. Keeping him in a confined area might make him worse? I ask the yd to keep and eye on Mickey and if he starts going mental he gets brought in. It's difficult, horses will be horses.
 
Glad hes not the only one lol.
I had been using elasticated tail bandage with gamgee underneath for support.I bought the turnout as his leg was heating with the gamgee and the tendon needs to keep cool.Hes had so much bad luck with injuries and operations(did I speak to you about spavin in jan)if I can prevent anymore it would be good.
Our yard owner hasnt got a clue about horses unfortunately so thats not a option .Ollies a good boy if he has plenty of grass and is excercised but the grass is in poor supply now.He was recovering from splint then kick injury and nail puncture so has had to be restricted for a while with no excercise.As soon as they feel better they inflict something else on themselves.
 
He sounds just like my boy - had a spavin then always likes to mess about if no grass, so had sacro-iliac strain secondary to spavin. That was all a long time ago. But he will never change his personality and he is the sort of horse to get involved in all sorts of incidents!!! This time of the yr the grass is pretty much going and he is starting to look restless.

Shame about the heat in the leg with bandage on. I don't think it would be wise to use, say a dressage (soft) bandage without gamgee.......

Sounds like at this stage the boot is the best option, unless you could put some kind of cooling topical gel or a gel package under bandage?

Not sure we spoke about the spavin. I get confused because there are so many cases of spavin on here!
 
I tried the gels but he seems to get a skin reaction arghhhhhhh nothings ever easy.Will take it easy and steady and see how it goes .Ill look at dressage bandages might be the better option.Thanks
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Interesting about the sacro iliac injury because my friends horse has it with hock spavin in both legs.I wonder if they are linked .She has a major decision to make her horse is very uncomfortable and doesnt seem to have a quality of life .Shes frightened to ride as he is so unpredictable and doesnt know how much pain he is in.The resue centres wont take him and they only have summer turnout.Poor boy is having bad time.
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Premier Equine sports boots are rather good but wouldn't want to leave any kind of boot on 24/7 but if he can just wear them for turnout then that would be fine. They have standard boots for about £20 but another set that are air cooled but they don't have the fetlock support as well which is always beneficial with tendon injuries.

Don't put any cooling gels or potions underneath any dressing for any length of time as they can burn the skin to some degree causing hairloss.

Cold application should really only be used for 20 mins at a time to be honest and then removed for a period before another 20 mins.
 
I bought the shires breathable turnout with fetlock support it was all they had in his size.I take them off at night hes in now as the grass is getting scarce and I want to rest his legs.There was very little swelling this morning I had a struggle to find it .Must be alot better if his legs arent filling overnight which is good.I think Ive already done the damage with gel I wish the vet had said about washing it off.
Ill strap him up if we do any excercise but will probably stick to walking if I start next week.
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I don't think boots can stop a horse doing internal injury to it's legs, they can prevent knocks and scratches but a piece of material not matter how strong will not stop a tendon from being pulled or bend in the wrong way
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Have a read at this regarding how boots don't support the tendon but can avoid some injuries by keeping the legs warm enough that trauma could be avoided.

http://www.sustainabledressage.com/tack/other_equipment.php#bandages
 
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I don't think boots can stop a horse doing internal injury to it's legs, they can prevent knocks and scratches but a piece of material not matter how strong will not stop a tendon from being pulled or bend in the wrong way
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Have a read at this regarding how boots don't support the tendon but can avoid some injuries by keeping the legs warm enough that trauma could be avoided.

http://www.sustainabledressage.com/tack/other_equipment.php#bandages

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But heating the tendons can cause more damage than it prevents... IME it's nigh on impossible to support the horse's legs effectively with anything, so it's better to let them be (use brushing boots if necessary to prevent brushing injuries).
 
That was interesting especially the tb part about how the jockeys blast them and the boots are to keep tendons warm and avoid injury
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.Its precisely what hes doing going from nothing to full blast round the field as hes ex sprinter it does makes sense .
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Premier Equine sports boots are rather good but wouldn't want to leave any kind of boot on 24/7 but if he can just wear them for turnout then that would be fine. They have standard boots for about £20 but another set that are air cooled but they don't have the fetlock support as well which is always beneficial with tendon injuries.

Don't put any cooling gels or potions underneath any dressing for any length of time as they can burn the skin to some degree causing hairloss.

Cold application should really only be used for 20 mins at a time to be honest and then removed for a period before another 20 mins.

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Re: the Premier Equine boots; That is interesting because I have bought a number of PE products. I have the sports boots and I have been very disappointed with them. After my horse has done a few minutes work, they are sliding down and leaving a pool of material downwards around fetlock and below. I am thinking of chucking them TBH. They are the correct size in length and when fastened are tight enough. I use dressage bandages of ordinary brushing boots now.
 
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I tried the gels but he seems to get a skin reaction arghhhhhhh nothings ever easy.Will take it easy and steady and see how it goes .Ill look at dressage bandages might be the better option.Thanks
grin.gif

Interesting about the sacro iliac injury because my friends horse has it with hock spavin in both legs.I wonder if they are linked .She has a major decision to make her horse is very uncomfortable and doesnt seem to have a quality of life .Shes frightened to ride as he is so unpredictable and doesnt know how much pain he is in.The resue centres wont take him and they only have summer turnout.Poor boy is having bad time.
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Re: the sacroiliac injury. I am not sure, because this was so many yrs ago, but I think the injury was secondary to spavin issues. I guess if the horse is moving abnormally in one area of the body it will have a knock-on effect in other areas of the body.
Mick had about 9-12 months rest. They wanted him box rested but I knew it wouldn't work with him so he was turned away at grass (except for overnight). He healed well and have had no further issues since. It is treatable and the horse should well make a good recovery I would have thought (That's for the vet to advise though). It is no surprise this horse is hard to ride if he has back problems. My horse has mild spavin, it is under control and the SI is no issue now. I suppose ultimately it depends on the severity and prognosis of spavin with this horse. If that is very very bad then the back issues may crop up again. Good vet advice is what I would be led by personally....and I would always aim to get me horse looked over at a specialised vet centre in this situation. My horse was referred from our local vet to Bell Equine.
 
Fortunately she has loss of use its deciding his long term future they dont want to pts . I will pass on your news regarding rest and recuperation and how your horse recovered. We use the same vet and he specializes in orthapedics and surgery.She is going to get a second opinion and get the back lady out again.Thanks for that info
 
Mick has the vet just a few times a yr to keep him free and check on everything. My physio is fanstastic, she spends an hour and a half (or up to) on him.
 
Is your horse on 24/7 turnout with a calm companion? That is the only suggestion I have to limit field injuries.

My girl slightly damaged her tendon when turned out with a big dominant gelding. You could tell from the marks on the field the shenanigans that were going on. Now she just has two very quiet pony pals and it does stop her hoolying about quite so much.

I know the ideal field arrangement can be hard to achieve, but in my opinion turn out boots have the potential to do as much harm as good.

A
 
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