GoPony
New User
First off, apologies for the long first post - have lurked for a long time but could never remember my login. Usually I have found answers to questions I had but now I would like some opinions/experiences please.
Questions first then a bit of background -
If your horse has had a fracture, how long has it taken to heal??
At what point do you say enough is enough?
Pony is a one eyed, 16 year old Connemara who had major colic surgery beginning of October last year - 80% of small colon removed. Three months box rest, happy as larry in her stable, all healed well and vets were amazed at how well she recovered. Introduced her back into the field and all was calm without any galloping around etc.
She managed a week in the field before she got kicked - hole in tendon sheath on inside of her hind leg, just below her hock. Pumped full of antibiotics and back on box rest. All healed well and got go-ahead from vet to turn her back out after about a month. Has metabolic issues so grass management is very strict, planned on gradually building up the time she was out on a small, sparse paddock.
Now appeared I had a very agoraphobic pony!! Spooking, jumping and spinning at the slightest thing and trying to run straight through me. Took it slowly with small piles of hay, each a bit further from the stable. Got a little bit further every time out and let her dictate when she needed to go back to her comfort zone. About two weeks later we managed to calmly get back and fore to the school about 200 yards away so started the walk to the field - furthest from the yard, past the farm machinery, all the other fields and through the hay field! Once she was settled and calmly going out to the field I though I would check what state our groundwork was in.
For a pony that hates schoolwork with a passion she was surprisingly willing and offered a lovely trot...didn't look quite right though, very slightly lame/stiff but not glaringly obvious. Vets thought scar tissue on tendon, 10 days bute and keep turning her out, that should sort it.
10 days later she trotted up almost crippled in that hind leg!!! Now beginning of April, she was taken for xrays to find the kick had shattered the splint bone and the cannon bone had a fracture from the top down.
Back on box rest and told any jarring could open the fracture up - que her tripping into stable, out of stable, over her own feet etc! All manner of supplement added to boost calcium levels (magnesium that helps with her cresty neck stopped as it works against the calcium!) More xrays end of May show that it is healing...very slowly. A little puss filled spot also appeared over the site of the old wound - suspected bone chip being expelled, just keep an eye on it.
Vet back out this week as little lump obviously got knocked and back leg covered in blood and lump looked fleshy! Now still on box rest and on 10 days of antibiotics and copper sulphate cream and keeping everything crossed it heals ok. Still lame in walk but didn't trot her up this time - always resting the leg which is why vets say get her out and using it.
Bless her she didn't really excel at anything particularly, hated school work, could be an absolutely stubborn mule when the mood took her and has tried my patience for the 10 years I have had her. Thinking this is her very expensive way of saying she wants to retire!
It is coming up on 7 months for the fracture and almost 10 months box rest - sick of mucking out to say the least! What would you be thinking / doing?? I have so many thoughts and emotions running through my head at the moment I just don't know what to do
Big jug of cold Pimms and some barbequed tuna skewers if you made it this far, and a huge thank you for taking the time to read x
Questions first then a bit of background -
If your horse has had a fracture, how long has it taken to heal??
At what point do you say enough is enough?
Pony is a one eyed, 16 year old Connemara who had major colic surgery beginning of October last year - 80% of small colon removed. Three months box rest, happy as larry in her stable, all healed well and vets were amazed at how well she recovered. Introduced her back into the field and all was calm without any galloping around etc.
She managed a week in the field before she got kicked - hole in tendon sheath on inside of her hind leg, just below her hock. Pumped full of antibiotics and back on box rest. All healed well and got go-ahead from vet to turn her back out after about a month. Has metabolic issues so grass management is very strict, planned on gradually building up the time she was out on a small, sparse paddock.
Now appeared I had a very agoraphobic pony!! Spooking, jumping and spinning at the slightest thing and trying to run straight through me. Took it slowly with small piles of hay, each a bit further from the stable. Got a little bit further every time out and let her dictate when she needed to go back to her comfort zone. About two weeks later we managed to calmly get back and fore to the school about 200 yards away so started the walk to the field - furthest from the yard, past the farm machinery, all the other fields and through the hay field! Once she was settled and calmly going out to the field I though I would check what state our groundwork was in.
For a pony that hates schoolwork with a passion she was surprisingly willing and offered a lovely trot...didn't look quite right though, very slightly lame/stiff but not glaringly obvious. Vets thought scar tissue on tendon, 10 days bute and keep turning her out, that should sort it.
10 days later she trotted up almost crippled in that hind leg!!! Now beginning of April, she was taken for xrays to find the kick had shattered the splint bone and the cannon bone had a fracture from the top down.
Back on box rest and told any jarring could open the fracture up - que her tripping into stable, out of stable, over her own feet etc! All manner of supplement added to boost calcium levels (magnesium that helps with her cresty neck stopped as it works against the calcium!) More xrays end of May show that it is healing...very slowly. A little puss filled spot also appeared over the site of the old wound - suspected bone chip being expelled, just keep an eye on it.
Vet back out this week as little lump obviously got knocked and back leg covered in blood and lump looked fleshy! Now still on box rest and on 10 days of antibiotics and copper sulphate cream and keeping everything crossed it heals ok. Still lame in walk but didn't trot her up this time - always resting the leg which is why vets say get her out and using it.
Bless her she didn't really excel at anything particularly, hated school work, could be an absolutely stubborn mule when the mood took her and has tried my patience for the 10 years I have had her. Thinking this is her very expensive way of saying she wants to retire!
It is coming up on 7 months for the fracture and almost 10 months box rest - sick of mucking out to say the least! What would you be thinking / doing?? I have so many thoughts and emotions running through my head at the moment I just don't know what to do
Big jug of cold Pimms and some barbequed tuna skewers if you made it this far, and a huge thank you for taking the time to read x
