STOCKYARD
HORSE  DISCUSSION FORUMS

missgeorgiabrown

My mare has managed to hurt her front tendon this week (i think running around the paddock and hitting the breaks in the mud!!!). I'll tell you her story then it may be a bit more clear...

Georgie is a 9 yo appy who had her tendons operated on 2-3 years ago (before i got her) as they weren't growing fast enough. She recovered well from the surgery and i have never had problems with them before.

Last month i rocked up out the stables and she was dog lame and lying down coz she was in so much pain. A trip to the vet, a load of bute and 2 days later she was fine.

Then this week, i took her for a bush ride and we walked about 500m out and she just got lame. SO we came back and the next morning she's lame again (like standing on 3 legs and not moving much at all!!).

She's spent the last 4 days on bute and were not getting much improvement. I've been icing, bandaging (for compression), cold water baths and confined her.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? I am considering trying arnica? I cant use heat as she's still actively swelling.

She has scans in headland next week - but i need to get her able to get on the float to travel the three hour trip in the next week.

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izzy2512

Will PM you some info my vet gave me when my horse did the same thing, silly horses!

banjo

think thats how you say it....my farrier has brought one off these machines called equissage and they train horses for the track. they had a horse with tendon probs and it was recommended to use this machine for two weeks every day. it circulates the blood etc...after the two weeks the horse was sound enough to begin training again. you can either hire someone to do it or buy a machine (i think they are about 5000 to buy) but if you can find someone in your area you might be able to hire each day.

hope she gets better.

Pockets

Try a magnetic boot. Great for anything like that!!

Caroline

Why were tendons of a mature horse operated upon??

What was the issue??

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missgeorgiabrown

from what i know - she was 4 turning 5 at the time of the op. SHe was born w a club foot and at 4 it was detected that her tendons werent long enough, so they split them to lengthen them. I know they cut the extensor tendons and minor work to the flexor tendons. She recovered well and have never had a prob until this week.

SHe's lookin better this morning - just got a week's wait till we get to headland for scans

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holistichorse

magnetic boots are really good, I also use laser therapy to treat tendon strain and damage and this works extremely well for increasing the circulation and healing processes.

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Jonsie

I currently have a rising 4 yr old filly straight off the track that has bowed her tendon and she is on box rest with the tendon wrapped from knee to fetlock, this is changed every 4 days or earlier if the bandage becomes wet or mucky, when i change the bandages i check for excessive heat (there is usually some heat there but not excessively hot usually) and let the area breath for about half and hour, and the thing to remember when bandaging is that it must be even pressure over the tendon otherwise things will get worse! I will put a magnetic boot on her in about a month for a couple of hours a day and then wrap it again and make the length of time longer over a few weeks and then once we hit about the 3 month mark i will have her ultrasounded again and if everything is looking good she can start going into the paddock etc. It can be a slow process but if you are patient then the horse will hopefully be sound for the rest of its life!

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missgeorgiabrown

wow - sound slike your doing a great job. It turns out my mare had a massive abcess which broke through the coronet. Because of the infection, her tendons were hot and swollen which looks much worse because of the scars. But we are on the mend!!

one thing i have learnt - that i shouldnt assume its her tendons first up and to rule out other options. I guess with a horse with a previous injury its every owners initial scare that they have re-injured it.

Hopefully the vet will give us some penicillan tomoz and were gettn shoes put on next week which will hopefully make her a bit better.

Thank all for any help offered

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Caroline

Jonsie, box rest is not the best for temdons. Limited freedom of movement greatly encourages adhesions forming in the tendon and increases scaring. Movement allows the tendon to still stretch naturally and improves blood flow greatly to the injury site.

Stick the horse in a large yard 24/7. The horse will still be rather sensible as it will stiil hurt if he is too energetic.

Also excessive strapping just traps the heat in and cooks the tendon, hindering the healing process and inflammation reduction. Icing and hosing is so very imperitive in the first few weeks.

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