tendon/sheath injury

maureenb

New Member
Dec 28, 2008
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Hi I am new to this site but need to talk about my problem. My horse Champ had a serious tendon injury back in may. He was operated on had quite abit done and they also cut his annular ligament. Champ recovered really well with lots of tlc and hard work. Its been a real rollercoaster .. good days and bad days. When we took him back for his checkup we were expecting good news but unfortunately the surgeon wasnt happy with him ( the surgeon was down rite rude but thats another story my main concern is Champ at the minute). The problem this time was the sheath. They injected it with 10mg Adcorty1 he was bandaged for 24 hours and back on box rest for 2 weeks with 10 mins walking in hand 2/3 times a day. After Champ was reassessed i was allowed to ride him in walk only for 20 mins a day. I was over the moon to be back on him. He was alowed out into a small paddock during the day and back in at night.I had to increase the ridden work by 5 mins a week. Great everything was going really well untill xmas day of all days. We put him out in his paddock and for some reason he went mad .. he cantered round and round kicked his legs and was fullve beans. Next thing he pulled up lame .. we had some job getting him back to his stable. I plodded on with xmas day as best as i could and rang the vet on boxing day morning. Vet came out examined Champ he couldnt say what was wrong it could be one of 3 things .. tendon again.. sheath.. or lesions. there coming back to scan him tomorro.. i cant sleep i keep crying im a mess ... to think we have come this far for this to happen. Fingers crossed everyone for tomorro.
 
Hi just an update on Champ.The vet came out on Monday brought the scan machine but no gel(abit annoying as i had changed all my work around. But never mind these things happen). He gave Champ a thourough excamination and doesnt think its the tendon or sheath. He thinks he may of twisted it or lesions. He is comimg back on Friday to scan Champ hopefully with the gel this time. Plus it means Champ will get another visit and i shouldnt be charged as it was there mistake. We are having some job getting Champ to take his medication hes had .. mollasses... carrots .. apples .. cubes.. So hubby came up with the idea of sugar sandwiches with the bute inside and hey presto he wolfed it down. (Hubbys got a packed lunch made up for Champ in the morning hes one pampered horse.) Champ is back on box rest im allowed to walk him out in hand for a short distance. The swelling has gone down and hes not quite as lame. We will be spending new years eve in the stable with Champ as he hates fireworks( least ill not have to kiss all the slimey drunk men I would rather kiss my horse any day lol). Happy new year everyone and lets hope we get good news on Friday. Thanks Portia i found site very helpfull.
 
sounds like a similar injury to my mares. 19 months ago she twisted her leg, after paddock rest, injections, box rest she came sound. Was turned out again then pulled her leg again. New vets scanned and found the annular ligament to be thickened, a tear in the tendon underneath and some adhesions in the tendon sheath! she had the operation in may to cut the ligament....3 months box/paddock rest...then i broke my arm and couldnt cope anymore so shes had 24/7 turnout since august. shes now sound - although i do expect her to back track at some point again soon!

hope the scan went ok!
 
Hi Julie .. sorry to hear about your misfortune... Champs scan went ok .. they think hes twecked his tendon again but not as bad (thankgoodness). Hes still on bute tried taking him of but he went very lame again.. hes on box rest with in hand walking twice a day for 10mins. I sometimes wounder if he would be better turned out but the surgeon and vet say no. Lucky hes a people horse and doesnt mind being in. There going to re-scan Champ in a months time. In the mean time we plod on. Any advice would be welcome im a complete novice and hes my first horse. Im lucky to hav such a nice natured horse. Thanks and good luck
 
awww i really feel for you, im relatively new to horses also and had only had moet a month when she went lame. It has been such a steep learning curve for me!

i was very unfortunate with moet, she hates being in and was a real pain in the bum, she went completely nuts everytime i walked her in-hand, it really scared me!

the second lot of box rest was much easier, we had moved to a smaller yard where she wasnt so stressed and i made a stable sized paddock in her concrete field shelter for her during the day so that she didnt feel so stressed about leaving the herd. it was fab, but then i broke my arm and couldnt cope with it and so moved her gradually back into the herd by increasing the paddock size! i eventually turned her out about 2 months earlier than i wanted to but now it seems good. shes sound and i have started trying to bring her back into work now. it worked for moet, since she is settled and sound even with her sporadic galloping its even more promising.

i would agree with the vet about keeping your horse out of the field until he has been sound a while and you have been building up the strength of the leg, even though it didnt really work for moet. and try not to rush things (i know its hard!)

have you got people around you who can help? and have you got another horse you can ride occassionally?

i really needed to rely on people around me to help as i work long funny hours. Also rather luckily for me i have another horse who had recovered from her injury successfully in time so i was able to continue riding - this has helped me not rush moets recovery and let her take as long as she needs.

im chuffed though as i leant on her back today to start the backing process again (its been pretty much 19 months since being ridden properly)and she accepted it really well.....so excited!!

good luck
julie
 
Hi Julie, Thanks for your support. I hope all goes well when u ride moet again. We had the vet back to champ last wednesday and he wasnt happy as we werent moving forward so he asked another vet to come have a look. They both came on friday.. examined champ watch him walk... trot up and down the road. The outcome was ... Champ has damaged his tendon sheath again.. so they have gave him another steriod injection (he responded well to this last time) also they advised me to try corrective shoeing. Not really what we wanted but we havent got much choice. So the vet rang our farrier and explained the situation and arranged with him to come on monday (today). Champ now has shoes back on the corrective ones look ok and champ is walking really well ( touch wood). Hes still on box rest with in hand walking twice a day. We are taking it day by day hes still on 2 lots of bute and they have told me its only about 40% i might ride him again. My answer to that was never say never. My hubby helps me alot with champ. Ive been going to a local riding school to ride but its not the same. I have been offered another horse to ride but im not kean Champ is 15.3 this horse is only 14.3 i feel as if i have no horse infront of me.. but ill give it another go. So thats the latest we plod on but at least we have moved forward abit and im feeling more positive. Thanks Julie and hope all goes well .. Maureen.
 
hi just thought id offer some support, my mare sone her tendon seath in october, all was going well then my yo put another mare out with out without telling me, vet confirmed the worst.. shes redone it, so is now on box rest and will be staying on it. in my opinion its not healing well enough, im due to change vets soon, so a second opinion is going to be very welcomed.

the vets say no to turn out as a twist or a buck can put to much pressure on it, my mare is out and abou twandering on the yard where its totally flat, and gets one chance a week to go in the indoor and have a roll, buck and squeal, unfortunatly shes to highly stung not to take her out of the box, so its a well calculated risk.. so far so good..

good luck with yours. if the swelling keeps on ask for some dmco. its nasty toxic stuff but the point of it is it penetrates and takes away the swelling. so once the injury is healed your not left with a lumpy looking leg.
 
update on champ

Hi, Soz i havent been on for a while ive just been so busy. Guess what im back riding Champ in walk only we are up to 45 mins a day. So far he seems to be coping ok. (fingers crossed). Hes still on 2 bute a day plus hes still in a yard and box rest at night. We are going to be turning him out on saturday (weather permitting) into a small area of grass the sad thing is im having to move him along the road as the vets dont want him in beside other horses at the minute. So we are moving him to hubbies brothers farm for a little while to see how he gets on. Im dreading it but i have to let him out hes desperate for a roll etc I cant keep him locked up forever. Lets hope he gets on ok as this is his last chance. I hope you are still making progress with moet and thanks jay for your advice hope all is well.
Take care Maureen
 
hi, glad to hear its all going so well, so so great news for my mare unfortunatley.
 
Hello and welcome :)
sorry to hear champ has had a bit of a set back but would you belive my horse has just had his annular ligament cut aswell!his is very early days at the moment though (only had stitched out today-walking out in 2 weeks) and its very much a 'just see how it goes' type of thing as far as the vets concerned, first she said i wouldnt get much soundness out of him but today she seemed mych more optomistic but as im sure youve been through-i dont want to get too optomistic just yet!
they found quite a lot of damage and she said the swelling will never go cos it was quite bad so will remain like scar tissue but he is a very tough horse and said I will be able to ride again-how much is the question.
How long was it that champ was in for etc?any info would be greatly appreciated becuase your the first person ive found thats had the same thing done!
hope champ feels better soon :)
vicky
x
 
Hello

Hiya everyone, i have just read all your posts. My idx mare has got the same kind of injusry that you are all taklin about. She had a swelling on her hind leg which was almost like a windgall, she wasnt lame at all but i was going to start her back into work and wanted to get it checked out first. The vet came out and examined her, got me to trot her, he did a flexion test and she showed lameness with that. We got her scanned and it showed a 2cm tear in her deep digital flexor tendon. The next day they did stem cell treatment on that leg and she has been on box rest since (last 3 weeks). We are to go back to the vets for a scan next week and he has said that her annular ligament has thickened a bit so depending on what he finds he may have to do surgery. She is quite a flighty horse and normally climbs the walls if stuck in but she is doing really well so far, lots of visits for us and attention. Like everyone its a a waiting game for me but my biggest fear is that she is quite dramatic in the field and always bucks, launches and kicks her heels up when she is out, its just her way. Im just keeping my fingers crossed for next week and we will see what happens. Any tips from anybody will be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi Vicky, Im sorry to hear about your horse. Champ was on box rest for 2 weeks... then box rest with in hand walking for 10/15 mins 2 or 3 times a day for a further 6 weeks. He was re-examined at 8 weeks post op. We then put him out into a small paddock (grass). We then moved him into the big field but still a small area (electic fence) for a further 6 weeks. He went back to see the surgeon at 14 weeks post op this is when they said his sheath was damaged since then it has been a real roller coaster ride. When Champ fist done his leg alot of people told me it would take a year to sort i thought it cant possibly but here we are nearly a year later (may) we are still plodding on. His leg has still got a lump on it but im not worried about that as long as hes ok. Good luck with your horse. I hope this has helped.. keep in touch please. Take care Maureen.
 
Hi,
thanks for that :)
hes just got his stitches out then can start walking (5mins) in 2 weeksthen 10 mins thw eek after.then back at the vets for scan and go from there.She did say thought that the swollen/lump will never go and hes damaged his tendon for good I think.its really juat a wait and see,they said I can defo ride again which im thrilled about but how much knowones knows yet :|
only time will tell...
thanks again,let us know if they'rs any developments with champ-it may come in very handy for me!!
vicky
x
 
Hi Kmacp (soz i dont no your name). We are not really sure how Champ hurt his leg. He was fine in the morning id had him out. I put him back in field. When i went up at teatime to sort him i was leading him up field and i noticed he was lame but not too bad.. i rested him for a couple days .. got farrier..saddle fitter..they couldnt find anything by this time he was getting worse and his lower leg was swollen so we called the vet. The only thing we could think of there was a load of young lads walking down the road from the farm where i keep Champ with airiffles on there back. So we dont no if they scared the horses i cant prove anything but Champs leg was checked for airgun pellets just incase.(Thankgoodness they didnt find any as i wouldve been done for murder lol). Good luck with your horse.
Hi Vicky..We had vet on phone today. Im not allowed to turn Champ out into field just yet he wants me to do more ridden work first to strengthen his leg abit.( easier said than done when u work fulltime).. never mind the lighter nights are coming that will help. Im just panicing abit as hes insured (thankgoodness) but they only cover it for a year then after that they wont insure his back legs.( bit stupid really he cant go far without them). I cant really complain as theyve paid out nearly £4.000. I hope all goes well with your horse my advice would be dont rush the horse and take it day by day. Keep in touch plz ive found this site really helps as my friends .. work mates dont really understand. Take care Maureen.
 
Hiya maureen & vicky

My name is kirsteen, i had quite a positive visit to the vet yesterday, thats only 4 weeks since sophie had her stem cell treatment and complete box rest and the ultrasoud showed that the tear was now very grey again and not black like when it happenend. We are allowed to start walking out in hand now starting with 10 mins a day and increasing each week, getting another scan in a month and hoping that the annular ligament settles down by them and she wont need surgery. Think the vet was quite pleased with her, she isnt really lame, only after flexion. I guess it is a time thing really, the vet did say up to a year to be sure.

Hope both of your horses are ok :)
 
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