The key to rehab is lots and lots and lots of time. My horse blew a tendon a few years ago in August. Fortunately he is a wimp and takes care of himself, so I was able to start turning him out after about 3 weeks of stall rest (the vet and I agreed he'd probably do better outside than pacing frantically in his stall) and he wasn't an idiot in the pasture (he saves that for the trail). I put a support wrap like they use on polo horses (being an ex-polo groom), then put an smb over that for about a month. The following year I did one LD in July, and even tho he came through it fine, I didn't feel comfortable, so didn't compete any more that year. The following year I did 3 LD's. There was still a little scar tissue, but he was sound. The next year--l LD, 2 50's. The next year I did maybe 5 or 6 50's. The scar tissue went away and he never had a problem. Last year we did 12 slow 50's, which was a real triumph for a horse I thought I might never be able to compete again. The original injury was probably a result of cumulative stress, meaning I could have avoided it if I'd paid more attention to his signals. It's a hard lesson to learn, and several lost years, since he's the only horse I have to compete. I see lots of people in all kinds of disciplines not take enough time to bring their horses back from injuries, and the result is a permanently damaged horse.
