Re: [RC] Soft tissue injury question - Sisu West Ranch
",,,,The longer you rest the mare - the
better..."
I'm not sure I agree with that. We rehab'd
two horses from bows 10 years ago. The recommendation we followed was 2
wks stall rest then slow increases in exercise in a careful graded manner, with
checks by ultrasound as required. The start was just hand walking for a
few minutes. Every couple weeks the exercise increased a little
bit.
The vet said that if we just rested, we would get a
horse that was only fit to rest, the body needed graded exercise to encourage
healing and rebuilding.
Both horses were back in competition 8 months later
and are sound at this writing. I think the key is "graded exercise", you
just don't plunge back into training after rest.
I admit it was a real test of our perserverence
during the rehab'. We were in WI at the time, and did not have any indoor
arena. It was a royal pain to come home from work, go out to the barn in
the dark, and ride in the dark alongside roads with the temp. below
zero.
Ed
Ed & Wendy Hauser 2994 Mittower
Road Victor, MT 59875
