Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Spottedracer:
> Most people seem to ASSUME that
> 'rest' is only in a stall.. 

Actually, when I was rehabbing Mouse, the vet (Dr Gillis)
recommended a small pen. The idea was that the horse didn't 
go stir crazy, but she didn't have enough space to run around 
in too much either. She was in an 24' x 12' turnout with a 
shelter, adjacent to my other horses.

> Once the vet says their OK
> for turnout, if they aren't on meds (and by themselves or with a CALM
> buddy) they will generally 'self regulate' their activity and keep it
> below the point of discomfort. 

The snag to this theory is that there is generally little
discomfort with a tendon/ligament injury. Once the initial
pain has worn off and the swelling's down, the horse will
be quite cheerful and not appear lame at all (Mouse would
be lame after 30 miles, but had little swelling and was quite
happy running in the pasture and seeming totally sound, acting
just like an ay-rab... until you rode her for a few miles again.

That's why tendon/ligament injuries are so sneaky - the 
horse appears sound, but will come up lame as soon as you
load her up. You'll rest her for a bit, the initial pain
will go away again, she'll seem sound, you'll ride, she'll 
be lame again. Repeat (for months, with chunks of weeks off
for the pone in between).

So the idea is, you confine her enough that she can't tweak
herself, then load her up progressively (starting with hand-
walking, hand-walking further, progressing to riding at a walk, 
riding at a walk further/longer, then adding three minutes of
trotting and increasing that by a minute or so every couple of
weeks. 

It's really long-winded and seems to go on and on, but you can 
spend some quality time with your horse.

(I'd just rather not repeat it, again...)

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Lucy Chaplin Trumbull
elsietee AT foothill DOT net
Repotted english person in the Sierra foothills, California
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