In September of 2005, Alpine fell in a hole and bowed his
right hind tendon up high. We confined him for about a month in a stall with a
small pen attached. At that time, he received bute twice a day until the
swelling was considerably down. We also used some DMSO for about two weeks. We
never wrapped the leg. After one month, he was put on night turnout by
himself, and in his stall/pen during the day while the other were out. After 4
months he was sound, however, we went a full 6 months with this routine. In
March of 2006, we had the University
of Gainesville
veterinarians come out and ultrasound his leg to see how healed it was. He
pronounced 100% healed and told us to “go forth and ride”. At that
time, we started riding at a walk, and slowly turned him out with his buddies.
He was kept at a walk for about three months, then some trotting after the
initial legging up period. It’s now 16 months later, and you can’t
tell which tendon he bowed. He’s started back into conditioning for
endurance, and the leg with the bow looks fantastic even after a hard, long
ride.
When Alpine first bowed the tendon, I talked with a lot of
people, including the UofF vets, and they suggested confinement until the
swelling was down, as well as bute and DMSO, and then get him moving slowly.
Because I boarded him at the time, we opted for night turnout by himself. That
allowed him to walk around and keep that tendon healing correctly, but he didn’t
get crazy and run around like an idiot.
Anyway, that’s what worked for us. With a three year
old, I might consider getting an ultrasound now to see how bad the damage is.
The results of that might modify the treatment some.
Good luck! It’s no fun to have to give up a year, but
the results we had are worth it.
Juli and the Herd
Alpine (the confinement wasn’t bad. The diet was
horrid though)
Merlin (I get all the T&A I can eat. Life is good)
