Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

A call for help!!

I have an endurance mare who has lived most of her life outside until a tear in her left lateral collateral ligament and some bone that tore off with it, ended her with 3 shockwave therapies and stall rest. Let me back up a little further. She had always been turned out until we moved and she is now stabled. In this new barn she only had turnout 3 days a week, and paddock time on the off days. She was adjusting very well to the change however, and I saw no change in her behavior. Now was time to tackle the on and off lameness issue that had suddenly gotten worse around the time of the move. We took some x-rays and that's where we ended up. She did well with stall rest for a few weeks, until she started spooking during our 20 minute hand walking sessions. Fast forward 3 more months, and you have a mare who can barely leave her stall without having an all and all out meltdown. (A TRASH CAN! OH THE HORROR!) We tried a month and a half of injectable Reserpine with good results at first (just took the edge off to allow her to hand walk safely) until she developed tolerance and I left off using it. Yesterday I tried taking her to one of the paddocks attached to the barn (where she was surrounded by calm horses) and she pirouetted and spun around me until I took her back in, forcing someone grooming in the aisleway to run for cover to get away. Her stall has become her safety bubble. Another comment about her personality-she was formerly a riding horse that was being used as a broodmare before I got her, so not handled much. She was very easy to get back into riding, and was a no-nonsense, very independent type. Although we have bonded, she really could care less where I stick it, and when we rode, she liked for me to just "sit there" as long as I pointed out the ribbons or we had a buddy to follow.

I know the root of her behavior, but I can't let her back to the big pasture to let her wreck all the progress we've made on her leg. (It's a 3/4 mile walk to pasture and I think she'd kill me and break her neck on the way anyway, not to mention nothing of it being severely emotionally distressing for her). It's killing me to see my confident relaxed endurance horse turn into a complete freak, pose a risk to others, and be so miserable. I worry that this may permanently change her personality until she is unsuitable to ride safely again. I was totally unprepared for this, as stall rest to my QH a few years ago was no big deal. Any suggestions? Anyone have experience with this?

-Elyse formerly in Va, now in Kansas