>So what can it be? Exhaustion?(she is used to harder work though)
>Soreness? Tying up? Lack of selenium? (The soils are pretty poor around
>this area).I went to check on her yesterday and she was a little better. It
>still seems hard to start walking, but once she's started she's ok. I walked
>her for about 25 minutes yesterday and even troted her a little (I ran next
>to her) and you could barely see her limping at a trot, you had to know
>about it. It seemed to do her good. Could the overall condition and her
>tendon injury be linked together?
Anne,
I do not want to bring bad news but I do not believe that you have been
getting the whole story from your vets there.
It is now obvious from what you have written that the tendon has not healed
fully. Given historical data from other horses you are looking at a full
layup (no riding) for at least six months with 12 being desired before any
strenuous riding of any sort. Only this would give the tendon adequate time
to heal. Tendons take longer than muscles and even longer than bones to
heal.
So what was it after the race? Guessing from what you have said, I believe
that the horse was sore on the bowed leg. The horse gave its all to
compensate and appear sound. This used muscles elsewhere in the body that
were not in shape due to not usually being used for normal motion.
Consequently she was sore all over. It was a form of exhaustion; a slight
form of tying up; selenium may have contributed, but not caused.
I am glad she is doing better. Usually when this happens they are a little
better the next day and then much better by two or three days later. In a
week she should seem back to normal.
The entire episode could be caused from the tendon injury. Everything you
have said points to inadequate time off and then reinjury. The most
unfortunate part of the whole story is that every time a tendon is reinjured
it takes even longer to heal the next time.
I do not want to bring bad news, just to let you know so that things do not
get worse to the point that she could never be sound again. At this point,
from what you have written, she has a good chance of being fully sound and
usable again, but not for at least a year.
Hopefully I am wrong. Please get some expert advice from a veterinarian
there who can examine the leg, preferably by ultrasound. Only then will you
truly be able to ascertain how long you need to stay off her.
Sincerely,
Mike
C. Mike Tomlinson, DVM
Tomlinson Consortium
501-D West Redlands Blvd.
Redlands, CA 92373-4642
EMail: CMikeT@AOL.com
or: Mike@Tomlinson.com
Desk: (909)307-2369
Fax: (909)307-2366
Recept: (909)798-3333