The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

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StraightForward
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The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby StraightForward » Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:50 am

I just need to vent/whine to people who will get it.

We are 4.5 months on from Annabelle fracturing her coffin bone, and we are both about at our wits' ends.

Last week she didn't get out at all for 5 days because I had to be out of town. The first day back, I gave her 1.5 cc of Ace on top of the 1.5 mg of Reserpine she gets daily, and she was fine. The three days since, she's been a monster, with today being the worst, Had to cut it short and stuff her back in her stall. Everyone who's witnessed it is astounded by her talent for capriole, but the hooves are invading my space more and more each day (I started wearing a helmet a few weeks ago).

She is doing acrobatics in her stall as well, and I wonder how that is any easier on her foot than getting some light, daily exercise.

I'm trying to get my vet and shoer to talk so we can get radiographs and see how things look next week. That is like pulling teeth in itself. WHY is it so hard to get people to do work you are paying them to do??

Should I just not take her out of her stall for the next 5-6 weeks until she's cleared for turnout? I'll check with the vet tomorrow about increasing the Reserpine, though I feel bad doping her up even more. One or both of us is going to get hurt if we keep having episodes like tonight's. By the time I put her away, I was too upset to work with Tesla, so I came home, and here I sit with my glass of wine (and whine).
Last edited by StraightForward on Thu Mar 14, 2019 2:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby khall » Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:58 am

I'm sorry SF that is tough, young mare, winter and stall rest UGH. It's been years since I've had to stall rest for any length of time a youngster, it is not fun. My sympathies fully and completely.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby Chisamba » Wed Mar 06, 2019 4:49 am

When Kimba broke her leg and was on stall rest and walking, things that worked.

Clicker training in the stall. I simply taught her to touch a frisbee. Then I would put the frisbee in different places and send her to touch it. So it became a game if hide and seek. I was never smart enough to teach her to retrieve.

After half an hour of hide and seek, I would walk her, but still use the frisbee to refocus her if she started being rude.

Secondly, absolutely no grain. Hay diet, I fed a balance as treats as part of the frisbee lessons.

Finally, no pain meds or anti inflammatories. Kimba just needed to know she was sore.

Wishing you well.

Finally, I recommend regumate, mares, even good ones, become hormonally reactive in spring. Fool her body into thinking she us pregnant.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby musical comedy » Wed Mar 06, 2019 11:04 am

We horse women DO get it. Luckily I haven't had any injuries that required long term stall rest, but I've had horses that were wild after just a couple days locked in. I don't know anything about coffin bone fractures, but I imagine they do require true stall rest. For me, at this point in my life, I would turn a horse out with an injury and hope tincture of time works. I am NOT suggesting you do that; only that I at this tme just couldn't handle the stress you going through.

A good friend had a horse have colic surgery and later a problem with hernia that required long term stall rest. When it came time to hand walk, she couldn't do to the horse going ballistic. I'll find out what she did, but it was probably resperine. She did purchase a horse treadmill ($$$ around 30k, she's wealthy) and that really helped and was a great investment. Around here, we have some horse rehab places a horse could go. Would you consider something like that it is was available even if you have to mover her a distance for a while.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby StraightForward » Wed Mar 06, 2019 5:21 pm

Thanks all. I think her hormones are starting as the days get longer. Winter it was easier to skip riding, but now I'm seeing all the clinics I'll be missing while everyone else is getting ready for show season, and it's quite a downer. I joke that I need to have two horses so hopefully one will be sound at any given time.

Chisamba, I will try playing with her more in her stall to keep her engaged a bit. I know better than to try walking her in the outdoor because it's too stimulating, but now even in the indoor, she can go from being perfectly nice to exploding if a horse makes a noise in its stall, or a noisy truck goes by, or pretty much anything. She is just getting Outlast 2x a day, plus just enough soaked beet pulp to mix her Osteon into. Still some alfalfa for the calcium and as another ulcer control measure (she had to be treated last winter for ulcers). She doesn't get any NSAIDS. I'll ask the vet about Regumate or other options.

MC - I am SO tempted to just turn her out. Since we originally thought this was a soft tissue strain, and she was looking better, I did lunge and give her limited turnout about 5 weeks post-injury, and that was without the shoe. The radiographs the following week showed encouraging signs of healing, so it seems reasonable at this point that she could handle some limited turnout given that she has a shoe with big clips stabilizing the coffin bone. I think the concern is getting excessive remodeling that could affect other structures within the hoof capsule.
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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby Hayburner » Wed Mar 06, 2019 6:12 pm

I was going to suggest that she may be in season - as a few mares at the barn are already full blown tramps!

I can't remember how much reserpine we used when my mare was on 8 months stall rest, but we didn't' ace her on top of it. She really never seemed dopey - the amount we gave just took the edge off of her. I thought that Ace can cause more reactivity than Dormosaden, but I could be wrong about that.
She was only being walked or trotted when the vet wanted to evaluate her. I could not walk her, she was too much for me. Luckily, I had friends that are fearless and also don't put up with any crap. When we were given the go ahead to hand walk, we used Dormosaden gel for the first couple of times. When she was allowed a little turnout we also used the Dormosaden. When I was given the go ahead to ride, a trainer rode her and yes, she was again given some Dormosaden. I mainly spent an hour or more in her stall just grooming her - she was pretty good in her stall and didn't explode much, I think she just absorbed not being able to go out.

Do they have her on any calcium supps? I used Doraplex from Kentucky Equine and also used Equithrive which was recommended by the vet, even tho the injury was in her ankle not a hock. The Duraplex was to help heal the fracture.

Like others here, I understand you whinning - we do so much to protect them and yet it's not enough! Healing vibes coming her way!

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby StraightForward » Wed Mar 06, 2019 6:28 pm

Hayburner wrote: I mainly spent an hour or more in her stall just grooming her - she was pretty good in her stall and didn't explode much, I think she just absorbed not being able to go out.


Some days she is so tight in her muscles that being groomed stresses her out. I bought a myofascial release tool last month because I thought she might enjoy some massage, but she's too tense to enjoy it. Luckily my filly LOVES being worked on with the tool, so it wasn't a waste. She really likes to roll in the indoor arena, but I'm starting to have trouble getting her back and forth safely, as it's a separate barn.
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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby blob » Wed Mar 06, 2019 8:05 pm

I'm so sorry, SF, this is always so hard.

I agree with Chisamba about finding something keep her busy in the stall, such as clicker training. Often if you occupy the brain/tire the brain some, the body is less explosive/excited. So finding something that is physically easy to teach her could be a great way to keep her focused and engaged and therefor less stir crazy.

Does your barn have very small turnouts? or a small space you can create? if you give her a good dose of ace and get her in a small space (smaller than 20 meter circle), that might also make a difference--just being out and able to watch/see other horses.

It definitely doesn't help that spring is coming in and hormones and such are probably in play as well.

Please be careful. Limited turnout might be not be ideal per vet's orders, but might be safer and better for both of you. Not just because it'll be less mental strain for both, but also because leaping around while being hand walked can't be great for her healing anymore than some pasture movement. She's also more likely to get things out of her system quickly in turnout and then settle down.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby StraightForward » Thu Mar 07, 2019 3:59 am

She actually has access to the run on her pen. She is in the old broodmare barn, which has 16x16 stalls, and the pens are about the same size. It's been helpful because she can watch most of the goings-on around the barn from her pen. The next option up would be the round pen, though I'm not sure what the footing is like in there right now.

Being half TB, she really bottles energy up, and isn't happy until she can get her flat out running in. Even when I'm working her and she's getting turnout, she has to get out in the big outdoor arena every week or two so she can zoom down the long side several times.
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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby Hayburner » Thu Mar 07, 2019 1:10 pm

Hopefully, your vet will have you up the Reserpine- that may even help to relax her muscles. My mare really was not dopey on it - she was fully aware just not so re-active. I would also double check on using the Dormosadan gel vrs the Ace. When coming down off Ace some horses are more explosive.

Initially, the vet had us hand walking her - which upon further testing was not the right therapy. I'm telling you, I was scared to death of her1 She would walk along then all of a sudden up in the air she'd go - or she'd buck like a demon. I think walking her just geared her up for wanting to expend more energy. She did way better with complete stall rest and moving her to a quiet barn. I am so glad I moved her and actually, I never left! We were going to make a small area for her to be turned out in at the new barn, but decided that it was better for her just to stay in and not risk her getting re-injured. IF her stall is near a lot of activity, you may want to move her to a quieter spot where she doesn't see other horses going in and out.

I think I also gave her Mare Magic and a calming supp from Smartpak - but, I don't think either of those made a difference. We only gave her enough grain for her to get her supplements and meds.

Could she have pain in the area? if she does, maybe that's contributing to her issues and a little Equioxx might help.

I feel for you, this is not easy!

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby Hot4Spots » Thu Mar 07, 2019 6:23 pm

Fortunately for me, when I dealt with a fractured coffin bone some years back, I had an absolute SAINT of a horse. He quietly recuperated in his stall and amiably strolled with me during hand walking sessions, and when he was cleared for riding, I just hopped on and started gradual rehab. He did enjoy having a tether ball in his stall, if that's of any help to you. But the horse I have now..........................

Take a gander at my posts in March/April Training/Progress. My present horse is semi-retired due to a bad suspensory injury. He can be ridden, and it is recommended to ride him at a walk only (he is not entirely onboard with this idea). We had worked things out, and he's been good most of the time, occasionally in need of a little ACE. However, I had to move him once last November and again last Saturday, and he has been totally manic ever since. I haven't been on him since a week ago Wednesday. When I tried to hand walk him Sunday, he blew right through 1.5 cc of ACE, so I know how you feel. He's 16.2, big boned, and hot. It is NOT fun. My sympathies. I'm not about to get on my guy until he either calms down or I decide to drug him more heavily (which I hate to do) - and I think even 2ccs may not enough. Sigh.
Last edited by Hot4Spots on Thu Mar 07, 2019 6:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby Chisamba » Thu Mar 07, 2019 6:33 pm

StraightForward wrote:Some days she is so tight in her muscles that being groomed stresses her out .

Hormones.

I am not criticizing you horse, I feel for her, she cannot exercise to relieve her tension, as a female who is very empathetic to how much hormones can mess with metabolism, I am strongly suggesting you try regumate, I'm frankly shocked that your vet has not suggested it.

Fyi, it is commonly used for stall bound geldings and stallions too

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby tlkidding » Thu Mar 07, 2019 7:38 pm

This may be a case where you have to take her off one or both of the meds to see if she'll be better having more physical and mental control of herself.

Is she getting oral reserpine? If oral, consider trying the IM to see if it helps more - you dose every few days with a bigger amount. At the end of my horse's stall rest, I was dosing a slightly smaller amount every other day.

Some horses just don't do well on the reserpine. It kept my horse from throwing himself in the air in his stall but not from pacing. When I started getting on him, I had to take him off it because he was reacting to spooky things with poor control of his body and no capacity for mental reasoning. While he was on reserpine, the horse I'm rehabbing right now had really weird reactions to things like rain on his face, other horses being walked on the ground, his own farts...he's off the reserpine and in a round pen for turnout and we Ace him for riding (2cc IM) since we know he does well with that from previous experience.

I think with Ace, it's very easy for a reactive horse to blow through and when they do, they can be very unpredictable. Because I have a very spooky horse, the vet figured he'd easily blow through the Ace. I did all of the hand walking with my horse with only the Reserpine on board, but our indoor is detached from the barn and I did it late at night, where >70% of the time we were the only ones in there. The the second horse, he's small and weak enough that I know I can handle his freak out if he blows through the Ace and I can get my feet on the ground quickly if I need to dismount.

I don't know what gear you are using to hand walk, but consider a rope halter, a halter with a chain, using her bridle, or maybe even a chiffney bit for the rearing. You can also try walking faster - if she has to keep moving her feet slightly faster than her normal pace, it might help. Or you could do very unpredictable transitions or backing and lateral work if it's cleared by the vet. The rearing is "behind the leg" and I'd make sure she's going forward at your pace all the time - maybe even bring a stiff whip with you to keep her feet going and out of your space.

I told the owner of the horse I'm helping rehab right now that the goal of rehab is to survive rehab. If you need to pay someone to walk her because they have better energy/control, do it for at least a few days each week. If you have to increase her meds, skip days where there's a lot going on or its windy, walk up and down the aisle instead of the arena...do whatever you can to keep the rehab moving forward in a way you both can survive.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby StraightForward » Fri Mar 08, 2019 1:00 am

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will think through some options. She is actually quite good on the days I do choose to Ace her, but that is not the norm, nor should it be, given that she's already on one drug. It is oral, not the IM, and seemed to be working well up until the past few weeks. I walk her in a hybrid halter, which has the same amount of "bite" as a rope halter with two knots on the nose, but I can be better about keeping her "on task". Waiting to hear back from the vet.
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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby heddylamar » Fri Mar 08, 2019 2:19 am

StraightForward wrote:I walk her in a hybrid halter, which has the same amount of "bite" as a rope halter with two knots on the nose, but I can be better about keeping her "on task".


Have you tried rapid-fire changes of direction, or changes of pace (halt/walk/back)? I'm talking 2-3 strides, then change, repeat ad nauseam, until they're solely focused on you for direction. That works pretty well with my crew.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby StraightForward » Fri Mar 08, 2019 3:00 am

I have been bending her towards me and leg-yielding away, since a bent horse can't bolt.

She was MUCH better tonight. Two little half-rears, but otherwise quite chill. It was warmer today and very quiet at the barn, both of which probably helped. I was also more determined to keep her on task from the start, instead of trying to mitigate after she's already going off the rails. Hopefully we can keep this up and survive a few more weeks.
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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby kande50 » Fri Mar 08, 2019 11:18 am

I've had better luck hand walking explosive horses with side reins and a tie down. They'll still jump around, but restricting their head and neck helps. I sometimes use a halter, but if I need to I'll use a bit.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby tlkidding » Fri Mar 08, 2019 1:34 pm

StraightForward wrote:Thanks for all the suggestions. I will think through some options. She is actually quite good on the days I do choose to Ace her, but that is not the norm, nor should it be, given that she's already on one drug. It is oral, not the IM, and seemed to be working well up until the past few weeks. I walk her in a hybrid halter, which has the same amount of "bite" as a rope halter with two knots on the nose, but I can be better about keeping her "on task". Waiting to hear back from the vet.


Don't feel bad about giving both reserpine and Ace - they do pretty different things for you and the horse. All you are trying to do is get through rehab with a sound horse and without dying yourself. Giving two different meds is not something I would consider "bad" in this scenario. As she moves along in rehab to under saddle work and trotting, she may not need as much or either of the meds anymore.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby StraightForward » Fri Mar 08, 2019 3:45 pm

tlkidding wrote:
StraightForward wrote:Thanks for all the suggestions. I will think through some options. She is actually quite good on the days I do choose to Ace her, but that is not the norm, nor should it be, given that she's already on one drug. It is oral, not the IM, and seemed to be working well up until the past few weeks. I walk her in a hybrid halter, which has the same amount of "bite" as a rope halter with two knots on the nose, but I can be better about keeping her "on task". Waiting to hear back from the vet.


Don't feel bad about giving both reserpine and Ace - they do pretty different things for you and the horse. All you are trying to do is get through rehab with a sound horse and without dying yourself. Giving two different meds is not something I would consider "bad" in this scenario. As she moves along in rehab to under saddle work and trotting, she may not need as much or either of the meds anymore.


It's interesting, there are the drug-shamers and people who are all-in on whatever's needed. There's a thread on CotH now where a person who just adopted an unhandled stallion was getting shade for giving him dorm so they could work on his feet. I don't like to see my horse dopey; I can tell she knows she isn't quite right when she has both drugs on board, so she's hesitant to roll, etc.

Unlike a soft tissue injury, I think she'll get cleared for turnout, and riding will just be about getting her fitness back, so it shouldn't be such a challenge at that point.
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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby piedmontfields » Sat Mar 09, 2019 12:51 am

I agree, the drug perspective is interesting. My bottom line is Do what you need to do to stay safe. With some horses, that is a shocking amount of drugs. Stall rest is really hard on many horses, especially those with more "blood".

I've only had to do this with the current horse once (splint fracture) and honestly she was good enough for my DH to handle as long as he walked her to grass. That's lucky---not necessarily typical.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking

Postby Moutaineer » Sat Mar 09, 2019 4:49 am

I thought that COTH thread was interesting... I mean, really? Keep the humans safe and keep the animals as stress free as possible! So you can tell I'm an "all in on whatever's needed" person, myself. I don't need to be heroic and I don't need to get hurt. This isn't a time for "training," you aren't going to do her any long term damage by giving her whatever is needed to stay safe.

Having said that, I've found that handwalking has always been more safely accomplished, after an appropriate quantity of pharmaceutical happiness, if I've taken the time to groom the horse, put boots and a bridle on and made him feel like he is "going to work."

But it's a double trial in the winter, for sure. I hope she's back to normal horse life soon.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby StraightForward » Thu Mar 14, 2019 3:01 am

UPDATE: found a different farrier and we were able to get to radiographs tonight. The vet was really happy with the healing since 3.5 months ago. I have to travel for work next week, so she'll stay in 10 more days, then we can start doing 5 minutes at a time of trotting, and work up from there.

She said under tack if I think I can do it safely, but that seems doubtful until she gets back into a routine.

For now we've upped her to 2mg of Reserpine, and will drop it back down to 1.5 when I get back from my trip, as she'll be getting Ace to keep the trotting under control. 6 more weeks in the bar/clip shoe, then we'll do one cycle in a bar shoe without clips, and if the rads look good at that point, she can hopefully go back to barefoot.

It is so nice to start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!
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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby Chisamba » Thu Mar 14, 2019 12:34 pm

I am thrilled she is doing better. I read a research paper where 75 % of warmblood foals had broken coffin bones. Of course they are nor carrying full weight so they self healed on no work and turn out. With all the help you have given her, I hope she heals perfectly

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby KathyK » Thu Mar 14, 2019 1:13 pm

Chisamba wrote:I am thrilled she is doing better. I read a research paper where 75 % of warmblood foals had broken coffin bones. Of course they are nor carrying full weight so they self healed on no work and turn out. With all the help you have given her, I hope she heals perfectly

Between this and DSLD, which caused my horse's lameness and ultimate retirement, we have to ask what, if anything, are breeders doing to stem this tide of congenital issues and lamenesses?

In other news, I'm very happy to read your update, StraightForward, and wish you and your horse continued improvement all the way to complete recovery and soundness.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby StraightForward » Thu Mar 14, 2019 1:39 pm

KathyK wrote:
Chisamba wrote:I am thrilled she is doing better. I read a research paper where 75 % of warmblood foals had broken coffin bones. Of course they are nor carrying full weight so they self healed on no work and turn out. With all the help you have given her, I hope she heals perfectly

Between this and DSLD, which caused my horse's lameness and ultimate retirement, we have to ask what, if anything, are breeders doing to stem this tide of congenital issues and lamenesses?

In other news, I'm very happy to read your update, StraightForward, and wish you and your horse continued improvement all the way to complete recovery and soundness.


It's true. I took Tesla on with the OCD chip because the vets agreed it would be easily removable, because I figured I could blow through more money than the cost of surgery on PPEs trying to find another one that otherwise vetted as well as she did. Something like 2/3 of the Hanovarian babies have chips/cysts. I wonder if that would decline if they quit breeding such monster horses? When I bought my previous OLD as a 2 yo, I had almost everything radiographed, and she had no issues; coincidentally she was more old style and topped out at 16H, and never went through any awkward growthy stages.
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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby scruffy the cat » Sat Mar 16, 2019 1:20 pm

KathyK wrote:
Chisamba wrote:I am thrilled she is doing better. I read a research paper where 75 % of warmblood foals had broken coffin bones. Of course they are nor carrying full weight so they self healed on no work and turn out. With all the help you have given her, I hope she heals perfectly

Between this and DSLD, which caused my horse's lameness and ultimate retirement, we have to ask what, if anything, are breeders doing to stem this tide of congenital issues and lamenesses?

In other news, I'm very happy to read your update, StraightForward, and wish you and your horse continued improvement all the way to complete recovery and soundness.


If one reads the breeding forums on FB, the answer is nothing. 99.9% of the posts are about "improving the front end" or similar. The teeny percentage of people who dare to say anything about soundness get shut down with "there's no proof that x condition is inherited". It's completely dispiriting.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby Xanthoria » Wed Mar 20, 2019 7:45 pm

Agreed scruffy. As some of you know I bought a baby who ended up having PSSM and shivers - both of which have a genetic component it's thought, and if tested, we'd see the end of PSSM right quick. But do breeders test? No. The buyer only finds out years later. It's not like congenital issues that kill foals (WFFS) or things registries FINALLY got around to requiring a test for (HYPP) or even obvious physical issues you can see with your own eyes.

Gah.

Anyway, I'm on month 6 of rehab with Baby Bronto for an avulsion fracture of the collateral cartilage. Xrays show it getting WORSE, but he's getting sounder - almost completely sound actually. Vet says start trot work slowly and cross all fingers and toes...

He had a 6 month rehab from another injury at age 2, and for that he was stalled with handwalking and yes daily Ace and a nose chain kept all my fingers and toes from being broken.

Hang in there! Time is a linear event! IOW this too shall pass!

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby StraightForward » Thu Mar 21, 2019 2:33 am

Xan, sorry to hear your guy is in rehab too. You are not nearly as vocally whiny about it as me, I guess!

I let A trot on the lunge 2x before I had to leave town for work. The first day was a little wonky, and she seemed pissed and almost like she was going to charge me, but day 2 was better, and she started sorting her joints out and moving nicely.

Darkest just before dawn and all that. I think I have her dialed in with the 2mg/day of Reserpine, plus 1cc of Ace for working sans freak outs or drunken stumbling, but not sure I want to ride her on that cocktail, so we might be on the lunge for a few more weeks...
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby Xanthoria » Fri Mar 22, 2019 3:17 pm

Darkest before dawn - exactly! Lucky you can lunge too - I’m confined to straight lines and the arena has been closed (rain) so we walk up and down the road interminably. Aaaah!

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby StraightForward » Fri Mar 22, 2019 11:44 pm

My face must have been something when the vet asked if I thought I could introduce trotting under tack. If she straight up reared with me in the tack while drugged, I'm afraid she'd go over.
Not happening, so we're allowed to lunge with the injured leg to the outside.

Sound horse won't be much good to me if I'm dead.
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby StraightForward » Sun Jun 02, 2019 8:48 pm

Aaaand, just as we were getting underway with ridden work, and off the drugs, we have swelling and lameness again. With the vet's blessing, I put her in Tesla's pen so Telsa could have Annabelle's stall to recover from her OCD surgery. Well, Annabelle was in heat, and acting like a total trollop with all the geldings around her, so who knows what she did, but the fetlock and lower tendon area is swollen up almost exactly the same, albeit a little smaller, as when this all started.

I already had the vet scheduled to come out tomorrow for a final radiograph to get clearance on pulling her shoes. Now we get to do a lameness exam and who knows what. At least the weather has dried out enough that I was able to put her back in her stall and let Tesla go back to her pen.

Seriously, I think I need a different hobby, like poking myself in the eye while lighting cash on fire.
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby KathyK » Sun Jun 02, 2019 8:53 pm

Well damn, that's discouraging. I hope the vet gives you reason to hope that there's light at the end of the tunnel.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby Xanthoria » Sun Jun 02, 2019 8:57 pm

I'm so sorry to hear that - I hope against hope that it's simple bruising and you're still on track!

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby scruffy the cat » Sun Jun 02, 2019 9:13 pm

@#$@!ing horses. How many, exactly, does it take to get one that's relatively sound????? I'm so sorry. You know my story- my situation is no better. I also don't know why we do this.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby StraightForward » Sun Jun 02, 2019 9:17 pm

scruffy the cat wrote:@#$@!ing horses. How many, exactly, does it take to get one that's relatively sound????? I'm so sorry. You know my story- my situation is no better. I also don't know why we do this.


Oh, I had a sound one. Only she had zero athletic ability. Maybe not athletic enough to hurt herself? :lol:
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby demi » Sun Jun 02, 2019 9:48 pm

Well dang, SF. So sorry to hear this. Still, it may work out. I don’t mean to sound selfish, but I miss your progress reports on the training forum :cry: I miss Dresseur, too. I am keeping up hope for you all.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby Flight » Sun Jun 02, 2019 10:58 pm

That's not good, hoping it's nothing serious!

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby piedmontfields » Mon Jun 03, 2019 10:55 am

That is not the update we all wanted SF....fingers crossed.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby khall » Mon Jun 03, 2019 11:44 am

Dang SF, hope it is not a big deal and Annabelle will still be on track for work this summer.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby heddylamar » Mon Jun 03, 2019 2:38 pm

Fingers crossed it's something minor.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby scruffy the cat » Mon Jun 03, 2019 2:48 pm

StraightForward wrote:
scruffy the cat wrote:@#$@!ing horses. How many, exactly, does it take to get one that's relatively sound????? I'm so sorry. You know my story- my situation is no better. I also don't know why we do this.


Oh, I had a sound one. Only she had zero athletic ability. Maybe not athletic enough to hurt herself? :lol:


That's how it goes, the sound ones have either zero athletic ability or are so mean that they're also not fun to ride.

:roll: :roll: :roll:

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby Sue B » Mon Jun 03, 2019 5:21 pm

So sorry, SF. Horses are sooooo frustrating sometimes. My friend has been going through similar anguish with her string of horses too for a couple years now. Jingling that this too shall pass.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby Xanthoria » Mon Jun 03, 2019 6:36 pm

scruffy the cat wrote:
StraightForward wrote:
scruffy the cat wrote:@#$@!ing horses. How many, exactly, does it take to get one that's relatively sound????? I'm so sorry. You know my story- my situation is no better. I also don't know why we do this.


Oh, I had a sound one. Only she had zero athletic ability. Maybe not athletic enough to hurt herself? :lol:


That's how it goes, the sound ones have either zero athletic ability or are so mean that they're also not fun to ride.

:roll: :roll: :roll:


Truth. I always used to say "a kind, talented horse isn't long for this world" :cry: but now I just say "they're all lame. ALL. LAME."

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby StraightForward » Mon Jun 03, 2019 6:48 pm

Well, the good news: Coffin bone fracture is healed nicely, and we got the nod to pull shoes. As luck would have it, a shoer was right outside the barn, and agreed to pull the shoes right there. I need to bake that guy some cookies! The bad - ultrasound showed some scarring and new strain on the DDFT. The vet agreed with me that the long toes that have developed while she's been shod (WHY do farriers do this??!!) were doing her no favors and were probably a contributing factor to the re-injury, so with the shoes off, I'll be backing her toes up substantially tonight to reduce strain on the DDFT. So we are doing 2 weeks stall rest/hand walking, alternating standing wrap and applying Surpass. If she is moving better in two weeks, we'll add in a little more exercise, and probably do another ultrasound in a month.

So not the greatest, but not the worst news.
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby KathyK » Mon Jun 03, 2019 7:04 pm

It surely could have been worse news. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she comes through this sound. You know, for 10 minutes, anyway.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby Xanthoria » Mon Jun 03, 2019 7:10 pm

Uuuuuurgh! Farriers!!!! Not the best news no... but not, as you say, the worst.

So glad you can sort the toes out yourself.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby khall » Tue Jun 04, 2019 2:05 am

Jingles Annabelle comes right quickly.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby StraightForward » Tue Jun 04, 2019 2:53 am

Thanks all for the support.

Yeah, farriers, WTF. This was one of the better ones too. The shoes were nicely fitted, but here are the before and afters of getting her toes under control tonight. This is only 4 weeks since this set of shoes went on. I can still do more, but didn't want to make a huge change all in one shot. Pretty much every shod horse I see has underrun heels and overgrown toes on the hinds. I can't fathom why they do this, or how any of the horses stay sound.

Image

Image
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby kande50 » Tue Jun 04, 2019 3:03 pm

StraightForward wrote: The vet agreed with me that the long toes that have developed while she's been shod (WHY do farriers do this??!!)


Farriers don't do it, the hoof does it. I think it's probably a response to peripheral loading, coupled with a continuously weakening hoof--which means that the longer they're shod the faster the toes run out after a reset (as the hoof continues to become weaker).

I've heard hoof geeks call it hoof collapse, or arch collapse.

I nailed winter shoes on my mule in Dec 2018 and saw very little running out at first, but then the toe ran out just a little bit faster with each reset. Had a farrier shoe the dh's horse at the same time, and the horse ran out even faster, which may have been because he had a genetically weaker hoof, or may have been because the farrier trimmed out more sole at the toe to try to get the toes back?

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Re: The Pit of Eternal Despair - AKA Stall Rest/Hand Walking UPDATE

Postby StraightForward » Tue Jun 04, 2019 3:15 pm

It's harder to control with a shoe on, but they trim them this way instead of backing the toes up.
Keep calm and canter on.


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