Mr Stand-in
We took Zippy to Jazz's showjump training booking today because Jazz isn't fit to go. He was very good, but he really wasn't going to give me a canter on the correct lead. He kept on and on counter cantering. So I turned him across the middle to get him onto the right leg by changing the rein and what did he do then? A flying change, that's what, and back into counter canter!
We got some nice canter circles eventually and then we popped him over a fence which we put up to just over two feet, bit by bit. There was a clear point where he suddenly understood the mechanics of "a jump" and popped it properly. From then on he was happy with the idea. He's very economical, though he should gorw in strength a huge amount yet and may yet feel a lot more powerful than he does now.
Jazz continues to be a worry. It's unclear where the lameness is. He appears to be moving as if he is trying to avoid stretching the tendon. But that movement is also what you get if they don't want to roll the weight onto their toe (as in lamintis). And the tendon stretches under the navicular bone, so if he has bruised that then it would create the same result. The big worry is that I can feel a tiny "deviation" in the line of his tendon, but there is nowhere near enough heat in it, if any at all, to account for lameness as severe as he has.
I would keep him in to rest the tendon, except that I know he will do it more damage with fretting from being inside than he will quietly grazing in the field. I have bandaged it to try and get the filling out of it so that we can get a clear feel of the tendons. To make things even more confusing he doesn't have any serious heat in the foot either, though he does have a big pulse in the leg. We have no option but to wait for a few days to see what happens, I think. If nothing has changed by then, we'll need x-rays and tendon scans to find out what has happened. I'm very unhappy at the moment, after all this work a minor tendon injury could put us back a whole year. But I do tend always to look on the black side, so let's hope that's what I'm doing this time.
C
posted by cptrayes @ 2:10 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Fingers crossed for Jazz. I truly hope it is not a tendon.
May I ask you, why you are not calling the vet now?
We had a young horse coming lame from the field. The YO called the vet, and he diagnosed a "torn" tendon not sure of the right name in English, basically he had a small hole in the tendon.
It might be worth to call the vet sooner than later.
Your horses are insured, unlike in Italy wher we pay all from our pocket ...
There is nothing a vet can do if it's a minor tendon injury Muriel. He doesn't have heat or swelling which would justify bute to stop the inflammation from causing more damage, because there is no inflammation that I can find.
There are no drugs which they would prescribe for an unconfirmed tendon strain. The only thing that we could do is scan the tendons and x-ray the foot.
Right now he has more symptoms of a foot bruise or a foot abcess than he does of a tendon strain. If I called a vet I would be told to rest him and see what happens, and that's what I'm doing. Neither of the alternative possible causes (tendon strain or broken bone in the foot) will be made any worse by resting him for a few days, so it is better to wait to see if it resolves.
If he has broken a bone in his foot, I wouldn't have it operated on, so again rest is the only treatment.
What was the treatment for the torn tendon? (It's the same description in England by the way.) With an injury as slight as Jazz has, if he has one at all, the treatment would just be rest, which is what we are doing.
The only thing I'd gain by scans and x-rays right now is a resolution to my concerns, one way or the other. I don't think that's worth the fees. If I thought it would help him one bit, I would have it done, but the only person it would make any difference to to know the cause is me. He's not insured, and I'm not worth it :-)
C
Well, on the positive note, I have had horses with abscesses and no really noticeable heat or pulse. So maybe that will help.
The bandaging should help you assess things better. My rule is to wait three days--unless I know the cause--and if there is no significant change, I call the vet.
As for Zip, I am not sure what you mean by his being "economical." If that means not making a huge effort, that is a very good sign to me. IF the fences are not a challenge and he recognizes that, then he has confidence in getting over with no trouble. A horse like that should be easy to train as well because he will not get overly excited about jumping so the gymnastic work "sticks" better in his brain.
oh dear. don't know what to say.. hope it's not a tendon but .... a bruise would surely start healing quicker..?oh dear..
but good news about the zip
That's what I meant Jean. It could be a very great positive, and it matches his attitude to most physical activity, that he has great scope but he doesn't overstress himself in the delivery.
It's not looking good Claire. There's no sign of anything in the foot and there is a very, very slight kink in the tendon. I think I can feel some very slight heat and I'm a very unhappy bunny. He's bandaged on both legs tonight and if there's no change in the morning then I will be ringing the vet tomorrow and arranging a scan for Friday if I can. Then if it's a tendon tweak, therapeutic (as opposed to diagnostic - much more powerful I think) ultrasound is producing very good results in horses, so we'll go for that. I have the contact already from a friend of mine.
I'm off to sulk now - what do I do to deserve all this stuff that happens to my horses, eh? Fifteen months of training and he comes right only to tweak himself playing in the field. Is that sod's law or what!
C
it is sod's law... have a hug! (we still need proper emoticons on blogger....)
Never rain's but it pours!
Really hope it doesnt turn out to be a tendon but its not sounding good is it.
I must admit unless its hanging off I tend to use my judgement and try rest before anything else. Vets run a business at the end of the day and its in their interests to run test after test to 'confirm' whats going on. I always ask what do they think is going on then if its x,y or z how would they treat it ...quite often its the same outcome!
I used to work in a vet's so I know how they operate(pardon the pun).
Nicola
I needed that hug thanks Claire!
Nicola I'm as cynical as you. I've had the same experience - we'll test for x and y. What'sthe treatment for x? Rest. What's the treatment for y? Rest. So why do we need to do a test then?
C.
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