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AUTUMN 2012 ISSUE
EQUINE MATTERS
10
CONTROLLED EXERCISE
Veterinary Nurse
Sarah Holmes
XLVets Equine Practice
Alnorthumbria
Veterinary Group
Sarah Holmes RVN REVN
, Alnorthumbria Veterinary Group
3. Apply 2-3 layers of rolled cotton
wool to the limb, for padding and
further protection.
NURSING FEATURE...
Managing your horse on
controlled exercise after
box rest
It is important to have a controlled
exercise programme for your horse
after it has had a period of box rest as
the ligaments, tendons and muscles of
the horse can become weak and
slack. To prevent any recurrence of
injury, or further injury to the horse,
there needs to be a controlled build
up programme before returning to full
exercise, or before turn out to pasture.
Preparation of the horse:
●
feet trimmed and re-shod if normally
shod
- to prevent feet breaking up;
●
physiotherapy
- help stimulate the muscles
which may have become tight from
standing in a stable;
●
saddle
- have the saddle fit checked as
there will have been some muscle loss
over the saddle region.
Safety and management
Safety of you is important as some horses can
‘explode’ on the first time out of the box as
they can see this as a break for freedom after
being encased in four walls.
The following equipment should be used
when handling the horse:-
●
bridle or chiffney
●
lunge line
●
riding hat
●
gloves
●
over reach boots
●
tendon boots.
Avoid taking the horse out for the first time
on a windy/blustery day as this can raise
excitement levels.
It may be safer with some horses to start
exercise under saddle rather than in-hand.
Diet
Feed the horse on a convalescence diet
without adding in any carbohydrates and
starch to prevent the horse from becoming
over excited (fizzy) and also to reduce
the risk of the horse suffering from
exertional rhabdomyolysis (ERM/'tying up'
/'azoturia') as it is brought back into work.
Adding calming supplements such as
magnesium or tryptophan may help to
prevent th horse from becoming over
excited on the first time out of the stable.
Drugs
If your horse is particularly excitable, a
sedative called acepromazine (ACP) can be
administered prior to the first time out of the
stable. If necessary it can be used at a high
dose for the first time out and can then be
gradually reduced over a couple of days
once the horse has settled into a routine.
Speak to your vet and they will be able to
advise if its use would be appropriate and
what dose to use.
Exercise
Walk exercise should normally be started for
short periods of about five minutes and slowly
built up. Fitting this into a busy day's work can
sometimes be hard to do. There are other
options which after discussion with your vet
could be introduced to the exercise programme:
Horse walker
- allows you to do other jobs
while your horse is being exercised, but check
first with your vet as this may not be suitable
in the early stages following an injury.
Swimming
- if there is a horse pool locally a
short period in the pool can be equivalent to
half an hour of walk exercise and it reduces
the strain on joints and ligaments.
Rehabilitation centres
- these can be found
around the country where the horse could be
sent to follow a rehabilitation programme.
Facilities may include:
●
treadmill exercise
●
swimming
●
solarium
●
different types of surfaces to prevent
exertion on the injury.
Pictures supplied by Ivy House Stables