Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

[RC] re Lucy C Trumbull's soft tissue injury question -- any answers? - Karen Bratcher

Did anyone ever answer Lucy's question on 10/22/03 re soft tissue injuries?  If so I didn't see any of the answers... and I am interested also.
 
I did a lot of conditioning riding this year on my two horses, the gelding went out every time whether ponied or ridden, the aged mare was more often ponied than ridden but did almost as many miles.  Completed two 25s and a 50 on the gelding, did not compete on the mare.  Five weeks ago a friend was riding the mare and I noticed as we went downhill (an easy grade, not steep) she stumbled in the rear a couple times like perhaps she knuckled over too far with a hind foot.  That pastern/fetlock swelled up, but she never was lame or even seemed to favor it at all.
 
The gelding threw a fit for no particular reason while tied, lashed out behind and connected with a heavy duty steel corral panel bar about halfway up the cannon in back.  It swelled immediately and he held it tightly squinched up under his belly in pain for a few minutes, but then started putting weight on it and within half an hour was walking normally on it.  After that initial pain, he never favored it.
 
We bandaged both these injured legs and poured some "Draw" brand name liquid down that my friend gave me.  I had to trailer home (400 miles) the next day, and kept them bandaged 6 days continuing to pour more Draw down daily.  There was still some minor heat and swelling when I pulled the bandages off, much less than initially; but within three weeks I could detect no difference between the injured and uninjured legs.
 
The horses race around the pasture as always, bucking, sliding, doing rollbacks etc, and have never favored the injured legs at all.  I am wondering if it's okay to start riding them slowly again, or should I give them the winter off completely?  With the weather and work, I would probably only be riding twice a week, 5-10 miles a ride.  I don't plan on my first endurance ride til the beginning of June next year... I'd love to go to Home on the Range at the end of March, but ice usually precludes any riding here in January-February; and there are no other rides within reasonable (for me) driving distance til June.
 
Thanks for any advice/opinions,
 
Karen Bratcher
Athol, Idaho