Bowed Tendons and Training

[loupope]

In bringng back a runner from this injury, what type training track is best?
Any race tracks to stay away from?
Any input/discussion would be appreciated.
-----------------
Rest assured, I am not interested in abusing a horse.
I asked this to hopefully gain some insight on condition of tracks and which ones are better suited to injury prone runners. I realize horses can injure themselves at any time on any surface. Thanks for the good input.

[FancyHorse]

I don't really think its the TRACK that matters, if the training and the medication you are using and how well the horse comes back from the tendon. I currenty have a horse with a HUGE bowe. We've spent at least 6 months with medication and training. I do gallop him a pretty decent pace as long as he holds up and work him as long as he's able. With tendons its all luck and chance, not the track.

[wilf]

Stay away from any track surface that is either too dry and cuppy or too wet and greasy when doing stronger pacework. Any surface that hinders the horses action will compromise the flexion of the tendon and may bring about another problem. Time will heal the injury completely but you should try and avoid any irregular track surfaces while you are on the comeback trail. Lots of luck! Wilf.

[TBLADY]

I have dealt with more of these hroses then I care to mention in my life. Proper shoeing and making sure the horse is at an angle where the injury is porperly supported. Also no TOE GRABS for some time. I slowly introduce shoes...starting with a wide web alum. shoe like used but must hunter horses. With no grabs or big creases. You need to offer support not too much grab and traction. I also start the horse out under saddle at the walk and work him through walk trot transitions for the first week...extanding the time longer and longer each work. Then more trot work until the hrose has become more fit...also not a bad idea to teach the horse to NOT go on his forhand...get him to be more useful wil his honches...now hes ready to start canter work with very light gallop work. Remember changes through this process need to gradual as the horse becomes more fit. There is a wonderful book out written by Tom Ivers "The Bowed Tendon Book" I think its called....very helpful. I work with horses going back into training as well as off the track horses and have personally owned 2 ex racers who become great dressage horses (talk about the ultimate workout for the Deep Digital Flexor tendon!!!)The first horse became a Prix St Geo horse ans was also a track record holder at Belmont on the turf at one time and the other is a 2nd level horse with not only a bow but screws in the opposit ankle.

I take a differnt approach to rehab. Slow, steady. and adding fittness and strength will bring you more SPEED in the end.

Slow and stead is the key, though I have found I can pretty much bring a horse back from a bow if it was treaded properly and given the right time to set and heal in about the same amount of time needed to get a horse fit for a start after a lay off. Good Luck!

PS if you can start this horse on an arena surface and not something as heavy as the track at first you will be better off. Get him as fit as possible BEFORE he goes to the track and once at the track....TROT work and let the lesions in the tendon stretch instead of TEAR.

[EquisAmicas]

In bringng back a runner from this injury, what type training track is best?
Any race tracks to stay away from?
Any input/discussion would be appreciated.

Experience of working w/ former employers as a groom) , horses are very good teachers, better than any human I ever met. A bow is: a life threatening permanent damage and a visible reminder that whats done is done. It takes "discipline" not to set that horse up for failure, anymore . The racetrack is no place for a "Unsound " horse.They do quite well retired out in the pasture and they do respect your decisions for looking after their welfare. After all, they are not running free they are a "Captive creature". And yes a bow is painful , no matter how small it may look.

[TBLADY]

So what you are saying is ALL horses with ANY injury should be retired? Yeah right! Not all horses with an injury are UNSOUND. Not all SLIGHTLY knots and bumps are an indicator of unsoundness either.

[EquisAmicas]

So what you are saying is ALL horses with ANY injury should be retired? Yeah right! Not all horses with an injury are UNSOUND. Not all SLIGHTLY knots and bumps are an indicator of unsoundness either.

Unfortuantely horses with bows cannot carry their weight like they could before. Plain and simple. Some people try and sneak a horse to the track and run them with bows, thats immoral.Those are the people, I am going after. Kudos to you, for being so aware of a what a horse CAN and CANNOT DO>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Too lighten you up, I rehabilitate injured horses for a living. When a former race horse leaves my hands, the reg/papers stay w/ me (copy) and the original are mailed back to the Jockey Club and declared. Peoples feelings at that point our of no concern to me.
I must share with you ............ that pic you have posted w/ the foal and its Mama , is sweet, is that your horse? I only own 1 and that is enough for me. She is my best friend, a survivor of a colic surgery when she was 3 and now she is 8. Dark chocolate in color w/ a white strip and one whlite hind foot., the hair inside her ears is "cream colored" ,very unique individual.

[Intrinsic Worth]

Plenty of horses with old bowed tendons still race. There's been plenty of advancement in treatment for tendon injuries.

[TBLADY]

I dont know how many EX injuried race horses you really deal with...but you need to lighten up! I have a gelding now with a bow...he also has 3 screws in an ankle and he is a 2nd level dressage horse and was a successful runner AFTER his injuries. GUESS WHAT? HES SOUND! Theres a major difference between a LIFE THREATENING INJURY and one that is MANAGABLE! 9 times out of 10 a BOW is managable. Being an ex track rider after 13 yrs...I have ridden a SHITLOAD of horse..more with injuries then without. MANAGABLE injury means being smart enough to know how to deal with the injury, its onset and its proper rehabilitation...and returning the horse to a performance level he will be comfortable at. But to say he should be retired as a result of any injury is not reasonable. I guess I didnt need to graduate from Cornell as a state board certified Vet. Tech to figure this out...huh?

So what you are saying is ALL horses with ANY injury should be retired? Yeah right! Not all horses with an injury are UNSOUND. Not all SLIGHTLY knots and bumps are an indicator of unsoundness either.

Unfortuantely horses with bows cannot carry their weight like they could before. Plain and simple. Some people try and sneak a horse to the track and run them with bows, thats immoral.Those are the people, I am going after. Kudos to you, for being so aware of a what a horse CAN and CANNOT DO>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Too lighten you up, I rehabilitate injured horses for a living. When a former race horse leaves my hands, the reg/papers stay w/ me (copy) and the original are mailed back to the Jockey Club and declared. Peoples feelings at that point our of no concern to me.
I must share with you ............ that pic you have posted w/ the foal and its Mama , is sweet, is that your horse? I only own 1 and that is enough for me. She is my best friend, a survivor of a colic surgery when she was 3 and now she is 8. Dark chocolate in color w/ a white strip and one whlite hind foot., the hair inside her ears is "cream colored" ,very unique individual.

[cewright]

I have been amazed at how effective stem cell treatment has been in helping horses with tendon injuies. My daughter is taking reining lessons on a horse that recovered from a very serious (formerly career ending) injury in 12 weeks.

www.vet-stem.com

I know this treatment is expensive and will not help every horse but recent advances in animal health care are mind-boggling. In the case of the horse my daughter is riding, the stem cells were extracted from the adipose tissue above its tail. They were then concentrated and reinjected at the site of the injury. Amazing stuff!

[FancyHorse]

A bow is: a life threatening permanent damage and a visible reminder that whats done is done. It takes "discipline" not to set that horse up for failure, anymore . The racetrack is no place for a "Unsound " horse.

HA! 99% of racehorses are unsound! They have some form of injury somewhere, racing is hard work on their joints how could they not have injuries. If we retired all the racehorses with some injury, racing would not exist. Most are treatable and live a normal life. A bow is only life threatening if the tendon tears completely off!!

Some people try and sneak a horse to the track and run them with bows, thats immoral.Those are the people, I am going after.

SNEAK! LOL You don't have to sneak any unsound horse in the track and run them! DUH!!!! All the horse has to do is jog sound for the vet in the morning for it to be allowed to run that night, as far as at race time, its up to the jockey to feel the horse out and determine if he wants to ride it! I have a horse who has a very large old bow. He is sound on it, but it still shows a bow. I gallop him myself and he doesn't show me any pain while galloping, jogging, or when i squeeze his tendon! Don't get me wrong, I am not for racing a horse that is showing pain and discomfort, but if the problem area is not bothering him and he is staying sound, then why not.

[EquisAmicas]

I dont know how many EX injuried race horses you really deal with...but you need to lighten up! I have a gelding now with a bow...he also has 3 screws in an ankle and he is a 2nd level dressage horse and was a successful runner AFTER his injuries. GUESS WHAT? HES SOUND! Theres a major difference between a LIFE THREATENING INJURY and one that is MANAGABLE! 9 times out of 10 a BOW is managable. Being an ex track rider after 13 yrs...I have ridden a SHITLOAD of horse..more with injuries then without. MANAGABLE injury means being smart enough to know how to deal with the injury, its onset and its proper rehabilitation...and returning the horse to a performance level he will be comfortable at. But to say he should be retired as a result of any injury is not reasonable. I guess I didnt need to graduate from Cornell as a state board certified Vet. Tech to figure this out...huh?
Why are the screws still in the horses ankle? He is not sound. Screws are synthetic fixtures and are a foreign substance. There should be bone mass (grown back) in the screws place,before the word sound comes to mind. Screws are solid and bone is alive growing tissue. As they get older , problems arise from the screws and it is not very fun for the horse! I can feel your frustrations................thru the email.............dealing with rehabilitated horses can be very wearing ond tiring. Its tough to watch a horse suffer and struggle.Just when YOU think its gonna be ok, bang!

So what you are saying is ALL horses with ANY injury should be retired? Yeah right! Not all horses with an injury are UNSOUND. Not all SLIGHTLY knots and bumps are an indicator of unsoundness either.

Unfortuantely horses with bows cannot carry their weight like they could before. Plain and simple. Some people try and sneak a horse to the track and run them with bows, thats immoral.Those are the people, I am going after. Kudos to you, for being so aware of a what a horse CAN and CANNOT DO>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Too lighten you up, I rehabilitate injured horses for a living. When a former race horse leaves my hands, the reg/papers stay w/ me (copy) and the original are mailed back to the Jockey Club and declared. Peoples feelings at that point our of no concern to me.
I must share with you ............ that pic you have posted w/ the foal and its Mama , is sweet, is that your horse? I only own 1 and that is enough for me. She is my best friend, a survivor of a colic surgery when she was 3 and now she is 8. Dark chocolate in color w/ a white strip and one whlite hind foot., the hair inside her ears is "cream colored" ,very unique individual.

[EquisAmicas]

A bow is: a life threatening permanent damage and a visible reminder that whats done is done. It takes "discipline" not to set that horse up for failure, anymore . The racetrack is no place for a "Unsound " horse.

HA! 99% of racehorses are unsound! They have some form of injury somewhere, racing is hard work on their joints how could they not have injuries. If we retired all the racehorses with some injury, racing would not exist. Most are treatable and live a normal life. A bow is only life threatening if the tendon tears completely off!!

Some people try and sneak a horse to the track and run them with bows, thats immoral.Those are the people, I am going after.

SNEAK! LOL You don't have to sneak any unsound horse in the track and run them! DUH!!!! All the horse has to do is jog sound for the vet in the morning for it to be allowed to run that night, as far as at race time, its up to the jockey to feel the horse out and determine if he wants to ride it! I have a horse who has a very large old bow. He is sound on it, but it still shows a bow. I gallop him myself and he doesn't show me any pain while galloping, jogging, or when i squeeze his tendon! Don't get me wrong, I am not for racing a horse that is showing pain and discomfort, but if the problem area is not bothering him and he is staying sound, then why not.

If your in SCal, go ask Jack VanBerg about running a horse with a bow . He tell you "A bow is a bow". Trouble on the horizon.
A bow is the first sign of damage and the worst is yet to come. I know that I will not run a horse with any visible signs of a bow, why , because I can..................Of course horses get sore. But there is a difference between getting sore and getting injured. There is always another sound horse to take the injured horses place. If its day money your after, your in the wrong business. Thats what the biggest problem in racing is. Gotta have that day money. Unless a horse is pulled and tested you could be riding a death warrant with all crap out there today(to deal with the injury not the soreness), its a shame.

[EquisAmicas]

I have been amazed at how effective stem cell treatment has been in helping horses with tendon injuies. My daughter is taking reining lessons on a horse that recovered from a very serious (formerly career ending) injury in 12 weeks.

www.vet-stem.com

I know this treatment is expensive and will not help every horse but recent advances in animal health care are mind-boggling. In the case of the horse my daughter is riding, the stem cells were extracted from the adipose tissue above its tail. They were then concentrated and reinjected at the site of the injury. Amazing stuff!

Unfortunately I saw a horse leave this farm I am working on after stem cell and GO BACK TO THE TRACK.............he should have went to his pasture . It only costs less then 100 a month to maintain him. Whats a hundred bucks for a horses happiness to just hang out with ya. You want to ride, go get a sound horse.
He's done........................and in a lot of pain, till he dies. Fill him up with lots of pain killers and poison his system slowly, for what .
I hope that your horse is under scrutiny and that you listen and watch his body language. Your little girl's safety is in the horses hands,(hooves I should say). Is he happy ? How does he carry his head and his ears. Is he grumpy, pinning his ears sometimes?
The horse I mentioned earlier , his ears were pinned most of the time , he was unhappy and sore because of his injury. I feel sorry for him.

[TBLADY]

You must have one hell of a facility to care for all of the injuried horses in the world who you say are not sound. I guess the efforts of some of the finest Vets in the world are all for not...since NONE of these horses could ever possibly be sound EVER. They should all be on pasture?

Are you sure you are from EARTH? You better check cause you live in some sort of dream world.

I broke my arm in 25 places beween my wrist and my elbow...I have 2 plates, 13 screws and started with 5 pins now only have 2 left. Outside of the removal of 3 pins I still have all of the hardware...and will for life. I still ride, drive, lift, throw a soft ball all things I did PRE INJURY...I consider myself SOUND. But according to you I'm not....because I have metal in my body for reinforcement...HUMMMM I'll call my surgeon and tell her (when shes done working on the Cleveland Cavs players, and Cleveland Browns and the Cleveland Indians players) She should just retire them as they will never be sound again...PICK OUT A PASTURE BOYS!

WHATEVER!

I dont know how many EX injuried race horses you really deal with...but you need to lighten up! I have a gelding now with a bow...he also has 3 screws in an ankle and he is a 2nd level dressage horse and was a successful runner AFTER his injuries. GUESS WHAT? HES SOUND! Theres a major difference between a LIFE THREATENING INJURY and one that is MANAGABLE! 9 times out of 10 a BOW is managable. Being an ex track rider after 13 yrs...I have ridden a SHITLOAD of horse..more with injuries then without. MANAGABLE injury means being smart enough to know how to deal with the injury, its onset and its proper rehabilitation...and returning the horse to a performance level he will be comfortable at. But to say he should be retired as a result of any injury is not reasonable. I guess I didnt need to graduate from Cornell as a state board certified Vet. Tech to figure this out...huh?
Why are the screws still in the horses ankle? He is not sound. Screws are synthetic fixtures and are a foreign substance. There should be bone mass (grown back) in the screws place,before the word sound comes to mind. Screws are solid and bone is alive growing tissue. As they get older , problems arise from the screws and it is not very fun for the horse! I can feel your frustrations................thru the email.............dealing with rehabilitated horses can be very wearing ond tiring. Its tough to watch a horse suffer and struggle.Just when YOU think its gonna be ok, bang!

So what you are saying is ALL horses with ANY injury should be retired? Yeah right! Not all horses with an injury are UNSOUND. Not all SLIGHTLY knots and bumps are an indicator of unsoundness either.

Unfortuantely horses with bows cannot carry their weight like they could before. Plain and simple. Some people try and sneak a horse to the track and run them with bows, thats immoral.Those are the people, I am going after. Kudos to you, for being so aware of a what a horse CAN and CANNOT DO>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Too lighten you up, I rehabilitate injured horses for a living. When a former race horse leaves my hands, the reg/papers stay w/ me (copy) and the original are mailed back to the Jockey Club and declared. Peoples feelings at that point our of no concern to me.
I must share with you ............ that pic you have posted w/ the foal and its Mama , is sweet, is that your horse? I only own 1 and that is enough for me. She is my best friend, a survivor of a colic surgery when she was 3 and now she is 8. Dark chocolate in color w/ a white strip and one whlite hind foot., the hair inside her ears is "cream colored" ,very unique individual.