How to Survive Rehabbing the Lame Horse
Rehabbing Simon back from his soft tissue strain has been an adventure, but I feel like I’m at the point where I’m not too horribly whiny and both feel good about our progress and his happiness. Stall rest, hand walking and all that jazz isn’t super fun but I’ve developed some survival techniques that have helped me cope and make the best of the situation
When you can do, you must do
I feel like a lot of rehab and stall rest is a combination of patience and a mental game. The mental game part is don’t let yourself get too caught up or upset (I’m famous for this), and something that has really helped me is going the extra mile when I can. Before our hand walking, I put liniment on both his hocks. After he first got hurt I put him on a joint & ligament supplement for extra support. When he started showing signs of grouchiness, I started a round of ulcer treatment. Is the liniment going to heal him faster? No. Am I 100% certain that he has ulcers? No. Do I feel better knowing I’m doing everything I can to make him the healthiest and happiness he can be right now? Absolutely.
Use this time to fuel your Instagram problem
If you can’t ride your beautiful horse, you might as well photograph him a lot – right? Plus, horse loving tweens everywhere will like your pictures and send comments, bonus!
Don’t forget, your vet is here to help.
For someone like me who is at work most days the vet is out for maintenance work or other visits, it can be hard to remember that they are a great asset. Your vet knows your horse. The internet does not know your horse. If you have an inclination to google everything (which is dangerous… you might come across a silly site like mine), maybe call your vet first. When I was worried about ulcers and needed to get some Ace for his stall walking, I had a great convo with my vet. She told me that alfalfa hay is a great choice for feeding stall rest horses, because it helps ph levels in the stomach. Who knew? Oh right, the vet did.
Without all that silly training, you can teach your horse new tricks
Like how to hand walk themselves – brilliant!
Most importantly – remember this is temporary.
Soon, you’ll be back to normal and the months you spent resting and rehabbing will not only strengthen your horse’s ligament but also your relationship!
7 thoughts on “How to Survive Rehabbing the Lame Horse”
Pictures are very therapeutic 🙂 you are right…google its highly addictive, but bad news (especially google pictures!). Good job taking the rehab slowly. I am so impatient.
Me too. Patience is easier said than done!
Haha, cute video! Tricks are a great way to bond and give your horse some mental stimulation while they are on stall rest. I do a touch game a lot with Shy. We walk around and I make her touch scary or different things with her nose. I have also taught her a handful of tricks.
Thanks! I’d like to teach him more tricks, but need to do some research on clicker training.
One day at a time …
Love the video! Simon is sooo cute!
While excessive stomach acid secretion certainly plays a role in the development of ulcers, a relatively recent theory holds that bacterial infection is the primary cause of peptic ulcers. Indeed, research conducted since the mid-1980s has persuasively demonstrated that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is present in more than 90% of duodenal ulcers and about 80% of stomach ulcers.,-…
Until next time
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