Hummy's Recouperation Programme

Unable to lock Hummy up away from the other horses (no room in the barn during lambing and calving) the next best option for him is to start him on a ridden excercise programme to try and harden up the leg and increase the blood flow to the ligament with gentle sustained excercise in straight lines. Basically a programme of walking for increasing periods for about 3 weeks and see how he copes. If he is ok then to increase further and introduce a little trot work still all in straight lines. This will take a long time up to a year (he has already been off for nearly a year!) but I should be able to introduce work on line so long as it isn't small circles and turns etc. If he does't cope we will have to find some way to lock him up for 3 months and do the shockwave treatment.

Day one: saddled up halter on checked yields and rope arounds mounted half way. Hummy seemed fine so mounted properly. checked yields again and direct and indirect turns carfully and slowly he seemed fine just a bit impatient to go so we went. He was a real gentleman! A little unconfident in himself , would rather follow the others than lead but happy with me up top. There was heat in the ligament when we were done with ten mins road walk but I think that is the point the excercise increases blood flow which will create heat but aid healing. It was fine and not filled next day. He was really affectionate after.
Day 2: Saddled up another ten mins walk better than day one, more confident. Ligament the same.
Day 3: I can't beleive this horse he is so light I think stop he stops before i pick up the reins, iI think back up pand it is done! He hasn't been ridden for a year!.... Much straighter than yesterday and confidence back he was happy to stride out in the lead today. Again heat at the end of the ride but no filling later or the next day so things seem to be going as planned. Hummy is enjoying going out on rides again and is there waiting to be saddled up. I love that horse sooo much!

Some of my Artwork

Progress with Hummy's injury.

Hummy had his xrays and MRI scans today there was good news and bad. His R hock injury is healing well and he doesn' t currently need further treatment on it so long as it continues as is. Even though todays xrays showed a small fracture there, the joint and fracture is fusing as expected he has good movement there and we have reversed the bone loss he was showing 6 months ago. He is still getting mild pain on this leg though. However, the MRI scans showed that the tweak he gave the left suspensory ligament ten days ago was serious and the damage far worse than when it was scanned 6 months ago. So prognosis for full recovery still not good. Vet is now recommending that we lock him up with a companion away from the others. ie in the cattle barns with LS for 3 months and give him intensive shock wave theropy for 2 weeks to try and speed up the healing process. The way the vet explained it, the inflamed ligament is boxed in between bone and tendons and the swelling causes pressure as it has nowhere to go, this reduces blood flow and hence reduces/slows the healing process. The shock wave treatment stirs everything up again which increases blood flow to promote healing but he has to be kept quiet and relatively imobile for it to work. This is his best chance of ever being able to do any kind of collection/finess/dressage in the distant future. Got to speak to the vet again tomorrow, he is getting another opinion on the scans/xrays again to make sure his prognosis is the best we can do. He is not in favour of operating on the ligament as over the last 8 years they have had a better % of successes of horses remaining sound and working again without the opp but with a much longer recuperation period.