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  Discussion on Integration to pasture after stall rest
Author Message
Member:
Cpacer

Posted on Friday, Mar 11, 2005 - 1:52 pm:

Does anyone have advice on how to put a horse back out to daytime pasture after a month of stall rest, without having him spaz-out and reinjure himself? I know the first thing he'll do is put on the running bronco show.

The smallest pasture at my boarding facility is about a 1/4 acre and they don't have a round pen.

I'm open to all suggestions as I look forward to finally setting free the recovering crippled prisoner from solitary confinement before he becomes depressed. (yes i'm being dramatic but you should see him)
Member:
Chohler

Posted on Friday, Mar 11, 2005 - 3:47 pm:

They all like to put on a rodeo show when turned back out. The best thing you can do is limit his time and have him supervised and then increase his time out.
Member:
Cpacer

Posted on Friday, Mar 11, 2005 - 4:17 pm:

It's the limited time, or first 10 minutes that I'm worried about. I'm fishing for a creative solution or training tactic to make it seem like no big deal.
Member:
Brandi

Posted on Friday, Mar 11, 2005 - 10:06 pm:

I have some recent experience with this as my 9-months-in-a-stall boy is getting turned out now in a 30x30. Though much smaller than your 1/4 acre, it's still plenty big enough to play bucking bronc!

Here's what I do...since mine is on rehab of 1 hour of riding that includes, at the moment, 10 minutes of trotting, I always turn him out after the ride so he is tired, I make sure he's pretty darn hungry, and on good grass--fortunately I have a good section of grass set up with several 30x30 electric pens for him, so he's got a very inviting snack beckoning him. I lead him into the middle of the pen (not near the gate), and let him start to graze as I quietly take his halter off, sometimes offering him a cookie or something. The cookie thing is something I do frequently so my horses almost never think of the halter coming off as a time to get away, but rather as a time to hang around. This process has worked beautifully for my horse, so much so that even when I "break the rules" and turn him into my 100x60 grassy area, he remains calm as long as I follow these steps. When I don't, he teaches me quickly the error of my ways. I did lots of sessions of hand grazing prior to the turning out, so that might be an important part of the conditioning process--let the horse get into the habit of being out there, grazing, so that the first time the halter comes off, he doesn't really realize how different things are.

Ultimately though, I think once he realizes the freedom--especially with that much space, he's going to "enjoy" it to the fullest, whether you like it or not. But hopefully not with quite the same outburst you would get without going through all of this.

Good luck.
Member:
Imogen

Posted on Saturday, Mar 12, 2005 - 5:12 am:

I think it depends on the horse.

I have an excitable eventing type mare who had a very bad wire cut injury a few years ago that required 11 weeks stall confinement. The vet told me to turn her out in a small paddock the first time which I did with a supposedly sensible pony for companionship. She want completely bananas and went straight through two wire fences fortunately without injuring herself. She had the pony wired to the moon as well.

Another time I would have put her in a nice big field with natural not wire fences because I also think galloping in small circles is not a great idea for the convalescent gee gee. Make sure the companion animal is bomb proof.

All the best

Imogen
Member:
Brandi

Posted on Saturday, Mar 12, 2005 - 4:50 pm:

Imogen brings up a great point. I would put a lazy mellow horse in an adjoining pen if possible. Any time my other horses move too far away, my "patient" gets exited and starts bucking and running in those small circles, but never when another horse is nearby.
Member:
Cmitch

Posted on Saturday, Mar 12, 2005 - 5:40 pm:

I like the idea of handgrazing at least 1 week before you turnout. My guy is on stall rest, and (unless it is windy---we made that mistake and he went vertical on me :-( ), we hand graze him 15-30 minutes a day. I have been told that once he gets the "OK", that I should ride him a couple weeks, until he is worked up to the trot, then turn out, so if he does run or anything, at least he is somewhat in shape. I will also ACE my guy first 2-3 times out. ALso, not sure where you live, but here in VA, SPring is around the corner (at least it should be), so I was thinking the warm weather and green grass should make a difference, so I will hold out. They are just far more UP on a cold day. I have noticed that with my guy being on stall rest for 60 days. Warm days, he just is so mellow and sleeps in his stall, but if he gets a whiff of that brisk air...... look out- Good luck! Let me know what you decide to do.. I have also been told to "Turn him out" in our indoor first, since it is good footing, but I don't necessarily agree with that, cuz ther eis nothing to eat, only place to run around. Some people have done that with success, though. PLease share how your horse does, because I will be in the same position hopefully soon.
Member:
Cpacer

Posted on Saturday, Mar 12, 2005 - 7:23 pm:

FOOD! Now why didn't I think of that? These are all good suggestions and the "sick horse" pastures at the ranch are set-up in a neighborly way to accomodate a mellow friend.

You're sure right about that wind Cindy! I'm a little south of you in NC and we've been having some major gusts--certainly not helping in calming anyone down. I've been hand grazing ever since he's been cooped up so I'm glad to be on a recommended path there.

The vet's coming for his weekly check-up on Friday so hopefully we'll get the okay then (if it's not windy and cold of course). I'm sure some running won't be avoided but I appreciate the ideas on ways to soften the initial excitement--i'll let you know what we do and how it goes.

Through all this I've also wondered if he would have been the same off if just left alone in the pasture for the month or so. I know that's what some folks do, then you don't have to worry about isolation and freak-outs??? Then again, he managed to hurt himself on his own playing in the pasture in the first place.

ps. sounds like I should be happy it's only a month compared to everyone elses stories.
Member:
Canter

Posted on Monday, Mar 14, 2005 - 8:12 am:

CP,
After nearly 4 months of stall rest this past summer, I faced turning my mare back out in November--no good grass and nice cold air and gusty breezes to make me plenty worried about re-injury. At my vet's suggestion, two weeks before the turn out, I worked her under saddle, being careful to condition her slowly and carefully ( I wasn't really happy about climbing aboard a horse with so much energy, but I found she behaved better under saddle than on a lunge line). On the days I didn't ride, I hand walked her as long as possible. This excercise was enough to diffuse the time bomb, so when we turned her out--holding our breath-she was fairly calm. Because the grass was pretty much gone by November, we placed good quality hay in piles all over the paddock to give her something to do. Since she is boarded, I made it a point to make "turn-out" day on a Saturday when I could stay and watch and step in if needed. She got a little goofy on the 2nd day of turn-out, but it was only for a few minutes and I was able to step in and settle her.

Good luck! After carefully nursing an injury, for a long time, it's nerve wracking to set the horse free again for the first time!
Member:
beydao

Posted on Saturday, Mar 29, 2008 - 12:51 pm:

My horse suffered a severed tendon whilst at livery, on a hind leg nine months ago. He was operated on by re-cutting the uneven ends of the tendon and then put on box rest for nine months with continual bandaging and recently walking out. His most resent scan shows a good recovery and the next step is to turn him out. He has a good friend to be with and we will probably hand graze for a few weeks. My worry is that he must continue to wear support bandages. I have been looking at different boots in catalogues with a mind to using something that will not get heavy and awkward in the wet weather. Has any one used boots or gaiters for this purpose successfully before?. There certainly seem to be a great many on the market. Do you think I should get breathable bandages? Shall I just keep on with my stable bandages and the padding underneath? Any suggestions please. Ali
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Mar 29, 2008 - 8:46 pm:

Alison, you should start your own discussion rather than interrupting cp's, the intertwining posts are confusing. Also by starting your own discussion you will have greater visibility and are likely to get more responses. I would recommend you take it to the article on tendon lacerations, Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Lower Limb » Tendon Lacerations. You should tell us which tendon is cut as this will help with recommendation.
DrO
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