Highboy's Rehab Continues

I want to begin with a caution to those following Highboy's progress on the blog:  Therabands and proprioceptive dangles can be deleterious to rehabilitation if used incorrectly or inappropriately for that particular case.  It's best to seek the guidance of your veterinarian and rehab specialist before attempting this work at home.

That said, Highboy has been making good strides (pun intended) with his rehab.  Because of getting kicked in the leg last week while wrestling with his new friends, and the subsequent subcutaneous infection that followed, Highboy has been on a modified therapy schedule.  He was having his swollen leg treated with hydrotherapy twice a day for 15 min each time (cold water hosing).  I painted a topical antibacterial solution onto the area once daily, letting it sit for a half hour while he hand-grazed, then hosing it off to avoid any skin irritation.

As part of his hand walking to reduce swelling, we worked very lightly at the walk over a long series of ground poles.  At the beginning of the week Highboy could walk through the grid of 10 poles 3.5 to 4 times before he started hitting his hind hooves on the wood.  By the end of the week he could go 5 or sometimes 6 times through, which in rehab terms is a great improvement!  We also made several excursions down the country road we live on, practicing leading from the left and from the right, and doing some alpaca desensitizing.  It was high adventure the first day, but gradually Highboy is acclimating to those funny looking noodle-necks who charge the fence whenever we walk by because we are the most interesting thing they see all week.

I also applied a support pressure wrap at night to the swollen leg.  Highboy was funny the first time I did the wrap - he INSISTED that it must mean the leg is broken and he can't possibly walk on it!  He held it in the air, nuzzled the wrap, and STARED at me like I was missing the obvious.  Finally he figured out that he could indeed walk with his lower leg wrapped and after a few days of wrap changing he was fine.  I had to chuckle at him and ask what kind of track horse doesn't know about having his legs wrapped?  Silly baby horse.

Since that has resolved, we are now back to working on improving his gait, particularly traveling to the right and with his right hind.  Today we did some light round pen work using the therabands and proprioceptive dangles.  For a band I prefer to use Saratoga wraps (used in the cross country phase of eventing competition with porter boots to protect the legs).  The bandage is basically a long elasticized polo wrap.  I fasten it to the surcingle on both sides and across his haunches to encourage him with posterior pelvic tilt and extension or "reach" of the hind limbs.  It gives just enough sensory feedback to influence his gait, and has fabric on one side so the horse's skin and fur isn't chafed like with traditional rubberized therabands.  The proprioceptive dangle that I use is a cat collar with a break-away buckle for safety, with a bell attached to it.  It increases sensory input regarding that limb to increase mobility and awareness of where it is in space.  Neither of these tools should be left on the horse if he is not directly supervised and under control.

To give an idea of how detailed the procedure is for this type of work, we went 2 minutes to the R with the theraband on his haunches mostly at the walk with small amounts of trotting (6 ot 7 strides at a time).  Then I added a proprioceptive dangle to the RH pastern and went another 3 min. to the right, walking and trotting.  We then turned around and went 4 min to the L.  Then another 5 min to the R.  There was one pole in the round pen which he cleared consistently, with some exaggerated steps once the dangle was on his pastern.  The theraband influenced his stride well, encouraging him to engage his haunches and take longer steps rather than using the short-strided "stabbing" motion he was using before.  Highboy's reaction to this first introduction of the dangle was great - he took larger steps with regard to height in the flight phase of his stride, and increased the length of his step.  He took longer steps more underneath himself, stepping much further into his front hoof's print both while walking and trotting.

There was a little playing when going to the R, partly because Miles the border collie kept trying to play "Hup-dog" with the lunge whip, and partly because Highboy finally realized he CAN stretch that RH forward and out to kick!  It's really nice to see him enjoying his therapy.

After we finished in the round pen we returned to the hitch rail for some documentation photography, and once he was untacked we did his carrot stretches.  We stretch laterally to the right and the left, twice as many to the right as to the left because it's his harder direction.  Lastly we stretch for the carrot between his front legs, and today he started really reaching back toward his belly!  He loves these games, and since being on the ulcer medication he is much happier to partake of treats and goodies.  It makes therapy much more fun and interesting for him when we involve food.  I find horses become quite mannerly about treats when every single treat is earned with something challenging like stretching.  If they want another carrot, they start to bow or stretch independently while they hope you notice.  I very rarely get mugged for treats when I use them this way, and it greatly increases the horse's enjoyment and interest in the tasks.

Highboy at the hitchrail.  The white wrap is the saratoga bandage used as a theraband, and it's a little hard to see but there is a dangle on his RH pastern.