Ustinov recovers in new 'forever home'

When Kim Wilson first saw Ustinov, she knew she just had to have him, but their journey together didn’t have the smoothest of starts, as Kim explains....

Ustinov in October 2014

Usti will be eight this year, but when I bought him in October 2014 as a six-year-old, he had spent a few years as a working stallion, but just wasn’t coping with that life and in a very poor condition. Even though he had severed a tendon and arteries in his near fore pastern as a three-year-old, my initial hope was that he would event. I saw him loose jump and after a trip to my trainer’s yard during which he never put a foot wrong, the deal was done and two weeks later, newly gelded, I picked him up.

Although never graded as a stallion, he is ‘pink papered’ with the Anglo European Studbook. By Udo van Padhuis, he has Dutch bloodlines which are predominantly dressage, but he is also a talented jumper!

Ustinov in October 2014

Initially he was hard work and I think being gelded had traumatised him, destroying his confidence, so he didn’t trust any of these new people in his life and was even wary of being brushed. As we tried to improve his weight I quickly found out that any hard feed sent him ‘nuts’.  The only feeding suitable has been haylage and chaff. He did not enjoy turnout much and after a couple of months of being extremely unsettled, he finally injured himself running the fence line in his field. It was the same near fore, which already had a mass of scar tissue that was affecting hoof growth, but as I still don’t know the full details of his original injury, we weren’t sure what he might have done this time.

I agreed with my vet that we’d box rest him and watch his progress before undertaking lameness investigations, but after a couple of days of box rest he became very stressed, rearing and canter pirouetting in his stable and was very difficult to handle. At this stage my friend told me about the ArcEquine and offered me the loan of her unit.  I spoke with the company and got some very helpful advice and a re-rehabilitation plan for us to follow.  

After a few days on the ArcEquine Usti became noticeably calmer and manageable in his stable, but I have a full time job so due to the lack of an arena and short daylight hours because it was winter, the rehabilitation stage was extremely difficult and much slower than recommended and discussed.

 When spring arrived, there was massive improvement in his lameness, so he was introduced to turn out again, along with in-hand work.  We had a slight set back due to scatty behaviour and I thought it best to start the ArcEquine programme all over again.

This time, with the longer daylight hours and a newly installed arena, rehabilitation was much easier. I noticed that during Phase 2 of the ArcEquine treatment programme, there was considerable change in his hoof growth, which my farrier found extremely surprising as he had thought there was no chance of the hoof re-forming correctly.  We agreed to keep him on this phase for longer than the treatment programme states and as a result, the improvement in hoof growth has been immense.  My vet was also happy with the progress and agreed we should just to continue to work him, as there was no point in scans.  As we progressed into the summer I slowly built up his rehabilitation programme and he coped with the increase in work.

At last Ustinov enjoys turnout with other horses

It took me a year to establish the same trusting relationship on the ground that he had with his previous owner and from needing constant supervision in the field, he is now happy to be turned out with horses either side for company. His hoof grows well, his gait appears normal and his ridden work is progressing, so we are aiming for low level dressage competition to start the season.  

Usti benefitted from ArcEquine treatment for approximately 10 months and he still receives maintenance level treatment.  This is a longer recovery time than expected with the unit, but he had a large number of issues to overcome, not just one injury.

Ustinov's ridden work is progressing well

He was very poor, run down, newly gelded, he developed a cough when we started his vaccinations and he had the scarring – physical and mental – from his previous injury. I strongly believe the ArcEquine helped heal not just the leg injury, but every aspect of him and this is perhaps why he needed the treatment for so long.  Mentally he is much calmer and able to deal with changing situations around him far better than when he arrived. 

He can still have a difficult and spooky stallion day, but more and more days are nice gelding days and he is getting better under saddle. Life for Usti would have been very different without the ArcEquine treatment and now he has recovered well, he loves work and enjoys being busy, with plenty of mental stimulation, so thanks from both of us to all the team at ArcEquine.

Survey confirms equine vets are highly regarded

ArcEquine has released some of its findings from a recent online survey asking riders and horseowners about equine injuries and the relationship with their equine vet, which reveal a positive picture of this fundamental aspect of horse and pony ownership.

The survey respondents report:

•  69% of owners have equine insurance
•  Over 84% are satisfied or very satisfied with their usual equine vet
• Costs for diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of a musculoskeletal injury are well spread, but the most common range - almost 29% of respondents – revealed bills were between £2000 and £5000.
• Over 74% of owners find their vets receptive or very receptive to their suggestions about treatment, therapies and management.
• Typically, a wide range of therapies are used and 41% think that all of them should be covered by insurance, whilst a larger proportion, almost 49% consider that insurance should provide cover only if a therapy is recommended by a vet.
• A huge 81% indicated a willingness to try new treatments and therapies on their horses.
• Over 28% of owners have used ArcEquine’s microcurrent therapy, a further 54% have heard of the treatment modality but not yet used an ArcEquine unit and over 77% of respondents requested more information from the company.

“Commenting on the results, Ian Thirkell, founder and Managing Director of ARC Microtech Ltd the company behind the ArcEquine says: “It is very encouraging for us to confirm that equine vets are held in such high esteem and to have confirmation about how closely owners work with their vets to decide on treatment and rehabilitation options.

“ArcEquine is still relatively new to the mainstream equine market, but as with most things in life, good news travels fast and we are delighted that in round figures, four out of every five respondents know something about our ArcEquine unit and almost a third have actually used one.

“Significant musculoskeletal injuries are common in horses and over 99% of the owners in our survey report the need to call their equine vet for advice or a visit. The cost of managing these injuries can be very significant and in that context, we are confident that ArcEquine will make a very positive contribution to the healing and rehabilitation of injured horses. To facilitate that, we are now working alongside a growing number of equine vets and insurance companies.

“This new data also confirms the importance of the relationship between owner, equine vet and insurer in what is a vitally important aspect of ensuring that working horses and ponies at every level enjoy the best of health and wellbeing, which will underpin both maximum performance and enjoyment.”

To find out more about ArcEquine, visit www.arcequine.com or join the ArcEquine community on facebook and follow @arcequine on Twitter

Hind Leg Trauma

Are horses safer in stables than turned out? Not in my experience they aren't and we had a really horrific injury to deal with as a result of a big young horse becoming cast overnight in a large stable that measures fully 16 feet x 12 feet. Pam Harrison shares a personal experience of…… hind leg trauma.

It was 7am on a beautiful Saturday morning in early July and walking into our barn, the first horse I saw as always, was Solstice - 16.3hh, very dark bay, black really, a stallion and at just six, still full of mischief after a night in the stable.

Wondering what he'd been up to as he was standing with his head in a back corner, I first noticed the water bucket was missing - hooligan I thought - but then realised the heavy duty water bucket bracket held on with two large coachbolts was also off the wall completely and at the same time, I saw the first of the blood on the stable wall.

Going into the stable, his bed had a lot of blood in it, it was all over both hind legs and he was standing with his weight off his left hind leg. The water bucket bracket was at the opposite side of the box, quite badly bent (it was going to take a 14lb hammer and a lot of 'welly' to straighten it out later, so he had obviously been cast, kicking and kicking and kicking.....).

He didn't move whilst I put his headcollar on and was very lame when I led him out of his box and tied him up for a better look. Several cuts were visible and I decided not to mess about and just call the vet, as I thought he may have a cut that penetrated a joint - fetlock or hock.

20 minutes later and the vet started cleaning him up. The good news was that he hadn't done any damage to either of his fetlocks and his right hind had only superficial cuts. However the left hind had fared worst, with three cuts below the hock on the outside of the leg. Each was more than an inch long and they were fairly deep, but close together and clean cuts, so they were stapled, anti-inflammatories and antibiotics prescribed and an optimistic prognosis of  - 10 days and staples out, should heal fine - was delivered.

Solstice was an absolute gentleman throughout, but what no-one could see at the time was just how extensive the bruising was and how that would turn what looked like a fairly straightforward injury into an altogether different scenario.

He was turned out all day every day to try and keep the swelling down as he wasn't too lame thanks to the anti-inflammatories, but within 3-4 days, the wounds had all broken down. The staples were removed and we had several days of increasing swelling and never-ending quantities of serous fluid draining out of the wound, which was bandaged twice or three times daily and kept dry as far as was possible. Several vet visits, including one evening for a developing cellulitis, together with growing quantities of anti-inflammatories and antibiotics, didn't seem to be improving things. The weather continued to be very hot and the degree of swelling was becoming worrying, so the vet recommended a different management protocol.

We started walking him in hand around the arena and fields, five or six times a day for up to half an hour each time and he was still being turned out to graze and wander the rest of the day. The whole leg was cold-hosed through ice cubes in a double layer of tubular elastic bandage several times a day, but the wound continued to break down as the severely bruised tissues died, becoming larger and deeper. After each ice/hosing session, we cleaned the wound, were careful not to touch it and re-bandaged using activated carbon dressings and layers of veterinary gamgee, held in place with a cohesive bandage. It was endless, time-consuming and every day was roasting hot, which didn't help at all. Walking in hand in the arena was like being on a tropical beach!

Then we turned a corner. 

Day 12

The first of the photographs was taken on Day 12 when we had just taken delivery of a pair of Horseware's Ice-Vibe massage boots (the extra full size) and they replaced the ice and hosing so the leg could be kept dry. With really helpful advice from Horseware, we started by using only the gel ice packs, which after freezing, wrap around the entire leg from the hock downwards and are held in place by touch and close fastenings with the Ice Vibe boot fitted over the top, rather like a very big brushing boot. They were a revelation and are without doubt the best way I have ever found to cool a horse's leg. We didn't even have to remove the bandage and together with the walking, they made a big difference to the swelling. The wound was definitely not a pretty sight, but at least it was no longer getting bigger and deeper!

 

Day 23

Then - Eureeeeekaaaaa - on Day 14 we borrowed an ArcEquine from a friend and following the detailed instructions, started using that on the opposite hind leg every day for a three hour 'treatment', as it isn't necessary to use it on the injured leg. The dressing was changed twice daily due to the copious fluid still draining out of the wound, but we kept it totally clean, there was no smell and is was obvious that healing had started in earnest.

The second photograph was taken on Day 23 and what a difference! The swelling had reduced significantly, the wound had all filled in and dried up and somewhat unbelievably there was new skin growth, with black hair, clearly visible all round the edges of the wound.

The bandage was now only being changed daily and we started using 'non-stick' dressings and Manuka 20+ honey and finally 'padded' the wound with a layer of veterinary gamgee held in place with a cohesive bandage. We were still using the Ice-Vibe boot and the ArcEquine daily and still walking in hand. Solstice continued to be an absolute gentleman and he was obviously enjoying our walks around the fields. He was by this time sound again.

Day 40

Day 53

 By Day 40 and then Day 53 (third and fourth photographs) the healing rate actually seemed to have increased and his leg was looking more normal, although was still 'filling' overnight in the stable. The new skin and hair could clearly be seen and he was much less sore. We started a little work on the lunge and walking under saddle. The dressing was still being changed daily at this stage.

Day 74

The fifth photograph was taken on Day 74 and this was the day all dressings came off - yippee! There were suddenly a lot more hours in my day…… We were still using the ArcEquine and were so impressed with the results in terms of both the rate and quality of the healing and also they way in which Solstice had coped with everything (the ArcEquine calms horses in addition to repairing tissue) that we bought one - and have since found quite a few other uses for it.

Gradually, the remaining filling in the leg disappeared, all the hair grew back and at just over four months since the injury, we were left with only a degree of 'thickening' in the area of the leg around the wound, where the worst of the bruising must have been.

Now just over a year later, with continued use of Arc Equine for maintenance, that has almost gone and there is just a very small raised area of skin that is missing very little hair and to all intents and purposes, Solstice has made a complete recovery without even a cosmetic 'legacy'.