Hello all~
I have a 4 year old double registered pinto/paint that I recently purchased. He is just like a little boy and gets into everything. Two weeks ago, my mother went out to feed the horses and "Dakota" was standing out in the pasture, refusing to come to get his daily grain. My step-dad ran out to make sure he was ok. He had gone thru the fence and severed the extensor tendon in his rear leg (horizontally).
We immediately made a vet call. It was extremely difficult getting Dakota to the barn, as his leg was unable to come forward because of the severed tendon.
Our usual vet was unable to come out so they sent another vet. He said that we should euthanize him as he would never be able to regain that tendon use. I was hysterical. He told me to get a second opinion so we loaded him in the trailer and drove to an Equine Clinic about 45 minutes away. They called me a few hours later and said that they would suture the tendons and he would be in a cast for 6 weeks.
We picked him up 2 days later. The cast lasted about a day and a half and then his ankle was mobile again. I called the clinic and they sent out a vet to re-cast him. While the original cast was off and they were re-building it, Dakota flipped out and landed right on the front of his hoof, making his leg flop forward like the first day. The skin sutures tore out and he was bleeding all over the place. They were unable to tell me whether or not the tendon sutures stayed intact and they just recasted him and left. I was left in the dark as to whether or not this was a wasted attempt or not.
Another day later, the cast was separated from his hoof and his ankle was able to move again.
I called my regular vet and she did some research. She was able to find a Kimzey Splint for the rear leg that would be able to keep his hoof up. I immediately purchased it from California and she came the next day to remove the cast, wrap his leg in bandages and put the splint on.
He seems to be doing well and appears to be happy. Bored, but happy.
I guess my question is....has anyone ever had a horse sever a tendon like this and fully recover?? He has so much potential and he is so young. I'd like to think he will recover so we can ride together again. HELP!!
Thank you so much,
Rebecca
PS: I have pictures available of the splint if anyone would like to see it. I don't understand why the clinic that performed the surgery didn't have these available for people like me to rent? It is such a great idea to keep that hoof forward!