I'm stuck in the middle...what to do about drugs? I'm against their use to keep a horse performing...but now I have a horse that needs to have his knee injected.
When I bought him I was told he needed the knee injected once every 5 or 6 months...as it turns out, he's going to need to be injected every 5 to 6 weeks...BIG DIFFERENCE! (I thought I could get him sound enough to show without drugs.)
I'm trying to get him sound enough to show by rubbing the knee with arnica (a pure substance that has healing properties), using "sweats" and physical therapy exercises......he's getting better, but it is also getting pretty obvious if I intend to show him, I'm going to have to inject his knee.
I can't inject him to show him and stand by my call for a ban on drugs to keep a horse showing when he shouldn't be....so now, I'm stuck in the middle. What to do?
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I have heard that the infratonic treatments have been studied in complementary equine therapy some but have no personal experience. They have been known to work well on some "human" athletes and I have heard that they have does studies in thorobreds and standardbred with thermographic imaging to test for results but do not know anyone personally that has used them on horses--might be worth a try...
ReplyDeleteWell this is how stands. You are the one who must live with what you believe in so if you can go to bed at night and sleep well. Then you are not in the middle anymore. But my grandfather told me if you donot stand for something you fall for everything!
ReplyDeleteIt is a hard thing when money has been put out and you are really counting on things.We have all been in your shoes before and with money tight in these times it can be hard but believe in yourself and it will work out it always does.
I think trying the natural herbal way has its merits it may take longer but you are on the right track.
Sue: thanks for the suggestion...I think infratonic treatments are directed a "cells" or "soft tissue"... in this horse's case he lacks cartilage...so don't see how infratonics would benefit...the injections would be HA or cortizone.
ReplyDeleteHave you looked into the iwrap treatments. I know a few people who have used this successfully.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I have to say that if your horse needs to be injected every 5 - 6 weeks then really trying to keep hm sound enough to continue showing is cruel and unusual.
Don, nice question, raising some moral issues, eh? Seriously, the best thing for this horse is to turn him out 24/7 for 6-12 months. Feed him enough to keep him alive, and let his knee heal the way nature intended it to. All those injections are simply a transfer of wealth.
ReplyDeletewhat caused the knee to have a problem in the first place? did the previous owner tell you what really happened? maybe they did not know, sometimes horses manage to hurt themselves and we can only guess at best, what happened. I had a reining mare that was sold to me as a broodmare only. she had fractured her knee years earlier in her career, she was not lame, so I did ride her some, but she could not bend the knee all the way back when she laid down. and she will most likely develop arthritis later in life. I think this horse, needs complete rest, for a time, I would take him to a lameness doctor and find out exactly what you are dealing with, and take a long look at why you want to show with this horse. I am concerned about the frequent injections since every injection carries the risk of introducing bacteria, and other problems with it. If the joint itself gets infected, then you have a real problem.
ReplyDeleteDo whatever is best for the horse is my first thought. Healing can take time and rest. I always prefer to look into doing what is natural in the way of healing. Man made drugs can be dangerous and come with too many pitfalls.
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