A different rehab perspective

Some time ago, I attended an evening talk at a vet practice as there were two topics I was genuinely interested in:

• The first one was about hoof care. This is clearly not my area of expertise but having experienced laminitis and a considerable number of abscesses cases on my own horse I was determined to find out more.

The first vet clearly confirmed that abscesses are the consequences of laminitis (not always but you get my drift!) so I understand better now why Incendio my ex overweight horse had three abscesses on three different hoof last winter. This was extremely challenging because of the wet conditions and the fact that he could barely walk into the stables ...

Soft tissue injuries are often exacerbated by poor balance and poor pedal angles.

What can we do as owner?

Regular trimming is crucial otherwise it requires your horse too much effort to adapt after a big adjustment on their feet. Cross training on various surfaces is important too. The holes in the ground during or after winter put too much strains on the ligaments.

Another interesting fact which is found in the human literature too is that the clinical examination is not always revealing of the potential pain felt. In fact, tests are rarely relevant to explain the pain. They are exclusion tests, which serve to identify the worst but are rarely useful for making a definitive diagnosis regarding the pain.

Pain is directly related to the brain.

A lot of factors enter into consideration when it comes to pain this is why the management of the pain should be nuanced ...

• The second topic was about rehab. As I am currently working on my 2026 clinic content I wanted to have a vet perspective on a rehab program. What they look at what they look for what they pay attention to.

Without rehab there is no successful outcome this is why I always highlight regular sessions after an injury and/ or a surgery. Years ago, some of my clients stopped their horses rehab in the the past because they wanted to explore other modalities or carry on themselves with the care but they eventually called me back for behavioural issues ...

A surgery cannot fix everything, this is not magical.

Rehab is a job!

Rehab must be bespoke as it depends on the nature of the injury, the temperament of the horse, of the owner, the facilities, the budget the owner wants to spare in the rehab ...

To get the most of rehab and to limit the risk of re-injury we need to be patient, work together (the horse being our guide), re-assess regularly, re-evaluate the exercises for gradual progression.

The last topic was the success stories about several sport horses who had been diagnosed with either arthritis, ligament/ tendon injuries or kissing spines.

Those horses were back to competition at a high level and they were repeatedly and regularly injected in different areas of their bodies to make them perform again.

Infiltrations are not magic products, they are treatments for PAIN not for the cause. It all depends on the quantity and the frequency as it can be chondrotoxic.

We can definitely do better.

My future clinic will be based around these different themes: pain, the nervous system and rehabilitation which will obviously involve the presence of techniques.