Advise needed about bringing horse back into work

[SkyeBean]

Well my new loan horse has had 6 months off work due to a tendon injury and then nail in the foot injury and i'm bringing him back into work now, i am planning on walking and trotting in sand school and short walks on roads?
Is that a good idea?
Can anyone give me advise as to how go about bringing him back into work allowing him to heal nicely and be back to normal x

 

[Demson]

6 months off is quite a long time, with that I'd start with short walks of 1/2hr in the first week and build up to an hour in the second week, by the end of the second week you could start introducing some light trotting. But I would not recommend trotting prior to this as the tendoins and ligaments will be quite weak and need to strengthen to prevent injuries.

Cheers

Demson

 

[SkyeBean]

ok thanks, do u recommend i walk him out on the roads?

 

[Demson]

yes, roads are nice and flat well most are lol and they are great walking out on roads is great for strenghtening the legs

Arena's tend to be sand and rubber and can be very uneven especially if not raked regularly and this can put pressure on the tendons and ligaments and it is also easier for the horse to stumble which can result in a sprain.

My horse was walking in an arena, slightly stumbled and sprained his suspensory ligament. Ouch, very painful and can take a year to recover. My horse was lucky and was only out of action for 6 weeks.

So yes ride out on the roads or lead out at first which ever you prefer.