My 11 year old gelding is coming back from a fractured sesmoid bone in a hind leg. Had arthroscopic surgery in August removed all chips with no tendon/ligament damage and has been off since. Got the go ahead to start riding again today. Now my question is what is a good program to follow to slowly and safely leg him back up? I plan to ride him for about 3 months before even thinking about running but what's a good regiment to follow?
I'm rehabbing my horse from a suspensory tear and he was off for like 5 months...I started with hand walking increasing the time 5 mins every two weeks and got up to 30 mins after a month...then I started walking under saddle for a month increasing the time 5 mins every two weeks. I then started trot sets with walking in between. In the beginning I would trot for one minute straight two times during a 40 minute ride and just keep increasing the time/intensity. After 2 months I am now cleared to lope. The main thing is to just watch your horses breathing and don't push too hard too fast. Lots of long trotting!
I hope this helped. This is a brief run down of what my vet has told me to do!
Thanks for the reply! So far the last two days I have walked for 35-45 minutes and trotted two minutes. He seemed to handle it fine. Anymore advice? Thanks!
Equine fitness experts needed!! Rehabbing after injury
