Rehab

I recently received and e-mail from a client with a horse that had been treated for a minor orthopedic injury that required some time off work and turnout to rehab the injury. The horse was put back to light work with a few minor setbacks. After a few days work the horse was turned out in an indoor arena and proceeded to buck and play with reckless abandon; not unusual for a fresh horse. Fearing re-injury due to the horse’s behavior in turnout, the client asked my advice. There are 3 ways to approach the problem: 1) avoid turnout 2) tranquilize the horse prior to turnout 3) turn the horse out in a small round pen (30 feet in diameter). Of the options, number three is by far the best. It is important to have a small round pen available for horse being rehabbed. It gives them a space for leisure outside the stall while limiting the risk of injury or re-injury due to their normal horse behavior. Pens like this are easily constructed either as a permanent structure or as a temporary one made from corral panels.