recovered one horse from this type of injury before and he knew that Parker had a chance. Two days later, Parker was trailered to a nearby farm where he would begin the first leg of his long recovery journey.
Back Home Kyle flew home to Florida, knowing that Parker was in good hands until he was stable enough to endure the flight home. He settled in well and enjoyed time outside hand-grazing. He grew more comfortable on the leg, despite the amount of inflammation that had developed, and was able to put pressure on his entire foot in just a few short days. For the next month, Parker stayed in England and continued to gain strength for the journey home. On October 12, Parker loaded on the plane for his long-awaited return to Florida. Four days later, Kyle unloaded his horse from the trailer and walked him to his stall. Kyle couldn’t be happier that Parker was home and thanked everyone for their well-wishes and letters of support sent from around the world. In the beginning, rest is often the prescribed medicine for
a retinaculum tear. But if Parker was to return to a top-level career in eventing, he had to learn how to use his right hind leg all over again. There was a significant amount of medial (inside) swelling but the lateral (outside) part of his hock was firm and not causing Parker any pain. In November, he trav- eled to The Sanctuary for a cold saltwater leg therapy treat- ment and then continued with more rest and hand-walking. By September 2012, Parker was ready for more work. They began using the AquaPacer, a water treadmill at The Sanctu- ary, to teach Parker how to use his right hind the same way as his left hind. Kyle feels that this particular therapy was invaluable before having Parker return to full-weight bearing exercise.
to back, to walk on the treadmill. This promotes a balanced gait and encourages the horse to use proper posture during exercise. The water applies pressure to the limbs, decreasing inflammation and improving circulation. Hydrotherapy can also improve flexibility and encourage muscle development, which is exactly what Parker needed to get back in the show circuit. For three months, Kyle brought Parker to The Sanctu- ary to treadmill, while also using his own laser at home.
Recovery! It wasn’t long before Kyle was back in the saddle and work- ing to bring Parker back to his level of performance before the injury. In an interview with Eventing Nation in April 2013, Kyle said, “Parker has done so much for me, and he’s a horse that hates not working. There were people saying I was trying to push him, but I just wanted to give him a chance to come back to form.” That’s exactly what Parker did. His official re- turn to competition was in January 2013 at Longwood Farms in Ocala. At Preliminary, he won his division and from there went on to compete at events at Rocking Horse and Red Hills, both in Florida. Now he says Parker feels “better than ever!” He is sound, jumping well and showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. He attributes much of his horse’s recovery to Parker’s attitude. “He works hard to get through the issues and helps you along the recovery process,” Kyle remarks. Kyle says that he believes Parker has the ability to run Ad-
vanced at Rolex Kentucky in 2014, and he is ready to take him there—if he feels his horse is ready. “I just want him to have an enjoyable career,” he says. “We will give him whatever he needs because he has given us so much.”
B
Madison Park’s hock about two months after the injury. A horse using the AquaPacer at The Sanctuary.
K. Ryan Meeks, DVM, of Peterson & Smith Equine Hospital,
explains that “sometimes horses move the way their memory tells them to.” After an injury, horses that have learned to compensate for pain will move differently. “The AquaPacer is helpful in teaching horses to balance their gait and use them- selves evenly without concussion or impact to an affected area of the body.” The AquaPacer is an above-ground, under-water tread-
mill that provides 40 to 60 percent buoyancy, giving horses range of motion without a lot of impact. When the water level is adjusted to hock-height, the horse must use the same amount of flexion and length of stride, left to right and front
eyond traditional veterinary medicine, the technology of alternative therapies for healing injuries, enhancing performance and preventa- tive maintenance of our equine athletes has come a long, long way in
the last twenty years. Today you will find these equine therapy and rehabilita- tion centers springing up around North America. Some of them are listed below.
Fair Hill Equine Therapy Center 720 Training Center Drive , Elkton, MD 21921
www.fairhilletc.com
Kesmarc Kentucky 258 Shannon Run Road, Versailles, KY 40383
www.kesmarc.com
Los Laureles Equine Therapy Center 9000 Creston Rd, Paso Robles, CA 93446
www.horserehabilitation.com
Morrisville State College Equine Rehabilitation Center 4414 Route 20, Morrisville, NY 13408
www.morrisville.edu/facilities/equinerehab.aspx
Pegasus Training and Equine Rehabilitation Center 7620 260th Avenue NE, Redmond, WA 98053
www.pegasustrainingcenter.com
The Sanctuary 5590 NW Highway 225, Ocala, FL 34482
www.sanctuaryequinerehab.com
Warmbloods Today 29
Photos Courtesy The Sanctuary
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84