Sarah's Story
When I first met Hector (25/6/08) he was an unbroken 4 year old TB. Katie had had Hector since he was 18 months old. He was apparently too small to be a racehorse.
It was approximately 4 months after he had had a pretty horrific accident in which he was lucky to survive. He had got a fright and bolted through a fence and ripped open one front leg to the bone and also had a belly wound. His belly wound apparently had been so bad that he was lucky his intestines didn’t fall out! It also sounded like he might have flipped over the fence as well so had a huge amount of tightness in his back and hindquarters as well. He was very stiff in his gait. We got vet clearance before starting any work on him and in this first session he was tight everywhere especially in the front end and didn’t want his hindquarters touched at all and kicked out very seriously at me. A very sore boy indeed!
He only had 45 degree angle of movement in his right knee, very limited movement in his fetlock as well and was also very tight through the tendon area on that leg. He had puffiness on that leg too especially the knee. I gave Katie homework programme to do – light massage and desensitizing work over his hindquarters and a homeopathic remedy to help with the heat and swelling in the leg.
I saw Hector again a couple of weeks later and there was a huge improvement already. Much happier being touched though still a bit negative around his belly and hind end. He did kick out a few times but I just stayed calm with him and didn’t push it too much as I wanted to gain his trust. I decided to use a blend of essential oils with him to help him get through his pain issues and help calm him when being worked on. I also gave Katie another remedy to use on him as well.
It was after this second session that I suggested Katie bring Hector up to my place for some more intensive body work as it was hard for me with my work load and large area that I cover to give him as much attention as he required to get him right quicker.
Hector arrived at Serenity Farm on 19/8/08 for Horse Home Care and stayed for approx 3 weeks. He improved very quickly over his hindquarters and didn’t try to kick at all in this time. He still disliked his tummy being touched. I started doing front and hind leg stretches with him as well which were very restricted. He didn’t always want to pick up his feet front or back.
I used the Bioptron Light on his leg and stomach and I was using a herbal cream on his scar tissue. It took a long time to cover the whole scar area with the Bioptron Light because it was so large.
After a few days I was getting frustrated with the leg still being so cold and trying to get the circulation going in it so I used heat therapy on it. His tendon area on this leg was also very stuck and cold. Using the heat therapy worked really well and after doing that a couple of times the leg stayed at normal temperature. The tendon area softened and I thought the scar was starting to look better. Hector also got in-hand power walking to get him really moving his body instead of shuffling around.
In this short time I noticed that Hector had a real problem with his digestion and had the runs quite badly. I discussed it with Katie and she said he had been like that for some time. He was on older grass with plenty of hay but we decided to try him on some products. After a few days I did notice an improvement. I wondered if his stomach injury had anything to do with it as well.
Range of movement with front leg had improved too and his scar tissue had started to lessen. I was really please with Hectors progress while he stayed with us. I gave Katie more homework to carry on with which she did a fantastic job with and suggested we check him again in a months time just to make sure he was keeping on track.
I saw Hector a couple of months later and he had started having work getting ready to be ridden with light lunging and going over poles and being hand walked down the road. He was much better picking up his feet. He still had digestive problems and was really affected by the grass at Katie’s. I was very impressed with his front leg. It had almost gone right down and much softer overall.
Hector continued to improve and I have checked him over at regular intervals over the years. He has finished being started and Katie has been riding him and he even pops over little jumps and has been to a couple of competitions. His digestive problems are much better though he is prone to getting the runs as soon as he goes on to any lush grass. Katie has a track around her property now and he gets plenty of hay and very little grass and that has made a big difference.
One of the biggest problems with Hector has been the fact that he is very bum high and saddle fitting hasn’t been easy. He always lets Katie know when he needs some bodywork though and when he’s feeling good he absolutely loves it. When he’s a little bit sore then he will warn you to be careful with the pressure!
He is a very special boy, is very lucky to be alive and I’m very happy I could help with his recovery to being a happy active horse.
Katie's Testimonial
"I was delighted when Sarah Linton asked me to provide a reference for her Horse Home Care. My 5yr old TB gelding went to stay with Sarah for about 3 weeks in August 2008 to help him recover from the serious injuries he sustained when he bolted through a fence in February 2008 ripping one front leg open to the bone from top to bottom.
When Sarah first saw Hector she identified the lack of circulation in this leg, the large amount of scar tissue, and the limited bend in his knee. As well Sarah also noticed that he was very tight and sore in his back end from shifting his weight off his injured front leg.
While Hector was staying with Sarah he received regular massage, stretching and in-hand workouts and I was sent regular updates with the progress. At first Hector was very anti to Sarah going anywhere near his back end and Sarah respected his wishes and worked slowly to gain his trust. Sarah soften the muscles in his hind end, reduced the scar tissue and increased both the circulation around his leg and the bend of his knee.
While at Sarah's, Hector got the very best treatment and really enjoyed this time there (so much that he was reluctant to come home!) The Horse Home Care was an integral part of Hector's recovery and today his leg is almost back to its normal shape and he is ready to start a ridden career! I know this would not have been possible without Sarah's skills.
I would recommend Sarah Linton to anyone wanting help with the recovery or rehabilitation of their horse as she is professional, compassionate and gains the horse's trust and respect."
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