Mr p's rehab program - weeks 4 - 6

Week 4
- 20 min hand walk
- Introduced raised trot poles
- Continued all ground exercises
- Introduced some different surfaces – hard, slightly uneven
- Introduced Equiband 10 min walk in hand by end of the week

Why we did this:
- HR monitoring was showing us that Mr P wasn’t getting much of a cardiovascular work out. Using the equiband increased his heart rate without putting excess load on the tendon. The equiband will also help to improve his hindlimb asymmetry and maintain spinal stability and muscle.
- Continue to challenge and improve his proprioception and gradually increase tendon load with the introduction of different surfaces
 
 
Week 5
- Progressed to 20 min walk in hand with the Equiband
- Increased regular walk sessions to 25 min
- Introduced hindleg weights
- Introduced sand surface
- Continued all ground exercises

Why we did this:
- Mr P was tolerating workload well, so we wanted to increase the cardiovascular and strength (spinal and hindquarter) intensity without putting too much increased load on the tendon
- We did want to continue to gradually increase tendon load however, so we introduced sand. The use of sand fits with the recommendation of slow heavy resistance. Research has shown that the magnitude of force through the SDFT on sand is actually not as high as on a soft compared to a hard surface, but the duration of tendon loading was longer on the sand. What this means is that overall the load on the tendon is higher on sand, but it’s at a lower magnitude over a greater amount of time. For us, this fits well with wanting to introduce heavy slow resistance to the tendon to aid in recovery and healing.

Research link here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259447097_Comparison_of_superficial_digital_flexor_tendon_loading_on_asphalt_and_sand_in_horses_at_the_walk_and_trot
 
Week 6
- Progressed up to 25-30 min walk in hand with the Equiband
- Increased regular walk sessions to 30 min
- Introduced hindleg weights on a sand surface ( x 2 sessions)
- Continued all ground exercises
- Increased turnout time up to 3 hours per day

Why we did this:
- Initially in the Equiband Mr P’s heart rate increased quite dramatically, suggesting he was getting an aerobic effect from the training along with resistance training. However, after only a week his heart rate stabilised back to his previous levels. So, we decided to increase the frequency of his sessions to get him working a little harder again.
- Mr P is obsessed with food! He can be turned out on grass and he will just eat, there are no high jinx going on! Obviously, a forage based diet is best, and if we can keep him active by slowly  moving around in a very small paddock grazing for longer periods, we figure this can only be a positive for both musculoskeletal and gut health.