REST, REPAIR, REHABILITATE or...replace?

The injured working horse can present an unpleasant series of decisions. In my early years of practice, we often turned to “Dr. Green”, (pasture therapy) for the hoped for results after some sort of a major leg or body injury. And many times, come spring, the once hobbling worker would show up looking sound and slick after his winter vacation. Problem was that we often knew less about his health after he came back than we did before we let him out. And we had no idea if the work ahead would be tolerable or just a short term respite from what he’d had. Of course, back then we rarely had more than a vague idea in the beginning of the specifics of the injury…hmmm. “Curb” splint ,Nope front tendon? Hock? Pins? Whatever. The terms we had to learn from the old vet books,” wind gall” , smudge, hip bound, stifled.. were pretty vague and known to only a few old timers. We’d be told of various toxic rubs, blisters or injections to memorize and produce and how to use them.