Spirit - Rehabilitation case study

Name	Age	Type	Job
Spirit	12	Norwegian Fjord cross	Mounted Games

HISTORY:

Chelsie and Spirit were part of a very successful national mounted games team winning several major competitions. In 2017 Chelsie and Spirit were crowned individual British Champions; however the duo’s highlight came in 2018 when they were picked to represent England at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. The pair continued their success, as in the same year they were also crowned champions at the individual European Championships.

Unfortunately while the duo were competing at HOYS 2018 Spirit sustained an injury to her shoulder after colliding with another of the fastest ponies on the team. The video can be seen below and is not for the faint of heart!

Spirit was immediately lame and her owner was distraught given her condition, however the onsite vets were exceptional, treating her immediately and investigating her injuries. Spirit had a full work up including X-rays and ultra-sound which confirmed that although there was no fracture present she had sustained significant brachial nerve damage.

TREATMENT:

Spirit’s initial treatment consisted of 3 weeks box rest; thereafter the vets advised that she could start gentle exercise, physiotherapy and turnout. Unfortunately it was apparent after Spirit’s first ride under saddle that she wasn’t fully recovered and therefore the vets recommended that hydrotherapy would be the best means of rehabilitation before Spirit was brought back into ridden work.

Spirit arrived at Moulton Therapy in December 2018, two months after the initial injury. After Spirit’s initial assessment on arrival, it was decided that she should remain with us to continue her rehabilitation work utilising the aqua-treadmill as much as possible to improve her core strength under controlled and supervised conditions; allowing her to work symmetrically to reduce her muscle atrophy.

A program specifically tailored to Spirit’s needs was developed by our Hydrotherapist Dr Jessica York, which included working on the aqua-treadmill five days a week starting in walk with a low water depth, gradually increasing the depth over time as well as the duration of exercise.  The introduction of a bridle and bungee was also to be part of her program in order to create a contact to enable Spirit to work correctly. The video of Spirit on the Aqua Treadmill can be seen here:

RESULTS:

It was clear in just over a week how much stronger Spirit was becoming as her stride length increased and muscle tone developed.  After just 10 days Spirit’s owner came to ride her in the arena and her rehabilitation progress was clearly evident and Spirit had a spring in her step!

Over the course of the three weeks that Spirit stayed with us, her strength and stamina developed significantly allowing her to return home to continue her ridden work with her owner.

We wish Chelsie and Spirit the best of luck for the future and hope to see the duo back competing soon.


FURTHER UPDATES:

We are so pleased to see the lovely Spirit doing so well now. Thank you for the update Lynda & Chelsie. We love keeping up to date with how well all our clients are doing! 

Here is the video of Spirits first competition after rehabilitation.

" Hello Jessica just to keep you informed Spirit did her 1st Comp today and was in fine form And had an easy win She has come back into work better than ever xx Thank you and your staff so much for everything x "