Case Keenum drops back, he notices Emmanuel Sanders in one on one coverage with a linebacker in the slot. Emanuel does a little stutter and gets passed. Case loads up and throws a bomb. You can hear the crowd gasp for air as the ball soars through the air. And boom Emanuel catches it. He gets passed the first defender and cuts back and falls. What just happened. You can tell that something is wrong. The training team runs out in a hurry and gets to him. They frantically wave their hands for the cart. He tore his ACL. Now I know what you are thinking, what does this have to do with agriculture. Well you know those animals that you have fallen in love with, this could happen to them.
Horses and dogs are just like you in almost every aspect in life. They poop, they eat, they bathe themselves, and they can even get hurt. The rodeo is a prime example of this. I have grown up watching the rodeo with my grandpa and I have been around these animals for a lot of my life. The “athletes” that are used in rodeo get treatment that not a lot of animals get in today’s world. According to pro bull riding insider, Bulls go through an assortment of test that allow breeders to find what they need. Bulls also go through acupuncture and cold ice therapy if they are in need of it. These bulls are getting money for every match they win, so if they aren’t performing the right way then they will get what the help they need.
Another example in the Rodeo is with Barrel Racing. Have you ever noticed when how the horse always has a full head of steam when they enter the arena. This could be very bad. When the rider feels like it’s time to go the horse almost stand straight up before going. This could cause a lot of injury in the leg muscle and calf. This could also lead to a broken bone. That is why you see a lot of people these days put braces on their horses ankles. How does physical therapy relate to horses and to veterinary medicine? According to Kevin Haussler Of Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine, the veterinarian community can learn a lot from physical therapy about taking a proactive approach to equine rehab. “ The premise among some veterinarians is that animals heal so well on their own that they don’t need physical therapy he says. But many animals do need physical therapy.
If you think about some common equine soft tissue injuries- such as bowed tendons and pulled suspensory ligaments. Veterinarians have developed means of diagnosing these injuries, but we generally rely on the horse to heal himself.” We turn the horse out to the pasture for six months and hope he improves. Contrast that approach with human physical therapy method: As I recently stated Kyle might work harder to rehabilitate the damaged tissues than he does in regular practice. The amount of time that it takes to fix or recopperate the muscle loss takes a long time. There are different methods of Physical Therapy that can compensate for the lack of a ligament. This is also the same for horses. Race horses have a higher chance of injury since they extrude a constant amount of pressure on their back legs. This is where we see most of their injuries.
There are many ways that people can resolve an injury. According to OutLaw Equine out of Fort Worth, Texas, they do nine different forms of rehab. The newest rehab treatment is cold laser therapy. The cold laser therapy uses synchronous use of high power Super Pulsed Laser, and Ultra- Bright Infrared. They commonly use this style of treatment on and assortment of injuries and it also helps with pain management on severe cases. They also have an Equi-Resp machine that has continuously benefited their business. If the horses that has a history of bleeding or have issues with allergens or mucous obstructing or constricting their airway and also for horses that have pneumonia or early signs of developing pneumonia. They also offer treatments to horses that simply could use the added benefits of a pre or post race treatment.
Some people ask if it’s a need or a want. Some people still go by the old ways people used to do stuff. There are a majority of ways to rehabilitate a horse. One of many ways would be water therapy. It’s where a horse gets in this huuuge tank of water that is up to their necks. The horse just gallops in circles in the water because when you swim you are exercising every muscle in your body Even with all of the advances in veterinary medicine we’ve seen over the past century, there’s still no substitute for simple, soothing water. For many equine injuries, hydrotherapy is just what the doctor ordered and can help the healing along better and more cheaply than many of our chemically advanced lotions, potions, or electronic gadgets.
Even with humans, most doctors will tell you to get in a pool because there is increased resistance, and the buoyancy of water makes you do a significant amount of muscular work to move while providing very low stress on bones or joints, so it’s an ideal rehabilitation method. Water can also take out those harmful toxins in the body. That’s why when you are in a bad mood, or have sore or aching bones or muscles, it is recommended that you take some sort of bath or get in some water. With some injuries, the horse needs strict stall time to avoid the stress of movement, as for a fracture or a bad tear in the soft tissues. How soon the horse can start using the limb again will depend on the injury and care must be taken to avoid excessive stress or movement that might disrupt healing. But the horse needs to start moving again as soon as possible, so you walk a fine line on determining when and how much, to begin the rehab process.
In this case for humans, depending on how bad the injury is, you could see them not put weight on it for at least 2 to 3 weeks if not longer. Bringing them back is the tricky part after the injury is healed. You kind of run into a brick wall. You think to yourself and contemplate if its to early, will they get hurt again, will they not perform as well? A horse can easily become reinjured whether it’s the same injury or a different more severe injury. This mostly comes to their body being unfit, due to the lack of time that they have spent recuperating from there injury.
This is where physical therapy gets involved. As soon as the doctors and physical therapists think you or the animal is ready they will start working on your muscles around that injury. The best way to know if your animal is fully healed or not is simply by testing your animal. Take them on a light walk, see how they react to pressure being on that injury, and by just being patient. As an aspiring physical therapist and an avid animal lover, I urge you to look further into Equine Physical Therapy and rehabilitation. The next time your horse or any other animal that you own gets hurt, ask a physical therapist to come out and look at your beloved so you can get a better view on the injury.
