StemRegen Case Studies

Tambourine (Tambo)

Tambourine and Sienna Myson-Davies were the 2007 National Junior Eventing Champions and 2008 Junior European team and individual gold medallists. After winning the final selection trial for the 2009 team, Tambo suffered a tendon strike injury whilst cavorting in the field. Fortunately he was wearing boots but the injury was still serious enough to put him out of action.

Vet Andy Bathe recommended VetCell’s stem cell therapy for Tambo and advised that it would not speed up recovery but would make the tendon repair better, with more elasticity. Sienna had confidence in Andy’s skills and experience but was apprehensive. Tambourine suffered no adverse reaction to the stem cells and his follow up scans showed excellent repair. Now back competing, he is very much 'on form' and happy to be out and about!! The picture below shows him on his way to 6th place at the Express Eventing final at HOYS 2011.

Photo credit: The Event Photographer

Viva la Diva II (Diva)

Diva is a very easy going, uncomplicated mare and anything but a diva! Following an intermediate run in 2007 her tendon showed a slight bow when the bandages were removed the next day. Owner Natasha’s vet advised her that, although stem cells were a relatively new treatment, if Diva was to have any chance of getting back to full fitness they should go for it. Natasha says the treatment and rehabilitation were straightforward and hassle free and she was very pleased with the scans and the feel of the leg throughout the process.

A year later Diva returned to competition and has since completed four eventing seasons including a number of two and three star events and Pau four star in 2009. Natasha says she’s a phenomenal cross country horse and jumped round Pau like it was a set of training fences at home.

Photo credit: Trevor Allen www.eventsphotos.co.uk

Nomecheki (Cheki)

Shortly after National Hunt racehorse Nomecheki was bought from France it was discovered that he had damage to his SDFT. The horse’s owner was keen to use stem cell therapy and his vet, Tim Beauregard, advised that it would be the best course of treatment. Both owner and trainer found the process straightforward and Cheki was soon back in work, following VetCell’s rehabilitation programme to get back to full fitness again. Cheki loves people and his work and, although he acts like a big kid, he is very affable to deal with. He made a winning return to the racetrack at Plumpton in November 2009 in heavy going and since then has had another win, two seconds and a third from ten runs. The picture below shows him at Cheltenham in November 2011, clearly loving his job having led the field for the majority of the race.

Photo credit: Grossick Photography

Rainbows Quest (Zara)

Zara is a fizzy mare so when she started showing the odd unsound step her owner put it down to tension. Then her tendon bowed although she remained sound most of the time. The vet prescribed three months walking but when the leg didn’t improve and Zara was increasingly lame, owner Harriet decided to take her to the RVC for a second opinion. They diagnosed a core lesion in the SDFT and suggested stem cell therapy. Zara was featured in the BBC’s ‘Super Vets’ series as she underwent the procedures. The stem cells grew on the second attempt and, once injected, Zara became sounder with time. Her rehabilitation was eventful as she liked to perform airs above the ground so Harriet spent weeks walking in the school to keep her calmer. She returned to eventing in 2007 and trained to intermediate level but she’s now retired as her ‘stem cell’ leg is the only one she’s still sound on!

Kasjmir

Wayne Channon’s Grand Prix dressage stallion Kasjmir suffered a hind suspensory ligament injury in 2006. Wayne chose to have the injury treated with VetCell’s stem cell therapy, even though the technology was fairly new at the time, as he had spent a lot of time researching stem cells and knew the benefits they offered to this type of injury. Kasjmir’s ligament healed well and he returned to the international dressage arena, competing at Grand Prix for a further four years before Wayne passed the ride over to his son. In 2011 Kasjmir competed at Medium level, age 19 but still going strong! Since 2006 Wayne has successfully used stem cells to treat some of his other horses too.

Photo credit: Kevin Sparrow

Alpha (Alfie)

PB Arab endurance horse Alpha pulled up lame during training just as he and owner Annie Ings were about to join EGB’s World Class Start Squad and potentially represent Great Britain.  The scans revealed Alpha had suffered an injury to the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) in his right fore and it was feared that this could mean the end of his promising career as an endurance horse. 

Alpha’s vet and owners decided stem cell therapy was the treatment that would give him the best chance of a full recovery. Professor Roger Smith at the Royal Veterinary College treated Alpha (also known as Alf or Alfie) using VetCell’s StemRegen stem cell therapy in October 2009. The following January a check-up scan revealed that the lesion had completely repaired and showed good fibre patterns.

Things progressed very well and after a year of carefully adhering to VetCell’s controlled exercise rehabilitation programme Alpha and Annie returned to competition in April 2010. On 2nd May 2011 Annie was thrilled when she and Alpha successfully completed their first FEI two star at Mont le Soie in Belgium as part of EGB’s British Squad. 

Annie says ‘It was quite a journey that took a lot of time and commitment but it has certainly been worth it’.

Photo credit: Eric Jones Photography

Nicky

Nicky is a 17 year old KWPN Grade A showjumper who is helping new owner Bethanne with the transition from ponies to horses. In the spring of 2010 he injured his left fore suspensory ligament and Bethanne and her parents decided to seek stem cell treatment as they felt it was the best course of action to produce a good result. He had stem cells implanted in June 2010 and Bethanne brought him back slowly, adhering to the rehabilitation programme religiously and building his jumping height gradually.

Bethanne's trainer has said that he thinks Nicky is jumping better than he has for a long time. By the middle of 2011 Nicky had returned to competitive showjumping and he and Bethanne completed their first 1.15m since injury in August 2011, ”jumping with ease and loving it”!

Photo credit: David Sellars

Millbrook Song (Song)

Intermediate eventer Millbrook Song was eventing at Gatcombe in 2008 when he injured his right fore SDFT. Owner Bethan’s vet suggested that they use stem cell therapy to treat the injury and Bethan followed his advice as she wanted Song to come back as well as he possibly could. The procedures went well and Bethan followed the rehabilitation process carefully. Bethan says that all seemed to go by the book with no problems at any stage. Song lives out 24/7 as he can get tetchy but, despite that, he’s a lovely character and will do anything to please. He made a successful return to competition in September 2009. Since then he's had five 'top ten' placings at novice and pre-novice level and his owner Bethan has been thrilled with his progress.He has evented every season since he had the injury and has remained sound on that leg. He’s semi-retiring now due to another injury and will compete at a lower level in 2012.

Hero Worship (Hero)

Hero Worship’s promising racing career was cut short when he suffered an SDFT injury at Haydock in 2006. Following VetCell's stem cell treatment he began rehabilitation at the Darley Rehoming Centre. Now based in Kent with new owner Abi he is competing in dressage and ROR (Retraining of Racehorses) classes. He has been consistently placed and qualified for the ROR dressage finals to be held in October 2011. Hero has even made it out hunting – although it took a while for him to understand exactly what was going on! Five years since his departure from the track owner Abi says ‘All in all he seems to have settled into his new life quite comfortably and I would dare to say that the race is coming out of the horse’. Without stem cell therapy he may never have been sound enough to enjoy an alternative career. 

The photo below shows him at Chequer Tree Farm Show in April 2011 where he won his class and went on to stand Reserve Champion. What a star!

Photo credit: www.equipix.biz

Tzarina Z (Zoe)

Riding club allrounder and novice eventer Zoe had only been in her new home for six weeks when she suffered a 30% tear to her deep digital flexor tendon whilst messing about in the field. Her owner Gail takes up the story: “We were given several options of treatment but the vet felt that as it was such a new injury and so large a tear that stem cell therapy would be the best way to treat her to give her a good chance of returning to full work and staying sound. After stem cell implantation and the year-long rehabilitation she came back to full fitness and won her first two-day-event. Her scan results showed that the tendon had healed and there was no sign of damage. I would thoroughly recommend stem cell therapy as a treatment as I feel it gives a much stronger repair to the tendon.”

Photo credit: Action Shots Photography

Oingy Boingy (Harley)

When Oingy Boingy, a talented 12-year-old thoroughbred event horse, damaged a tendon in 2005, his owner, Nicola Wilson, who runs an event yard in Milland, near Petersfield was heartbroken. Yet, following VetCell's stem cell treatment, just two years later the pair finished second at the European Young Rider Eventing Championships at Blair Castle in 2007. 'Harley' is still fit and well competed at three and four star level in eventing up until the end of 2010. Now 18, he is still going strong and competes at pre-novice and novice level with a younger rider.

Photo credit: Alex Colqhoun

Dream Alliance

Dream Alliance suffered severe tendon damage during the 2008 Grand National. He was treated with VetCell's stem cell therapy by Professor Roger Smith at the Royal Veterinary College. Following careful rehabilitation by his trainer he made a successful return to the track and went on to win the Welsh Grand National - a testament to the effectiveness of the stem cell treatment and the importance of careful rehabilitation.

Photo credit: Bill Selwyn