Advise on check ligament injury and rehabilitation. Opinions on stem cells, shock therapy and IV laser treatments.

[emilykerr747]

My pony has done both front check ligaments. One has very mild swelling, the other has slightly more swelling but both have no heat. He seems to be sound in the school however shows up slightly lame when trotting on a hard surface and on a circle on a hard surface. He used to event at low level (BE80) however this will now be off the cards!

He’s 15 years old and this year was meant to be his last season of eventing before moving into a quieter life of hacking, flatwork, riding club activities.

The vet is recommending stem cell, IV laser and shock therapy treatment. I’m wondering how successful are these treatments? The vet has recommended controlled turnout (as he’s stressed in a stable on his own) and has said that if he wants to return to jumping he’ll need those treatments otherwise he may be limited to dressage only. They said he’ll likely be out of action for 12 months for recovery.

I’m hoping to get some advice on these treatments. Are they worth it for a horse his age? Also looking to find out people’s rehab schedules and timelines which worked e.g box rest, controlled turnout and walking routine.

I understand that he will likely not return to event again but I just want to get him to a level of soundness where he can do low level riding club level events and not be in pain!
Thank you!

 

[Birker2020]

Why it's essential to ice immediately following a tendon/ligament injury.

This is why I think t's very good to instigate cold therapy as soon as your horse has a tendon/ligament injury. This is me going by my other user name (long story but two user names as don't have access on computer to old user name only phone). Picture 1 December 2019, around the 28th December...

forums.horseandhound.co.uk

 

[GinaGeo]

My boy did one Check Ligament when he was 16. He had swelling and heat and was lame.

I extensively cold hosed and iced initially. And then turned him away for about 11 months and then gradually brought him back into work. He would probably have been okay coming back into work a earlier, but it was the middle of winter so we waited until Spring.

He has hunted and jumped since and has never been lame. He’s 20 now. The vet told me he’d likely do the other one - he hasn’t.

 

[emilykerr747]

My boy did one Check Ligament when he was 16. He had swelling and heat and was lame.

I extensively cold hosed and iced initially. And then turned him away for about 11 months and then gradually brought him back into work. He would probably have been okay coming back into work a earlier, but it was the middle of winter so we waited until Spring.

He has hunted and jumped since and has never been lame. He’s 20 now. The vet told me he’d likely do the other one - he hasn’t.

Thank you this is so promising to hear!
Did you stable him at all?

My boy gets filled legs in the stable and I can’t imagine he would appreciate being stabled for long periods of time with nothing to do. I was planning to turn him out in a small paddock for 6 weeks however I’ve read that lots of people stable initially with controlled walking.

 

[Ditchjumper2]

My boy did his and we cold hosed, used DMSO and turned him out. He was a big heavy hunter. He spent 6 months in the field then loads of walking roadwork, followed by lots of trotting roadwork and resumed hunting and whipping in same as before. He carried on into his 20s.


He wasn't stabled either!

 

[Zoeypxo]

I know of someone whos horse did a check ligament , a big hunter. They chucked him in a field with a buddy for 12 months and he came up sound and continued hunting after this

 

[GinaGeo]

Thank you this is so promising to hear!
Did you stable him at all?

My boy gets filled legs in the stable and I can’t imagine he would appreciate being stabled for long periods of time with nothing to do. I was planning to turn him out in a small paddock for 6 weeks however I’ve read that lots of people stable initially with controlled walking.

No his legs fill up and he’s pretty sensible in the field. He just had a smaller area to start with.

 

[ycbm]

If a horse does any ligament then I'd want it to be the check ligament, as a rule they are the easiest to fix and the least troublesome after. I've have known of quite a few, had 2 of my own, and all of them returned to their previous activities after 6 months or less with just rest and no other treatment. Your vet is certainly going for a belt and braces approach, which is fine if your insurance will pay.

The one I know of which was really troublesome was given away after repeated strains to someone who did a barefoot rehab on him. That corrected his foot balance and he never strained one again. So given yours has done both, which is in itself unusual as its normally only one leg, I would urge you to check the foot balance, possibly with x rays.
.

 

[SEL]

I did box rest but it was last February, wet, stormy and the pony jumped out of the little paddock I made for her. Walked twice a day.

She has some upper body problems that don't help her legs but **touches wood** it hasn't been a problem since. Last summer the ground was so hard we walked everywhere which no doubt helped.

Movement is key to stop it knotting up the vet told me but if you're insured then throw the works at it

 

[emilykerr747]

I did box rest but it was last February, wet, stormy and the pony jumped out of the little paddock I made for her. Walked twice a day.

She has some upper body problems that don't help her legs but **touches wood** it hasn't been a problem since. Last summer the ground was so hard we walked everywhere which no doubt helped.

Movement is key to stop it knotting up the vet told me but if you're insured then throw the works at it

Thank you! He does have insurance but the quotes I got for treatment, his insurance won’t cover all of it unfortunately!

 

[Landcruiser]

My boy tore a ruddy great hole in his aged about 18, We did box rest then small pen for a few months with daily cold hosing and also PRP therapy. He came good, went back to TREC, but then did the other one about 3 yrs later, not as badly. I turned him away for that one, again he came good but then more or less retired because of hock arthritis. The vet ultrasounded the massive hole in the original one fairly recently (She was trying out a new toy, a portable ultrasound machine) -and absolutely no sign of that injury now. I think the PRP really helped.