Annular Ligament...depressing!

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Natalie12

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Hi All,

Well back mid December my mare came in very lame and after scanning her hind leg showed her Annular ligament was swollen. Externally it looks quite swollen around her hind fetlock (windgall area) a bit like a pouch of swelling if you like! It doesn't seem like there is much heat though and once it was scanned the vet said there is no damage to her tendons just a swollen ligament which is quite rare he said. The more i am reading about others experiences the more anxious and depressed i am becoming... she is just coming to the end of a months worth of bute and is in her stable bandaged and then goes out in a small paddock for a couple of hours in the afternoon to stretch out. The swelling has gone down a bit but its just so hard to know if what im doing is right or not! Some days it looks more swollen than others for no apparent reason and we are into week 7 now with a horse who still isn't sound. Any advice most welcome, are there any particular magnetic boots that are good for this condition people have found?

Sorry to rant but it's really just starting to take its toll... plus she isn't covered on insurance as she is 21 in May and bless her she hasn't ever been lame before!
 
Hi Nat,

My boy did both front ligaments and when scanned they were 1cm thick, normally 1-3mm thick. He was very sore but vet said turn him out with a quiet horse so he doesn't run around too much and he'll recover. He did. Within 6 weeks he was fine. A friend had a problem a few months later with her cob, and her vet wanted to operate. She asked for a second opinion and went for quiet turnout, and he also made a full recovery.
 
Well he is coming out again on the 13th to have a look at her again, i am going to make sure though i stop the pain relief so he can have a good look! They haven't really commented to much really, they keep saying how rare it is and strange to injure the annular ligament and not the tendon! Which isn't really much help to me, i'm hoping to get more info and advice when he comes out again on the 13th he did mutter about the tendon sheath also being swollen?
 
Debbie you dont understand how nice it is to hear somebody say there horse is back to normal and recovered! Was your horse on any pain relief? Boots/bandaging? Many Thanks
 
It's not that rare. I had a horse who had problems with her annular ligament. Box rest was a month, then turn out for two weeks then slowly back to work. She was absolutely fine.

As for your insurance, it's not an 'expensive' injury, so I wouldn't stress over it.
 
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One of mine damaged her annual ligament - off hind. Vet told me she would need to be on box rest for 3 weeks, with 2 x 20 mins cold hosing a day. Was difficult, but I came up with (what I believed to be) an ingenious soution...putting the hosepipe down a hind travel boot. Please dont shoot me down, I wouldn't do this with any horse, but she stood there and loved it and the only time she did move, the travel boot just came off so i came back to find her with a very wet hoof instead of her fetlocks! lol

During this time, I also had to walk her around the outside of our yard (It was a series of indoor barns) which took approx 5 mins at the end of each hosing. After this, she was scanned again and I was allowed to turn her out in a very small paddock for a couple of hours each day, all the time increasing the amount of walking in hand.

After about another two weeks, I was given go ahead to start a 'to quote' "conservative" fitness plan. I.e, turnout a bit more, and start riding in walk, on a flat level surface for 15 mins to begin, working up over a month to include some trotting on the road a little and beginning school work. As she stayed sound, I was then able to up the work more, including longer hacks, faster work and some jumping.

It was hard work at the time...but worth taking it slow and steady. You now wouldn't know she'd had the problem! In fact, last summer she took my novice husband round the local farm ride, popping some fairly decent fences!
 
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Hi Nat,

No special treatment, not even bute. Vet wanted him to realise that sore mean't no running around. He was separated from his crazy thoroughbred pal and put in with a plump cob who liked to eat all day. It was awful to see how sore he was at first, but he made a full recovery and so did the other cob who had same injury but one leg only.

Hope all goes well for you.
 
forgot to mention, he was very swollen, when his little bit of feather was trimmed away for the scan, it looked like he had an egg stuffed down each leg, but this disappeared some time later, long after he was sound again.
 
Thanks for the info dollymix, really good to hear how well she's doing now! I haven't been told to do much box rest... i think the first week?? then she has been going out for a couple of hours each day since in a paddock with one other quiet horse (she wont go out on her own)! I've been doing the in hand walking although she see's grass and thats it she is heading for it! :o) The hose pipe isnt a bad idea how many weeks did you hose it for as again my vets said dont bother now as after the first week or two it wouldn't do any good? I've got her on box rest at the mo too because of the snow which she is not enjoying bless her but i wouldnt dare put her out in it!
 
Don't lose heart! My friend's 30 year old cob did this about a month ago to his off hind. Vet recommended restricted turnout with a quiet companion (my horse!! a Anglo Arab that had just finished 5 months box rest :eek::eek::eek:). He was cold hosed twice daily for a week, is currently on two bute a day, stabled bandaged at night and is making an excellent recovery.
 
Thanks Daffodil, well Rosie was on 2 butes a day back in early Jan and then when she finished her course went lame again so it was showing us that it was the drugs that were basically just hiding her lameness making us think she was doing better than she really was. It seems your friends cob though is on a very similar routine to mine though Rosie is on pain relief at the mo but just the one sachet now. What signs has your friends horse had to show his progression?

Many thanks
 
My TB mare had annular ligament problems and my vet suggested keyhole surgery. She had it cut when she was 19. She was back in full work within 3 months and is still sound now and at the grand old age of 30 still gallops round the field every day :) Don't get too down about it I am sure your horse will be fine :)
 
Hi Nat,
Sorry to hear about your problems. I had similar with my mare about 6 years ago please have patience. My mare had lameness in her RF and the tendon sheath was swollen and as you describe 'wingal' type swellings. She had a steroid injection into the sheath and had 6 weeks of box rest, still lame, back to the vets another steroid injection into the sheath 6 weeks box rest still lame! Back to the vets who advised to cut the annular ligament to relieve the swelling in the sheath. More box rest, physio etc 6 weeks later small paddock turnout she hated it! Slowly walked in hand all ok, slow hacking in walk- lame :(. Back to the vets who advised the surgery caused adhesions and granulation tissue to form! They advised can have surgery to break it down, turn her away as she will never be more than pasture sound or PTS! By this time my insurance had ran out and PTS wasn't an option do I turned her away. A year later she was sound and I started riding her again! So far so good *touch wood*. We hack out, do sponsored rides, bit of dresssge, bit of jumping. Good luck :)
 
A mare I owned had her Annular Ligament cut and we were told that under no circumstances should she be stabled, she was kept out in a reasonably small paddock and was exercised in hand for the first few days and then was walking hacked.

The actual op was a knock out job but the incision made was tiny.

Good luck :)
 
Thanks everyone, i have read a lot of people saying they had the op but at nearly 21 (in May) i worry about her being knoecked out. My other main worry is that she is such a scardy cat and once scared she gets very strong and generally runs! She gets stressed in a trailer and i think she would just generally find the whole thing from loading her on the yard VERY stressful! But if needs must ....

I am seriously hoping that when i take her off the bute for when the vet comes she is sound... it does make me a bit mad though the last time they came when she was still quite lame in trot they then decided to do a flexion test on the leg also! I just thought surely thats not doing any good putting all that pressure on the leg when its already bad!?
 
Hi Natalie... I' m sure she will make a good recovery. Try not to worry to much. I did the cold hosing for two weeks.. It tied in with the box rest really. I also did the same as you, putting her out with a very steady neddy in a tiny paddock... Enough to wander round and graze, but not really run around! I was lucky as she is fairly quiet natured which definitely helped :-)
 
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