Annular Ligament Operation

[_jetset_]

A client of mine has been recommended to have the annular ligament operation on her young horse due to an injury which is making her ever so slightly lame.

I have been looking for some experiences on here as she is quite upset as this was her horse of a lifetime, so I am looking for some advice from anyone who knows about the operation or has experience with it. There is not much on line really, which surprised me.

 

[Warrior_princess]

Hi jetset. My mare had this operation in july this year. She went to Leahurst on the monday,had the op on friday and came home the following monday. The operation itself went to plan but the aftermath of it has been a nightmare. Xena was home for 7 days when she developed an infection in her tendon sheath. She was rushed back to Leahurst fighting for her life,spent 3 days in intensive care,went back into surgery to have her tendon flushed out and was on an aggressive course of antibiotics for a further four weeks. She spent 12 days in Leahurst before returning home. The thickening of the tendon sheath is still very noticeable,she is still 3/10ths lame and has been on box rest now for 4 months. The initial period of walking in hand was extremely hard work with an over excited 8 year old who still believes she is 2!! I began turning her in the arena for an hour a day 3 weeks ago and i have a vet visit tomorrow to assess the situation and see if she can begin turnout in the field.
I know this is a negative post about this operation as it usually does have a very good outcome and success rate from what i researched about it before my horse had it done. Another horse that had it done at the same time as my mare is recovering really well. I have said though that if i knew then what i know now,i wouldnt have put xena through it. I currently have a horse that at 8year,i cant ride 2 days on the trot,i cant jump again,i cant do any fast work with her and uneven surfaces are a Big no no. Im sorry i cant give you a nicer picture of a great recovery but all horses are different. Im just sad that mine went wrong x

 

[contestdancer]

I have a horse that has had this done on more than one of her legs. She is now 18. She came back into full work afterwards without any problems. I'm very sorry to hear what happened to Warrior-princess's horse as this i would suspect would be the exception. The prognosis for these procedures is usually good and the vet would be the best person to advise.

 

[cobwithattitude]

Agree! Sorry to hear about WarriorPrincess. Our horse had his op 3 yrs ago, can never jump or lunge again, but would recommend op. We are very careful with ground. He is working at Medium level now and competes BD elementary. Had op done by Bruce Bladon.

 

[Wilbur_Force]

I'm a few weeks into William's rehab. We're up to 9 mins walk twice a day. Its all going well so far. He spent 2 weeks at Newmarket. Matt Smith did the op. Kept him there til after the stitches came out. Leg was bandaged from hock to hoof for a few days at home then came off 3 days after he came home. No visible wound entry and it looks great. He's still lame and vet will reassess in January. By then I need to be up to 30 mins walk twice a day. Not sure if he will come right but at least i can say i tried. Hope this helps and best of luck :-D