Annular ligament

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Pritt_stick

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Horse had swelling in his hind fetlock. Automatically assumed windgalls and gave him some time off.
Swelling didnt go, there's been no heat and hes remaind sound.

After 3 weeks I gave in and got the vet out.
He's tweaked a tendon and there is inflammation of the Annular Ligament.

He wasn't scanned, vet is certain this is the problem.
He is having a further 2months off before being reassessed, however vet has warned me surgery may be needed.

Said horse is making a lovely field ornament, although is starting to get bored. He comes in and has a sesh with ice vibe boots once a day.

Any hints or tips that can help aid his recovery?
He's 16
 
Ice vibe, cold hosing, ice cupping, ice booting.

Anti inflammatories.

If you can get hold of a therapeutic long wave ultrasound machine, it did wonders for my horse. See if a physio will lend you a machine. Most do if you use their physio services and have an appointment for them to see your horse. There may be something even better they can offer you.

peakperformancevetphysio.com

Equipment Hire

In some cases it is beneficial to have daily therapy however this can be both unpractical due to appointment availability and also costly for owners. Some of the equipment can be hired by owners to…
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There's quite a few previous posts on here mostly with surgery success stories I think. Mine didn't flag as an issue until he was 24/25, both sides thickened but one worse than the other and v. slightly unsound on that- interestingly the opposite side to his spavin, did wonder had I treated that a bit sooner/aggressively would it have helped.

Was treated conservatively with steroid and rest as I wouldnt' have done surgery on him at his age, semi retired to hacking on flatter ground (was in wiltshire hills at the time but he went back to mum's on the somerset levels instead). Hacked for another couple of years before being fully retired due to a few non specific issues.
 
Pritt_stick said:
Horse had swelling in his hind fetlock. Automatically assumed windgalls and gave him some time off.
Swelling didnt go, there's been no heat and hes remaind sound.

After 3 weeks I gave in and got the vet out.
He's tweaked a tendon and there is inflammation of the Annular Ligament.

He wasn't scanned, vet is certain this is the problem.
He is having a further 2months off before being reassessed, however vet has warned me surgery may be needed.

Said horse is making a lovely field ornament, although is starting to get bored. He comes in and has a sesh with ice vibe boots once a day.

Any hints or tips that can help aid his recovery?
He's 16
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I'm surprised your vet didn't scan! I've recently had a mare come in lame with swelling, vet came the next day, by which time she was sound but still with some swelling, so she had a couple of days box rest and some bute with instructions to bring back into work gradually.

10 days later, I still had the swelling (windgally but also a little in tendon sheath) so the vet came back and scanned, suspecting annular ligament thickening - it turned out that the ligament and tendons are all fine but the skin over the annular ligament is slightly thickened from whatever she did in the field, which is what is causing the swelling, rather than any damage to the tendons or annular ligament. It might be worth asking your vet to do an ultrasound to get a definitive answer? Not sure what type your horse is, but mine is a LW TBxWB and I believe annular ligament injuries are more common in heavier types.

I too am using the ice vibes and 10 days on, the swelling has reduced almost completely - sending healing vibes your way too!
 
My late gelding had the surgery age 18, he did have it confirmed by scan though. His annular issue was secondary to a ligament injury, which was treated with PRP during surgery. It was a success and he went back to low level eventing until he was retired at 22.
 
Surgery is usually successful if the annular ligament is the primary issue. With my little mare it was secondary to wonky feet (genetic - x rays were interesting) so I chose not to operate. Remedial shoes and she's a great happy hacker.

Quite a lot of posts if you pop into the search function.
 
My mare recently did an annular ligament. It seems that she bashed it somehow but on initial vet visit at home the scanner died so we couldn't see exactly what was what. However, that was 10 days post injury and the referral vet felt confident there was no tendon or suspensory involvement due to the horse being sound and the physical exam (senior orthopaedic specialist).


My horse was sound at a basic trot up so yard rest and a short period of controlled exercise and quiet field rest were advised. She was NOT quiet I'm the field!

I've just had her leg scanned 8 weeks after the first visit/10 weeks post injury and whilst I was concerned about continued limited filling of the tendon sheath the scan was really helpful. The filling is not viewed as consequential; there is no tendon or suspensory damage and no damage to the annular ligament structurally though it remains a little thickened at 2.5 mm where the measurement for further investigation is 2mm. Vet has advised that no treatment or surgery is needed and she was delighted to give me that news!

The horse is completely sound on trot up, lunging on hard and soft, small circles and flexions. Vet is super happy and has discharged my lovely horse. I am able to start riding but will turn away until after Christmas now. I was very concerned about what the scan would show in light of the minor but persistent filling above the fetlock but I'm very glad that I had the scan done as I now know there is no significant damage and that is really helpful in moving forward.
 
Great news palo, F was 6mm on the bad leg and 4mm on the good one and definitely chronic/conformation linked.

I’d definitely want to scan even if the vet didn’t
 
SEL said:
@palo1 well that's good news!!
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Yes, it is the best news!! Thank you. I can't wait to ride her again but am hoping to add in some different kinds of ground work and body work and I need a bit of headspace for that so I'm happy enough to give her a holiday for now.
 
ester said:
Great news palo, F was 6mm on the bad leg and 4mm on the good one and definitely chronic/conformation linked.

I’d definitely want to scan even if the vet didn’t
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That is interesting - thank you. The vet liked her and felt her conformation was good but my trimmer thinks we can possibly help her feet which might reduce the risk of re-injury etc.
 
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