Any info on Check Ligament injury gratefully received.

[debradley]

Well after my post of 'AAAggh why do I keep these horses?' I now need some advice. The vet has been out again today. Marbles leg is still too swollen for scans and he wants to control the infection first. However, he did say that he suspects Check Ligament damage but doesn't know what has caused the infection. Now from what I've read it looks like it's not good news for this sort of ligament damage with a poor recovery rate and unfortunately Marble is already 16. If any one could give me the nuts and bolts of getting her back to new, or not if this is the case I would really appreciate it.

 

[RachelB]

I don't know the ins and outs of it all but my friend's 19yo was diagnosed with not only check ligament damage in her right foreleg, but also a bad curb on the left knee, one partially fused hock and one that had finished fusing. Considering this is something wrong with each leg, and the mare is 19, I can't see that it would be that bad a prognosis as Cracks is doing well after about 2-3 months of box rest! I haven't read your other post though so may be grabbing at the wrong end of the stick. However, 16 certainly isn't that old!

 

[Bounty]

One of ours did a check ligament quite spectacularly a few years ago. She was 15 at the time.
She had 6 months of paddock rest and was then brought back into work carefully, and now does everything she did before (XC, SJ, fun rides, polocrosse, you name it!) and is still going strong for her new owners.
Don't despair, I expect Marble will be fine in the end, 16 isn't much of an age really!

 

[sqippa]

My old boy ruptured his check ligament when he was 19yrs old. He needed 6 weeks box rest, some physio and gradual walking out in hand then turn out. He has a thickened ligament now but at 25yrs old has never suffered any side effects of knock on problems.

Sqip

 

[debradley]

Thanks folks that's what I wanted to hear as this is my daughters pony and she loves her to bits and we have only just started doing the full round of PC etc and she's such a marvelous 2nd pony. I know 16 isn't that old but she did have a lot of health problems when we first got her so we've been taking things really slowly up till now because it took us this long to get her fit enough to do all the activities only for this to happen. But it doesn't sound as if I've too much to worry about as long as we take the right course of action. My daughters first pony was still doing all the rounds at the age of 34 when we finally had to retire her sadly that seems to be what she lived for and we lost her soon after at age 37 so I have good experience of the veterian stage. Just really glad of the positive info. Thank you

 

[TGM]

Another good news story for you. Friend's 18yo horse did a check ligament but after a couple of months box rest and then controlled exercise has returned to former soundness.

 

[showjump]

My horse managed to put a big hole in his check liagment, around Jan time.

He had to have box rest, followed by walking on hacks for 6 weeks, then building up gradually.

He is now cantering, and doing poles on the ground. It has taken time and patience but there is no reason why he will not do what he did before the injury.

Hope your pony heals soon.

 

[Tia]

Two horses on my farm suffered check ligament damage, at around the same time. Box rest was the vet's suggestion, but was not taken up. Horses were left out in field and about 4 or 5 months later they are both sound again. Box rest no doubt speeds up the healing process but just to let you know that it is definitely possible to have field-kept horses come sound also.....just takes a little longer.

 

[measles]

One of ours did a check ligament in May 06 and was on box rest for 3 months with gradually increasing walking in hand before she was turned out in a small and increasing in size paddock. A year (and one foal!) later there is no evidence of the damage when she's scanned, although she has a slight thickening which never changes and will stay now.

We hope that she will compete again after the foal is weaned - unless she finds a new "husband"!

 

[Gladioli]

Hi

My Lad damaged his check ligament July last year, he also had an infection with it, still not sure what caused it but the vet shaved his leg and found tiny pin pricks. He was on quiet paddock rest for about three months and then very slowly brought back into work, 6 weeks of walking then including some trot and so on by the beginning of Feb he was cantering and jumping. He did have Cartrophen (sp) which is an injection but is quite expensive, my vet however does believe that it improves recovery and how the ligament looks and feels once it has healed. The only thing I have been warned off is excessive lunging, other than that he is fine.

The only thing I would say is that I did air on the side of caution when bringing him back into work and did everything very slowly. The injury only caused a 2mm difference in the size of the check ligament so was not as bad as some.

Hope this helps

 

[debradley]

Hi there Gladioli that's really interesting the tiny piny pricks with gunk coming out of them is exactly what my vet has found as well. Unfortunately, these now have all joined together into a couple of hugh scabs which are creamy white in colour - looks gross. She is on another course of antibiotics and danillon but every morning when I go down to the stable the leg has swollen back up again. I've decided today to zinc and castor oil the scabs wrapped, to try to soften them. It reminds me very much of mud fever (but don't think it is) and do think that if I can get these scabs off and the area really clean then hopefully we can get a proper hold of the infection. Vet can't check the ligament or tendon until we've got this bit under control.