check ligament advice needed

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Welly

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Hi, my CB did his check ligament at th end of September the vet was called and did a scan and on a scale of 1 to 10 said it was about a 2, we did 5 weeks box rest then another scan. The vet said that he could go out in the field and do light work but we never seem to get all the heat out of the leg and we still get swelling I cold hose it a couple of times a day and I have not ridden him yet. Now the question, he hated box rest and became a danger to me and himself as he has never been lame could I leave him out in the field (in at night) and just let the leg heel slowly.
 
Try giving him MSM, it worked well for a friend with a horse that got adhesions from a check ligament injury. The ligament healed but there were "bits" that stuck when he worked and caused heat and filling. MSM sorted that out and he is fine now, but kept on it all the time. It is competition legal, so no problem.
 
Box rest is not right for tendon and ligament injuries except during the critical first phase (this one sounds like it was never that bad). They need movement in order not to form adhesions. If they can't stand turnout then they should be walked out in hand several times a day for 10-15 minutes. My friend's horse got adhesions after she was too lazy to walk it out in hand as instructed and left it on box rest for far too long.

The second scan has shown the ligament is fixed enough for the vet to recommend turnout and work. This is much more likely to be complications from adhesions than injury to the ligament needing more rest.

Give your vet a bell and ask him what he thinks.
 
A horse I helped to bring back into work had this injury. He had box rest for 3 months and then gentle walking in the school (after a short period of hand walking) before trot work etc was brought in. When it was considered he was strong enough to be out in the field he was then allowed out. Had to build up the strength in the legs before allowed in field in case of re-injury/strain on the ligament.

My mare has had a tear in her DDFT, at the point within the hoof and was only diagnosed after an MRI scan. That was in Sept and we are hand walking 3 x 15mins per day and building this up and up week by week. Shes off for another re-scan to check the level of recovery before she starts ridden work. She wont see a field until next Spring after the strength is well and truly built up in her leg. Its just not worth risking her tearing around a muddy field to then injure herself again. Incidentally, shes been on MSM for the last month and I think its made a difference in the healing.

Good luck!
 
Rolo did his check ligament at the end of July. He's been on roughly 4 months boxrest but with daily turnout in a 24x16ft grass patch for 2-3 hours each day to keep him sane. We then did walking in hand for a few weeks. He's now in a field on his own all day but next to the others; my old boy (22) tears round the field like a 2 yr old taking all the others with him and I don't want Rolo anywhere near them when they're doing that - luckily he just stands and watches til they've worn themselves out. All being well I plan to start hacking in walk only over xmas, gradually increasing the time each day. Fingers crossed!

Forgot to say, there is still a very slight "filling" of the area, though it is cold and hard - my vet said it would probably always be like that from now on and is to be considered normal for that leg now.
 
My horse did his Check ligament last Dec. He was box rested completely for 10 days, then started walking out in hand for 10 mins a day, increasing by 10 mins each week until he was up to 40 mins when I could ride him, after 6 weeks walking in hand he was re-scanned and began to have trot work introduced with a couple of canters introduced just before the next scan.
He was then worked for another 6 weeks and scanned again, at which point he was deemed ok to continue with what he had been doing, although he wasn't healing quite as well as hoped due to his age and size. Throughout his box rest he was bandaged in front.
In July/August the Vets were happy that his Check Ligament had healed well enough, however due to him compensating he was lame in the other leg. So he is semi-retired, but due to his Arthritis rather than his Check Ligament, although neither bother him these days and he is happy causing trouble with the youngsters!
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My Vet told me that Ligaments tend to respond well when treated correctly, rather than Tendons which seem to have an element of luck to their healing!

Henry hated box rest and had to be doped for the first ten days to stop him box walking or jumping out! The Vet advised 3 months box rest, but said that I needed to make it work for my horse, and as he is such an idiot in the stable, restricted turn-out was the best option for him.
He was turned out after his 10 days box rest in a small paddock with one other quiet horse (recovering from a bowed tendon) and probably did less damage to himself than he would have in a stable!!
 
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