Check ligament injury.

[merlin12]

My horse may have injured his check ligament..Came in from the field with a swollen fetlock and lame. I kept him in as vet due next day for routine visit, tendon area from knee to fetlock was swollen by the next morning. On advice I kept him in for a week, he improved greatly. The vet was going to return and scan, but I decided that as the swelling was gone and the horse was sound that a scan was not necessary at this stage. I have turned him out and will give him some time to see how things progress.

Has any one else got experience of a suspected check ligament injury? What did you do.

Obviously if I am worried I will call the vet and look at an alternative way to help my horse recover.

 

[JanetGeorge]

My beautiful Marmalade Sky did his check ligament (in the field, of coruse) as a 5yo. He was a silly prat then and we kept him in with in-hand walking for 6 weeks. Then gave him another 8 weeks off in a small field on his own (but over the fence from sensible ones for company but not shared idiocy!) He's 15 now - and never been lame again. But rest is very important - I work on the basis that however long they're lame for, they need at LEAST twice that length of time for rest and rehabilitation before starting steady work again.

 

[little_critter]

When mine did a check ligament a few years ago she was on box rest for about 6-8 weeks (might have been longer) with controlled exercise starting a 5 mins walk twice a day and increasing by 5 minutes per session per week.
She was cold hosed twice a day for about a month and wore stable bandages, gradually taking them off for longer each day.
I don't know when she first appeared sound as I kept to the program so didn't trot for ages. When in walk she looked sound but I never tested the trot before I was allowed to.

 

[AdorableAlice]

The best horse I have ever had did a hind check and it finished him. Eleven months barn rest, a year small paddock rest, six months of trying to rehab him and failing. Hinds are rare injuries. He is retired now and although fully healed the healing process has shortened the ligament leaving him mechanically lame.

My advice to anyone is give plenty of time and then double it. Listen to the vet and consider the season a write off.

 

[JennBags]

Yes plenty of rest, and cold-hosing, I wouldn't be be turning out for 6-8 weeks minimum, even if the swelling had gone down, then I'd get it scanned. I wouldn't get it scanned until then as the treatment is pretty much the same whether it's a ligament or a tendon injury. The only advantage with getting it scanned early as well is for comparison.

 

[Goldenstar]

Bad bad move , an untreated of missed check injury often happens before a a more catestropic injury .
I would have the horse in on ice therapy and you need that scan to see extent of the damage and another later to confirm it healed .
I would also be looking ultrasound and laser therapy .
Checks usually heal well but the help stabiise the tendons between the knee and fetlock a comprised check ligament can lead to a serious breakdown.

 

[stormox]

6 weeks minimum box rest- then walking on roads, first in hand then ridden. - mine did improve and eventually seemed perfect, but I was always worried it would recur so sold her to a non-jumping/hunting home.

 

[Deltic Blue]

My old horse done his in back in 2011, he had a total of 11 months on box rest in total.
Initial injury was lame with swelling to front leg, box rested for a week and if no better then scan, which we did.
Box rested for 8 weeks, allowed turnout, but he managed to re-injure it, so back in again on box rest for 6 months (not nice for either of us!) Which did include some in hand walking when he was ready for it.

He was then introduced very slowly to turnout in a round pen under mild sedation with sedalin to keep him calm. We then started to ride him again rather than the inhand and did up to 30 mins ridden walking.
All seemed to be well, until he went lame again after having turnout in a bigger field with a calm companion.

Went back to the hospital to re-scan, and evaluate, at that point his back end had started to break down trying to support his front leg had caused too much strain on his back end, and he was crippled

We ended up putting him to sleep there and then as he had bad feet as well which didn't help his healing process, and he just was never going to come right

I don't mean to put a downer on it, as with the correct management I've known lots of check injuries to heal, my boy was just unlucky.

 

[zaminda]

Mine has damaged her check ligament. She lives out and has done since she did it. I have bought an arc machine and when she is rescanned I will know where I am at. She did the same thing on the other front leg smacking it when jumping with boots on. On that occasion she was back up and running about 9 months later although very steadily. She damaged the leg in January and I have just started ridden walk. She was sound almost immediately as she has a high pain tolerance so I always have her scanned before upping her work.

 

[bliss87]

My horse tore his check ligament 8months ago and at 17 (now 18) the vet told us it would be a long healing process. Initially he was 6 weeks box rest, one vet said scan the leg but my preferred vet said it was pointless as either way the horse must be kept on box rest. 6 weeks past still swollen amd lame so he went onto a further 6 weeks box rest. in the end he did 5months of box rest on bute, then he was allowed to rummage around out stable yard as in hand walking was just to dangerous. 6months he moved onto a small paddock, then after a month he moved to the bigger paddock, and last weekend I got on and we went on a 15min walk down the road. The leg still has a slight bump where he damaged the it, I wouldn't call him 100% sound but he's not lame either but would never compete again (he was semi retired anywa). Yesterday he decided to jump over the fence into the a different paddock so I don't think its troubling him to much

 

[spike123]

Mine has just done his proximal check ligament (desmitis). He isn't sane enough to box rest so is in a small paddock where he can be kept a close watch on to ensure he isn't running about. The vet has said a weeks rest and then to start in hand walking on a good surface for 6 weeks before i can start to return to ridden work where the work can be slowly increased after 10 days of walk work.