COLLATERAL LIGAMENT DAMAGE

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KIMBY

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My competition mare was diagnosed with collateral ligament injury to the right fore June 2008 have gone through the process of box rest,shock wave, feet balanced by xray, walking in hand then under saddle now trotting and is making fingers crossed good progress.Has anyone or know of anyone whose horse has had the same injury and returned to full competition work. Taking things very slowly with her and has turn out for two -three hours daily now so is much happier and calmer.
 
Hi
It's a horrible injury isnt it? Bet she is a TB or TBX.
You probably do not want to hear this but over the last 6 years we have lost one to this injury (6 years ago). It was misdiagnosed and he was "worked through it" as it was thought to be navicular related and he was away with my daughter at school at the time hence not regular vet.
We brought him home as he was unlevel and he went to Sue Dyson at AHT and was diagnosed on MRI. 7 months of rest injections of cartophen and TLC had made no improvement and he was lame on 2 bute a day. He was PTS.
Unfortunately we got another TB and despite excellent farrier and vet he has developed soft tissue damage to his collateral ligament in his right fore (why is it always the right??). He left isnt that great either.
He is sound most of the time after shockwave,cortisone injections, NB shoes with gel pads, adequan injections and a joint supliment. At the moment he is on one bute alternate days as he is happier on this.
He is only a happy hacker now and is very carefully looked after - no lateral work no jumping. TBH I do not think he will make old bones..
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but everyday is a bonus when he is happy. He is now 10 and we have had him since 4.
I think someone on here did IRAP with some success but this seems more useful in acute injury than chronic problems.
Sorry I know it isn't great news but hopefully someone else will have a happier story.
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I had a show jumper that did this he made a full recovery infact was placed at hoys this year, but it was a very long rest and recovery period almost as long as a tendon, he had 10 months box rest inbetween visits to the vet's shock wave treatment, and several lot's of hyanate and adiquan injection's, followed by six month's getting fit again, the last time it was scanned the vet said if he did'nt know he would'nt have found it, so finger's x'd your's will be ok just don't rush things.
 
My boy did this in 2006. He had an arthoscopy to clean the joint out and was then in cast up to his knee for 3 weeks and fetlock high one for another 3 weeks. Four months box rest in total and then brought back into walk work.

After another 2 months he was fairly sound on the straight but not on a circle. Vet then opted for IRAP therapy. He had 4 injections at 2 month intervals and 15 months after the original surgery he was signed off. In the time since then he's gone from strength to strength and is back doing everything he was doing prior to the Op including jumping.

Interestingly my vet said that in his experience resting alone without the Op wasn't as successful (he gave me a 70% success rate prior to the Op). I guess it depends on the damage caused - with Ludo the damage to the ligament was causing the joint to move side to side as well as it's normal movement, hence the Arthoscopy to clean the joint.

Ludo also had a bit of suspensory damage to both back legs as he was taking the weight off the front onto the back, but the enforced box rest for the front sorted that out!

Sounds like you are making progress and good luck in the future, I'm sure it will all work out fine.
 
Thank you all for your replies my mare is a warmblood ten years old and have had four excellent years competing with her will carry on taking things slowly and see what this Summer brings when she should be at the cantering stage in her programme. Can see her through the window whilst writing this happily grazing in the morning sun.
 
I had an advanced eventer who also went to Sue Dyson at the AHT and was diagnosed with collateral ligament damage. We went through a similair rehab therapy. he was definitely improved after all the time off but was not comfortable in full eventing work and jumping drops always remained an issue. He is now hacking and doing dressage and the lack of jumping and fast work seems to have kept him happy. Probably not what you wanted to hear, he basically did improve but it had to go with a change in job and lifestyle. Having said that he is very happy! Since going through all that with him I am hugely paranoid about foot balance and pay a fortune on farriers fees but think prevention is definitely better than cure. not many people or cases I have come across though seem to make a full recovery although I know there are a few 4* examples out there.
 
Hey, my mare ruptured her medial collateral (left fore) in november 2007. She had IRAP, shockwave and 3 months boxrest. She has slowly been brought back into work and i would say that she is now pretty much 100% sound.
Mine managed to do hers pratting around in the field even tho on xray her foot balance was correct.
She will be able to do dressage and my vet has told me not to rule out jumping her again, however her rupture was v severe and i will never return her to the extent of work she was in before the injury.
Unfortunately the prognosis with this injur is usually guarded, and as my mare was only given a 30% chance of field soundness following hers, i feel v privelaged to be able to ride her at all. The main thing with this injury is time, and at the mo my mares having lots of rest as im at uni, so will have had almost 3 years of rest before i attempt to bring her back to any real work.
If you have any questions feel free to pm me
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LW
 
Hi, my homebred did his over ther coffin joint when he was 4, in April infact, he was box rested over the summer and was fitted with a neat looking pair of round shoes and he came sound and was back out competing by the end of the year, initially he was so lame vet reckoned he had fractured his pedal bone as he couldn't even put weight on it, he is a big strapping holstein x shire and since his recovery it has never been an issue, we have gone back to full competition, jumping, xc, showing, wh's etc we do it all and he is fine, only one thing I will warn you about and anyone else is that when you get stud holes or put studs in make sure your front hooves get two studs apeice, my vet and farrier said that only using one stud is the best way to cause this type of injury, albeit he did it whilst turned out, actually saw him do it, running around like a nutter then stood on a stone and did what I can only describe as "going over an ankle", hope yours makes full recover as mine did!!
 
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