Collateral ligaments

[EllieBeast]

Hey, i was wondering if anyone with experience of horses with damage to their collateral ligaments could give me any info on how well those horses have recovered?
What level of damage did they do, what treatment did they recieve, and what level of work did they return to in what timeframe?
Sorry for all the questions - but im just trying to gather as much info as possible to help me with my mare.

LW

 

[Marchtime]

Sammy was diagnosed with a ruptured medial collateral ligament six years ago after an MRI at New Market, he was 7rs old. Sadly it took a long time to get diagnosed (MRI was not common back then and he was initially misdiagnosed with navicular) and despite everything he was pts aged 8yrs old following advice from Sue Dyson.
Jesper was diagnosed eighteen months or so ago after an MRI at Liphook, he was 8rs old. He has chronic wear to both medial collateral ligaments but in particular his right fore. We treatment with nine months rest (decided not to box rest after consultation with the vets), steriod injections in his coffin joints (he has associated changes in the coffin joint and some inflammation) and shockwave. He has natural balance shoes with silicone pads as he has flat soles and low lying pedal bones. His original prognosis was poor and guarded. The vet at Liphook suggested we should not expect him to return to work, however my vet was more hopeful.
It was a slow rehab period with six months of walk and some trot only in straight lines. He was still intermittently 1/10th lame during this time often after being an idiot in the field. Last month I had the vet back out as I wasn't happy with his progress. His stride had shortened and his temperament changed. The vet believes his collateral ligament isn't a huge issue anymore, but he had a previous injury to his left hind suspensory and the diagonal pair are now weak leading to compensation problems. We decided to put him on one danilon every other day to keep him comfortable for hacking.
Basically prognosis for this injury is poor unless the injury is caught early and is only minor. Horses shouldn't jump or lunge after. Most return to light hacking (as mine has) but very few return to anything more.
Treatment options are limited but possibilities include shock wave, IRAP and steriod injections in to the coffin joint. A good farrier is key to recovery along with a long period of rest and slow rehab. Someone on here suggested a neurectomy might be a possibility and probably the only way back to full work when asked awhile back however I wasn't prepared to go down that route.
Sorry for the essay and not to be more positive. It's not a great injury to be dealing with. If you need more info I'll try and help.

 

[EllieBeast]

Thankyou very much for your swift reply. Im sorry to hear that you have so much experience of this horrible injury

Its now a year on since my mare was diagnosed via MRI at rossdales. Like Sammy she had a severely Ruptured Medial Collateral ligament. She had shockwave, IRAP and 3 months boxrest. She was brought slowly back to work and has been pretty much sound since.
Her last checkup at Rossdales showed her to be 100% sound on the straight, and on a circle when on a surface. However she was still slightly lame when lunged on a hard surface. - i was still advised to up her hacking and introduce some schooling.
That was 6 months ago and she is now even sounder still (i fact i would go as far as to say she is as sound as she ever was). She is making a very good - if slow - recovery, and im just trying to plan what i can do with her next. Her vet said that she should be able to do dressage and not to rule out jumping her again.
I wanted to see if anyone knew of any horses who had returned to jumping after such an injury - and how the horses stood upto the work. I understand how lucky we have been so far - as she was only given a 30% of field soundness when first diagnosed - let alone me being able to ride her again.
I hope your horse stays sound for you, and wish you luck with his recovery. One thing i have been told over and over is that time is such an important factor with this injury.
Thankyou again for your reply

LW

 

[Marchtime]

LiveWire I'm so glad to hear a success story. IRAP is meant to be the step forward with treating these injuries. Sadly as Jesper had no rupture or hole as such, the ligament was more 'moth eaten', IRAP wasn't considered worthwhile.
If she has stayed sound then I would imagine you were over the worst. It might be worth talking to the people at Rossdales who diagnosed or maybe Sue Dyson as I know she is considered one of the experts with this injury. Good luck.

 

[EllieBeast]

Thankyou. I think i will take her back to rossdales before i decide to do much more with her - i need a little bit of reasurrance for my sanity! I swear ive developed munchausens from this - constantly trying to spot something wrong with her

!
At the moment im at university for 9 months of the year - and shes not ridden when im not around so shes getting plenty of rest between my holidays. I will take her back in july once ive built her fitness a bit and see what they say.
Its such a difficult injury as its so expensive to check its progress. I cant afford to have her re-MRI'ed, its not like a tendon where it can be checked via ultrasound for under £50! Oh well, i'll just have to do as my vet said and see how it goes

Thanks again
LW