Enlarged collateral ligaments in front feet

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cjdjivanovic

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8 year old eventer with no previous history of lameness has been lame in both front feet for 2 months. The only cause showing up on scan and X-ray is enlarged collateral ligaments; the medials are normal. Nerve block showed 50% improvement on coffin joint - which can be explained by the proximity of the ligaments. There doesn't appear to be any abnormality in the coffin joint or anywhere else. Vet is pessimistic, and a bit short on positive ideas for treatment.

I would be very grateful for suggestions of vets who have treated this condition successfully, and how they did it. If it really is as gloomy as my vet implies, I suppose it's better to know that too.
 
Unsure where your horse was diagnosed. Leading expert is considered to be Sue Dyson, based at the AHT in New Market.
I've had two with collateral ligament damage. Sammy was diagnosed back in 2003 after a long lameness and misdiagnosis. He was eventually sent to New Market for an MRI (they were still new in those days) where Sue Dyson diagnosed with a ruptured collateral ligament. His was severe and the injury had taken too long to diagnose, he was pts.
Jesper was diagnosed two years ago aged 9yrs with wear to his collateral ligament in right fore. We turned away for nine months and treated with shockwave treatment. Vets at Liphook where he was diagnosed were pessimistic. He returned to work as a light hack for a year but then went lame again and has since retired.
Successful treatment tends to involve long periods of rest - from between nine months to eighteen months. Shockwave treatment is not proven but we decided to try it. IRAP can be used but I'm not sure if it could be used where there is enlargement rather than a 'hole'. The coffin joint can be medicated with steriod injections to help reduce inflammation. The most drastic treatment is neurectomy. I'm afraid I don't know enough about it to offer advice. We decided not to consider it with Jesper as I believe it's not a fair option.
General prognosis is poor I'm afraid. Some horses on here have returned to work though so take comfort. Sorry to not have a more positive story.
 
hi i'm one of the lucky ones - well up to now anyway ! my horse was diagnosed by m.r.i. scan at leahurst. he had a core lesion in one and had sprained collateral in the other. m.r.i. scan three months after the first one showed a marked improvement, so much so the vets were surprised. my horse was on 6mths box rest with in-hand walking starting with 5 mins up to 1/2 hr twice a day, then after 6 mths ridden walking for two months, introduce trot for another two mths, then introduce canter, throughout all this no turnout as such - he was allowed into a small 10 x 10 metre pen when we got to ridden trot!! he is now going well and is being successful in ridden showing and dressage but i will never risk jumping him again and i will always be careful i ride him on good ground and never turn him out in a boggy or hilly field. throughout his rehab he was fed correctly with baileys low-cal balancer as they need nutrition for repair and various supplements/herbs and shoeing was vitaly important, first he had heart-bar shoes with gel pads he is now in normal shoes and re-shod every 4 weeks to keep correct foot balance fortunately he has fast growing hoofs. keep positive and good luck
 
Rest is normally your first step (extensive think 6mnths plus) to establish wether there may be a returning soundness and returning to work etc. Probably best to start barefoot and have regular trims to keep the feet balanced and then remedial shoeing as and when necessary
 
Thanks for all the suggestions; I now have some useful questions to put to my vet, even if the pessimism level is the same as before.
 
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