Is a suspensory ligament injury the end of a horse's potential career?

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My novice dressage horse has been diagnosed with an acute injury to the root of the suspensory ligament and has been put on 6-8 weeks of box rest and weekly shock wave treatment. She is going to Halifax tomorrow for the second lot of treatment, but from looking on the internet at case studies etc etc it seems like as suspensory injury does bring about the end of a competition horse's career.

Grace was hopefully going to be my top hat and tails horse, but that is now looking incredibly unlikely. I worry that I am putting her through 8 weeks of box rest for nothing if she will not reach her potential. I keep asking myself whether it would be better turning her away for a year and then trying to bring her back into work as a local competitions horse
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I feel so depressed... when I was first told about the injury I did feel quite hopeful, but I have to admit I am now beginning to doubt that she will ever be really able to compete at the level I want her to. It is such a shame, because she is more than capable and is a lovely moving horse!

Sorry, just a moan more than anything.
 
Don't know that much about ligament injuries but I do know that one of the comp horses at my RS did his suspensory badly back in April/May time and he's now back in full work, sound as a pound and aiming for him to out competing as soon as possible.

So there is hope ~hugs~
 
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hi

shame that she has done an injury...

my trainers Grand Prix did the same injury 2 years ago and he back to competing Grand Prix again so i wouldn't say it is the end to her career...

hows troy doing
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Thanks for that... I just feel completely down about it at the moment and am struggling to come to terms with the fact that she has a 'limit' in her competition career. She is so capable and still very young at just 6 years
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Troy is doing really well... I am off to see him on Saturday so will get some pictures
 
For heaven's sake DON'T read anything on the internet! Especially case studies and the like! They will only bring you down! From what I read into your recent posts, your vet is sure she'll make a full recovery. And I also read into your posts that you seem to be a chronic worryer...
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Seriously, give it time and take your vet's advice, don't write her off just yet!
 
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For heaven's sake DON'T read anything on the internet! Especially case studies and the like! They will only bring you down! From what I read into your recent posts, your vet is sure she'll make a full recovery. And I also read into your posts that you seem to be a chronic worryer...
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Seriously, give it time and take your vet's advice, don't write her off just yet!

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Couldnt have said it better!
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Stop worrying hun, your vet sounds like he is very positive about it xx
 
I am a chronic worrier, especially at the moment because I seem to have been through a few months of horrendous incidents, not all equestrian!

My vet did seem quite positive from what I remember, but I was trying to take in everything that he was saying in the phone call on the drive home from Halifax. But I never actually asked about whether it would affect her potential to keep moving up through the levels.
 
Don't worry about the future ,every case is different ,you noticed this problem early.
Many years ago I had a young horse ,I evented him as a 5 year old , only a few events then as a 6 year old I started the season but the next day he wasn't quite right,I put it down to stiffness as in a couple of days he was fine, this happened twice more and then at Ragley Hall he broke down , they didn't do box rest in those days but he was turned away for 6 months then bought back as per book.
I went to do a riding club dressage and David Stean came up to me and asked about him and suggested I only did dressage on him. Within 3 years he was doing P.ST.G. and I was offered alot of money for him ,he past the vetting with flying colours.
I know tendons are different from ligaments and his injury was a front leg but just wait and see how it goes.
 
She's only young yet Becki so she's got plenty of time to have a year or so out and then come back stronger than ever, lots of horses with this type of injury come back into full work but the thing is to give them as much time as they need and then a bit more! It's a blow to you I know but better now than if you had got her to the top hat stage and it had happened.
You could always try her in foal next year then by the time foal is weaned, she'll be ready to come back into work again but that would also make you give her the time she will need and you'd also get something out of the enforced rest too!
I know you won't want to hear it but cheer up, it could have been a lot worse.
 
I can't afford to put her in foal and pay for the treatment she is having... and to be honest, I would want to keep the foal and can't have four horses, that is simply silly
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I was looking for a success story that would cheer me up on the internet (a horse that had done its suspensory ligament and then gone on to hit great heights) but all I found were retirement stories and bad prognosis reports.
 
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I was looking for a success story that would cheer me up on the internet (a horse that had done its suspensory ligament and then gone on to hit great heights) but all I found were retirement stories and bad prognosis reports.

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That's because all the people whose horses recovered well, are out riding and not posting stories of woe on the internet!
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Honestly, I know it's hard to be positive in these situations (I totally broke down for days when I was told about Maiden's tendon injury) and you have a lot going on at the moment, but stick in there and let us all know when you buy your top hat and tails when you and Grace are flying up the levels!
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hi sorry to hear about your mare, mine had a similar injury two years ago while I was eventing her, she has been sound since treatment and I have evented her all year. When she was first diagnosed I did think sh1t that's her competition life over with! But then as it was a first time injury I was advised to give her a chance to recover and begin work steadly again - however if the injury reoccurs I will prob give her a good break and put her in foal!x
 
She will be fine!! Its VERY minor her injury-she wasnt even majorly lame- hence why she is on a mere 8 weeks box rest!! The fact that the vet said just 8 weeks box rest shows how minor it is- serious injuries are boxrested for 3 to 6 months, even a year.
This injury is NO different to a human lightly spraining their ankles.....
 
Listen to your vet he will be far more informed to comment than random internet info. I did exactly what you did when my mare was diagnosed and was all doom and gloom following my internet research!

My vet pointed out to me that the treatment for PSD has moved on so rapidly and is now done fairly frequently whereas a lot of the info I was reading was already out of date. I was still fairly sceptical and even after her op was convinced she wasn't going to come through the rehab..but she did with flying colours.

My mare is now competing beyond the level she was when she was 1st diagnosed and feels like a turbo charged version of her former self! The vet also told me of another PSG dressage horse he treated who returned to the same level of competition so there are defo success stories out there!
 
I told you - Dan was 16 when he got PSD in his right hind. he was back competing in 6 months and back up to Medium within a couple of years (and that was taking it ridiculously slowly) - the suspensory wasn't his limiting factor - more his age and my lack of time and the fact he's a short, stumpy long-backed welsh cob! my friend has a PSG schoolmaster who's had PSD and been operated on and i know of a certain famous rider with a grand prix horse who had PSD and was operated on. Also know of countless other success stories for PSD especially those diagnosed early.
 
I am glad you have changed your mind about putting her in-foal as I dont think you would cope with the stress though 2nd time around it should be easier! As everyone has said this is just a blip & your vet is the best person to advise, if you are not happy with his comments ask for a 2nd opinion from another vet you do trust. Horses are meant to be fun, it seems a shame you spend most of your time worrying about them instead of enjoying them. This is not meant to sound as if I am having a dig, but just chill a little. I along with the others feel sure Grace will make an excellant recovery.
 
Thank you to everyone who has posted...

What I was worried about is that she was only competing at Novice when she was diagnosed, and I had hoped she would go a lot higher than that. But the stories I am reading and the case studies suggest the horse can go back to working at the same level it was before the injury. There is no information on them being able to progress and the ligament being strong enough to perform higher collection work.

I had a good think last night and made the decision that should she not be able to come back into full work with the view of moving up through the levels she will go into foal. When I put Hannah in foal I was a complete worry wort because I had never done it before and did not have any experience of it. I learned a lot through having Troy, not just the pregnancy but the handling sides of having a foal too. There are a few things I would do differently than I did with Troy, but that is all part of the learning process
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Yes, as others have said.......don't panic!

I went with a client to pick up her horse from Newmarket where he had been treated for PSD, he's now back working at medium btw, and we saw there a GP horse who did very well at this year's BD Nat Champs
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Apparantly he was being treated for the same thing, so I was told.

So be patient, enjoy riding Hannah, and hopefully you'll be back on Grace in no time.
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From your investigations on the internet into PSD I'm sure the one fact that you did pick up is that PSD in hind legs does not cure itself. If you leave her out in a field for a year she will be lame when you get her back in. You either have to treat it with Shockwave Therapy, if the injury is fresh, or have a Neurectomy and Fasciotomy if the injury is older or Shockwave didn't work. If the Shockwave doesn't work you still have the option of the operation.

The surgeon that I spoke to about the operation said that he had mainly been performing it on Grand Prix dressage horses and Advanced Eventers. 90% of them went back to the same level of work. This 90% might be a bit high, but that is what he was quoting me. Shockwave treatment isn't supposed to be so succesful but that is probably due to it being performed on injuries that aren't suitable. In Star's case he was caught very early, it worked.

PSD may seem very minor as the horse is hardly lame with it, but it is serious. I would imagine that 70% of experienced horse people wouldn't even notice that a horse has it as it is very difficult to spot.

As you have got insurance I don't understand why you can't afford the treatment and to put her in foal if it doesn't work.

All you can do is continue the treatment and see what she is like once you bring her back into work.
 
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My vet did seem quite positive from what I remember

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peter is also my vet & very good , i've had too many dealings with him unfortunately , anyway , my experience of peter is that he is certainly not one to give false hope & if he thought that things would possibly not go well for grace i would expect him to give a guarded prognosis , personally with an injury like this if peter is saying you should have a positive outcome i personally would be feeling as good about things as you can given the situation

good luck
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Suspensory injuries do not heal with just plan field rest infact they can get adhesions and thickenings that then make it impossible to heal it properly.

You have to treat it and you have to treat it ASAP and follow your vests advise as there's different treatments for the varying injuries.

Sounds like you vets sussed out what needs doing so just follow his advise and you shouldn't have any problems. Grace's carrer doesn't need to end hear.

Good luck.
 
My friend's horse did a suspensory as a four year old. She's now 9, winning at Medium and about to go onto AM. Has never had another problem with the leg and made a full recovery after around 6 weeks box rest and 6 weeks walking.

Don't read things on the internet.

My horse had surgery for bone chips and a fractured splint bone back in July and I thought that he would never come back. He's been in work now for a month and is going very nicely. There are some pics in the gallery to prove it! I know how you are feeling but there is no reason to think that Grace will not make a full recovery.
 
Thanks everyone... I didn't know whether Peter meant she could go back to doing what she was before, or whether it would not affect her moving up the levels.

I have spoken for him today (Grace was an angel) and he showed me the scans and really talked me through it all. He said the only worry is if the ligament remains enlarged, then surgery can be performed but he is hoping that will not be the case. However, should that happen I now know there are options.

He seemed positive today, and said once fully healed it will not affect her again. It is not going to be a weakness, which is what I was starting to wonder. So, after todays visit I feel a bit more positive and she is now on week 2 of the shock wave (which sounded dreadful by the way) and started the injections today into the ligament. We have another appointment this time next week
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My schoolmaster injured his hind suspensory. He is up at working at Prix St George( well, he is, at least with a rider other than me!!I am still learning to do 'the tricks'!)

Don't worry yourself to death reading other people case studies on the net as every horse is different.
 
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