Medial collateral ligament injury

[misst]

I am so sorry for you OP having been through something similar with a young much loved horse some years ago. It is soul destroying. I hope he stays sound enough for retirement but don't be afraid to make the call if needed if he's not doing really well. Ours never became sound enough tars o live in a field without significant bute dosage and he was only 9 years old. It broke our hearts to lose him but he was never comfortable after endless boxrest/injections/shockwave/special shoes/no shoes... It is the worse part of owning horses.

 

[Kind horse lover]

My horse has almost identical injuries/ issues, original medial collateral ligament injury approx 2.5 years ago, had best remedial farrier in the region everything done by the book.
Attempts to rehab her at 6 month failed she was still subtly lame on L fore. I moved her to a barefoot track livery and attempted to bring her back into gentle work after a further 7/8 months and she now copes well with that however I only ask her to do gentle hacking and walk and inhand in the school as I believe years of working on a deep soft surface was the main cause (before I owned her) plus she came to me with v long toes and under run heels which likely stressed her feet ligaments greatly.
Personally I think once they have injured a foot ligament the prospect of coming back into ‘proper’ work is very low but light gentle work with suitable management is possible.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I hope your mare continues to well and you both have lots of enjoyment with light hacking and schooling. I agree, I've heard collateral ligament injuries have a high reinjury rate - I expect this is mainly due to people trying to do more with them but hopefully with your mare in light work she will be fine.

 

[Kind horse lover]

An update on my horse. He has moved to his new yard on 24/7 restricted turnout. Vet pleasantly surprised and how much sounder he was after 7 weeks box rest. With time his Bute can be reduced and he can go in about 5 acres with other geldings. Grass is kept deliberately low and fed ad lib hay all year round. He needs to be sounder and lose weight before going in big paddock.

 

[misst]

That is a lovely update. I hope he enjoys his retirement.

 

[Kind horse lover]

That is a lovely update. I hope he enjoys his retirement.

Thank you! x

 

[MissTyc]

My horse did himself a bad medial collateral tear in 2018, front left. Coffin joint injections, several rounds of shockwave, remedial trimming every 2-3 weeks. He doesn't like boxrest but the weather was nice so I was able to build him a woodchip corral in the middle of the yard so he could be part of the daily buzz, then onto a track I built around a paddock, then the track evolved into an increasingly more complex and "proper" track. I was just given the go ahead to come back into work when Covid hit, so he got 6 more months of mooching about and rehab stretches. By the time lockdown started to ease up, he was sound. He did come back into full work, despite the vet being confident that would be impossible - it took 3-4 years but I can gallop, jump, etc. I am very picky about surfaces but I try to let him make his own decisions about pace and terrain as he's a mindful sort of a horse ... Never give up hope on recovery!

 

[Kind horse lover]

My horse did himself a bad medial collateral tear in 2018, front left. Coffin joint injections, several rounds of shockwave, remedial trimming every 2-3 weeks. He doesn't like boxrest but the weather was nice so I was able to build him a woodchip corral in the middle of the yard so he could be part of the daily buzz, then onto a track I built around a paddock, then the track evolved into an increasingly more complex and "proper" track. I was just given the go ahead to come back into work when Covid hit, so he got 6 more months of mooching about and rehab stretches. By the time lockdown started to ease up, he was sound. He did come back into full work, despite the vet being confident that would be impossible - it took 3-4 years but I can gallop, jump, etc. I am very picky about surfaces but I try to let him make his own decisions about pace and terrain as he's a mindful sort of a horse ... Never give up hope on recovery!

Wow what a wonderful uplifting story! Your horse is lucky to have such a kind patient owner.

The vet and I thought he wouldn’t make it this far, so who knows. He was sound in walk on straight lines last year and the vet signed him off sound and encouraged increasing workload, introducing trot and schoolwork, and he went lame. So he may be able to hack on straight lines in walk later but for now we are focussing on getting him sound. I might do a mini track in his field to transition him. He really should have been sold as a happy hacker in the first place by the dealer and not a sports horse. But equally if doesn’t get sound enough I’m happy to just have him in my life as long as he enjoys life.

Amazing news about your horse. I think vets are just used to putting injured horses to sleep so don’t see many success stories.

 

[MissTyc]

@Kind horse lover , soft tissues are tricky as horses just won't do the right thing and rest their injured limbs. I had so many setbacks and I cried a lot. I'd got to the "sound on a straight line" part when he decided to hurl himself over a 5-bar gate and take off across a slippery yard and was then not sound at all. But the months went by and then turned into years and we focussed on the biomechanics and flexibility of all his other body parts and then one day I started to feel more confidently positive. When Covid hit, it gave us some unexpected extra time. My chiro at the time said "get them sound, the soundest they can get ... then give them another 6 months". Covid enforced that for us and also gave me a brain space and time to restart him softly and differently. I felt like I missed out on some of his best years as he was injured at 13 and then suddenly he was a 15 yo ponyhorse ... but now he's an 18yo ponyhorse and better than ever.