Suspensory desmitis experiences

mynutmeg

mynutmeg

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My mare has been lame since last autumn, was diagnosed with sesamoidits in January and has done 7 months box rest. I've had her re-evaluated by a different vet after moving home from uni and the conclusion is along the lines I had expected as she's still lame. Vet says suspensory desmitis, most likely of the branchs and is very very pesimistic that she will do anything other than very light hacking in the future.
She is my pet first and foremost and will go no-where and will be fully retired if thats what she needs as her welfare is my top priority but I'm absolutly gutted :-( she's been working so well this last couple of years and really come into her own being absolutly solid to hack and do endurance with.
Obv I will never ask her to work at the level she was doing 40-50km a week but I was looking for experiences of this sort of diagnosis, both good and bad, to see if there is any hope she will be able to do some light work comfortably?
 
If you have her insured I would ask for a referral to one of the big equine hospitals if you're not already at one (I personally went to both NEH and CEH for my old boy) and ask them to check her for DSLD (degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis)
I believe NEH used ultrasound to diagnose the upright version of this in my case. I'd previously had vets tell me it was anything from arthritic changes to check ligament damage in previous year and I just wish I'd had him sent to NEH much sooner than I did. As my boy was older and had spent a long long time with this problem (it had got to the point where he was spending more time lying down than standing up), our ending wasn't great. He ended up being PTS due to colic at CEH while on last-resort experimental treatment for DSLD, but saying that he was responding quite well to the treatment.
As far as I'm aware with early diagnosis and treatment you can keep a DSLD horse comfortable in the field and potentially lightly rideable, but me and my boy didn't get to that stage

Sorry I couldn't give more positive news, but just thought it might be something to be aware of (there's lots of articles about it on google if you want to do some of your own research)
 
Thanks - unfortunately while she is insured her tendons and ligaments are excluded due to a previous DDFT injury to the other hind leg and I've just finished university so am very tight atm.
She was scanned with ultrasound at the start in january which was clear which is why my new vet thinks inflammation ie the desmitis rather than a hole in the ligament.
 
My horse had suspensory branch desmitis in a hind leg in June/July 2008 age 11, he was eventing to PN (BE100) level prior to the injury, which I was advised was of a chronic nature. Vet gave a guarded prognosis for return to work, as he said he had seen horses with lesser injuries be retired/PTS and horses with worse make a full return to work. The rehab process was slow but he made a full return to work and was eventing again in August 2009. Has since drag hunted, team chased and did a few ODEs last year, he is now 21 and would have been out eventing already this year had he not lost an eye at the end of Feb. Although he is back jumping now and we have an ODE planned on 11th Aug, albeit at 80cm due to his age and my lost brave pants.
 
My horse returned to full work again and jumping.. I took it extremely slow with her despite the vets recommendation to just crack on. She's a forever horse for me. I found (and still use it religiously) that using an arc equine helped things along and a decent joint supplement with collegen in to aid healing.
I avoid deep schooling and limit circling and lunging.
 
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