suspensory help please?

little_pink_piggies

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Have a pony, he's 8 now and we've had him since a 5yo... but he's never been right, always found canter difficult to engage and would stop for no apparent reason when jumping etc etc.

anyway we thought he had back problems but with further investigation discovered that he had damaged suspensory ligaments in both front legs... but had never been lame as such as both legs were hurting... he was jumpng 1m20 tracks as a 4 year old so we think that he has always had it done

anyway 3 months box rest, and walking, trotting building up work etc. and started to do some canter work/turn him out... but he went lame again
frown.gif


when they scanned him at the beginning they thought there was some damage to a joint but they left it and said that 8/10 horses have damage to that joint anyway...

Its really intermittent lameness and theres no pattern to it??

Has anyone had this happen to them before? I just have no idea what it could be as there has been no swellings etc. and i could have sworn that there was some heat in his hooves, but the farrier can't find anything??

ideas/good luck vibes anyone???
 

H's mum

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Hi there - sorry to hear about your horse - suspensory ligaments are a nightmare to heal and are notoriously difficult to diagnose too - rarely showing heat only palpatation around the fetlock or by doing nerve blocking of that area - I know of several horses which have had problems - some with front legs and some with hind - I also know of horses that have gone through the process of resting/spa treatment etc only to have to have the operation - which is worth doing as it's been successful in all cases that I know.
Speak to your vet again - it may be worth going down this line of treatment.
Good luck
Kate x
 

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if he did have damage to his proximal suspensory ligaments (PSD) then 3 months rest, return to work and going lame again is classic - PSD just doesn't respond to rest. it either needs shockwave or surgery. just resting them never works. was he scanned? PSD doesn't normally cause swelling, but you can normally see damage on ultrasound.
 

star

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oh, if he had shockwave and has gone lame again, then assuming the diagnosis was right in the first place, your only chance would be with surgery. he'd be very unlikely to come sound just with rest.
 

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doesn't matter whether damage is acute or chronic with surgery because the nerve is cut so they cant feel the damage, however bad it is. it has a good success rate, but there are times when it doesn't work or the nerves grow back. surgeons will say 90% success, but i'd say more like 60% long term from the cases i've looked at.
 

angiebaby

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This is what my pony Walker has at long last been diagnosed with, 5 months of looking!! He is at the hospital in Oakham at the moment, I'll be bringing him home today, then hopefully in the next few weeks with be de-nerved.
 

poggio

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The surgery is worth a go if you can do it financially! A friend of mine had a 4* horse with suspensory damage...they were about to write her off until a second opinion convinced my friend to opt for surgery - it was successful. The horse has since completed and been placed at 4*..and was on the European team this yr
smile.gif

Similarly a girl I used to work for had an Int. horse who had surgery, although he never returned to eventing (this was only because he was too precious to his owner and they decided not to event him again, not because he was no longer capable) he now BSJAs with the 'big boys'

Good luck whatever you decide and hope it works out for the best !
 

little_pink_piggies

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thanks... mums being really pessimistic though and wanting to have him PTS
frown.gif
but e havent even had the vet out to him since hes gone lame again so i dont see how she can say that?

just out of interest do you know if that would be covoered by insurance?

thanks again
smile.gif
thats really helpful, i don't mind if he even comes back to be a happy hacker i just feel like I owe him a few years of happyness seeing as hes had so many misearble ones in pain
frown.gif
 

dieseldog

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It should be covered by insurance depending on your policy. If you are anywhere near Willesley they only charge £1,500 for the op where as Rossdales are charging £3K+ . So worth shopping around.

Someone has said in the past that the op is illegal under BE but I'm not sure if this is true or not, so if you do have it done be careful who you tell.
 

poggio

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in the two cases I mentioned im not too sure it was covered by insurance, you'd obviously need to query it.

As far as I am aware it is legal for BE, it was a team vet who suggested it.
 

Tiffany

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Sorry to hear about your pony. I've got an 11 yo horse that had a suspensory ligament problem. After 3 months box rest, spa treatment and gradually being brought back into work she's been fine (touch wood). Her problem was a slight sprain and there was swelling and it did show up on a scan. Even a small sprain shows up on a scan according to my vet so, if there's nothing showing maybe it's something else. Could there be splints forming (they can cause lameness until they are formed). Good luck finding out what the problem is and fingers crossed for a full recovery.
smile.gif
 

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as far as i know the BE rulebook forbids horses from competing who've been denerved unless they've changed it recently. i know it was designed for navicular as then they cant feel they're feet, but the rule wasn't specific so would cover suspensory de-nerving too. i dont know if they've changed it recently though as dont have a current copy of the rulebook.
 

hmoses

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Sorry to hear about your pony but no way should he be PTS. I don't think the outlook is that bleak. My arab ex racer has just been diagnosed with the same problem and is about to begin his shock wave treatment. I really hope this works. Does anyone have experience of this, rather than having to go on to having an operation?
 

angiebaby

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I have fetched my pony back from hostpital, and he is booked in for surgery next Friday!! so excited!
smile.gif

I understand the going through the pts mode, I've been there. But the moment the vet said he could have a 75 percent chance of going back to what he used to do ( which is hacking , pleasure rides and only a small amount of jumping) I cried buckets. To think I even thought about putting him to sleep.
£15000 is the approx price, plus it cost me £500 yesterday!
frown.gif
My insurance has almost run out as this is the second opinion, he has had a million nerve blocks!
So I need to do extra work to pay for it!
 

dieseldog

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From what I can gather Shockwave is more succesful on fresh injuries, if your horse has had it a long time it might not be the best option.

Jakesmydog - whereabouts are you getting your op done?
 

star

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[ QUOTE ]
Sorry to hear about your pony but no way should he be PTS. I don't think the outlook is that bleak. My arab ex racer has just been diagnosed with the same problem and is about to begin his shock wave treatment. I really hope this works. Does anyone have experience of this, rather than having to go on to having an operation?

[/ QUOTE ]

my horse had shockwave and came sound - he was back in full work in 6 months and never looked back. his injury was fresh, mild and picked up very quickly though. it was in his right hind.
 

angiebaby

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Ooops I mean £1500!! Jesus I'd be working till that age too!
He is off to Oakham, Rutland which is only 50 mins from us, its fairly new and is fab. Should have took him there to start, but I have always trusted the local vets; Its too late for shockwave, this has being going on for nearly 6 months.
Was quite comical,there was a huge thoroughbred being vetted for a girl, whose daddy was buying it for her to event on.
Only £20,000!!
ooo.gif
Kerching! And here's my Welshie cob standing at 14.1h looking chubby and mucky. But everyone loved him! And I only paid £100 for him
smirk.gif
 

deb12

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I am new to this forum, I joined because I wanted to share my findings with every horse owner that has problems such as yours or tendon/wounds.
we have racehorses and experience a lot of ligament/tendon injuries.
We found this amazing product called Nutrawound and its staggering the rapid results we get each time, many trainers are using it now as we need to get them back on track asap.
Can get it from www.myhealthyhorses.co.uk
 
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