suspensory injury!..& crippled behind....any experiences please.

[flitz02]

Hi,i posted about a month ago as my mare came in from the field on 3 legs back in early feb...when the ground was rock hard! Vet couldnt find anything obvious ...he decided he would like an x-ray as ? sesamoid fracture and would also scan for tendon damage.The xrays showed nothing however the scan revealed damage to the suspensory( nothing horrifc though).He couldnt get the best pictures but was able to see the area the damage was in.He said my mare was 3/5 lame.She had already had 6 weeks box rest and it was decided between us that we would turn her away & rescan in 3/12months time.
She had a coarse of bute & is now off it ....however i went to bring her in for an hour or so yesterday & she was laid down, she let me put a headcollar on & i had to encourage her to get up.When she got up she was in obvious pain behind(shifting her weight from one leg to another) and all hunched up in the back end & would not walk forward.I left her & ran back to the yard to get help thinking the worse,but when i did get back 3mins later she had moved & was quite happy grazing.
I have today put her back on bute & i am going to contact the vet tomorrow as i cant believe how much pain this horse is in and iam now wondering if there is something going on higher up that we have missed.
I do appreciate she may have had the equvilant of a dead leg but it was horrible to see her in obvious pain & so not normal.
Any ideas please? Can a relative minor tendon injury cause so much pain?.x

 

[AdorableAlice]

I am not sure any tendon injury can be classed as minor. I would think you need a proper lameness work up and more in depth scans before you go any further.

Turning out is not always the best way forward.

 

[flitz02]

Sorry perhaps that should have read that the vet hadn't seen any extensive damage to the tendon on the scan...although obviouly it wasnt the best picture!
I have had two very experienced equine vets out to her already & they have both insisted it's in the hind fetlock area ...however it may be an idea to get her nerve blocked & see what happens.i will definately contact my vet in the morning for a chat,he is probably the best to advise.x

 

[be positive]

Was she still 3/5 lame when she was turned out? The suspensory is a ligament not a tendon and ligament injuries can take a long while to heal even minor ones when they are hardly lame can need months of restriction before they recover.
I would get her back in a stable so she can rest the injury or a very restricted area of a field.

 

[muff747]

Hi,i posted about a month ago as my mare came in from the field on 3 legs back in early feb...when the ground was rock hard! Vet couldnt find anything obvious ...he decided he would like an x-ray as ? sesamoid fracture and would also scan for tendon damage.The xrays showed nothing however the scan revealed damage to the suspensory( nothing horrifc though).He couldnt get the best pictures but was able to see the area the damage was in.He said my mare was 3/5 lame.She had already had 6 weeks box rest and it was decided between us that we would turn her away & rescan in 3/12months time.
She had a coarse of bute & is now off it ....however i went to bring her in for an hour or so yesterday & she was laid down, she let me put a headcollar on & i had to encourage her to get up.When she got up she was in obvious pain behind(shifting her weight from one leg to another) and all hunched up in the back end & would not walk forward.I left her & ran back to the yard to get help thinking the worse,but when i did get back 3mins later she had moved & was quite happy grazing.
I have today put her back on bute & i am going to contact the vet tomorrow as i cant believe how much pain this horse is in and iam now wondering if there is something going on higher up that we have missed.
I do appreciate she may have had the equvilant of a dead leg but it was horrible to see her in obvious pain & so not normal.
Any ideas please? Can a relative minor tendon injury cause so much pain?.x

Lots of info on here http://www.dsldequine.info/

 

[applecart14]

Similar thing happened to friends horse although vet saw extensive damage on scans. Horse referred to clinic for surgery to check ligament and remove scar tissue. Damage much more than suspected. Horse recommened to for long period of box rest and prognosis to atheletic career poor so friend had horse PTS.

Sorry might not want to be what you want to hear. Maybe arrange for proper work up to check how badly horse is affected.

 

[AmyMay]

I'm assuming that she was sound or at least almost sound when turned out.

Please don't Bute without the vet seeing the horse, and I would have had them up yesterday.

 

[xxMozlarxx]

I am not sure any tendon injury can be classed as minor. I would think you need a proper lameness work up and more in depth scans before you go any further.

Turning out is not always the best way forward.

This is true. Any damage to the suspensory ligament which is visible on a scan is a significant injury and can end the career of a horse especially if it's a hind. It needs well thought out and careful management and at least restricted turnout.

 

[little MJ]

My horse is having an operation on his hind suspensorys on Friday after a yr of box rest and inhand walking. He's had mri scans so we know exactly how bad they are at the mo. They have improved slightly but he is still 3/10th lame. But all his other injuries have healed well....thankfully! I tried to turn him away but it made him much worst.... Some times you have to bite the bullet and box rest/ walking... It's hard work at times but worth it. I would indeed got a proper lameness work up to pinpoint exactly where she/ he is lame and if the suspensory is blocked if he/she is sound.

 

[applecart14]

My horse is having an operation on his hind suspensorys on Friday after a yr of box rest and inhand walking. ... Some times you have to bite the bullet and box rest/ walking... It's hard work at times but worth it.

This is something I wouldn't choose for my present horse. He is 15 in a couple of weeks and I think when they get older you have to consider what is best for them in the long run. If the prognosis is poor its a slightly easier decision to make to pts whatever the age of the horse but I couldn't put my horse through months of box rest as I don't think its fair to him at that age as well as the other problems that he has, as he has spavin so needs to be moving to ease his arthritis, in his case a suspensory ligament injury would be the least of his problems. In a horse that's under say 7 or 8 years then its probably worth it but for an older boy its not really fair. That's just my personal opinion, and I am not slating anyone for doing that least of all little MJ who appears to be very dedicated and has obviously had a good prognosis for her horses return to work.

 

[little MJ]

My horse is 11 and coped well with it he had other injuries due to getting his hind leg stuck through the bars in his stable and ' hanging ' him self upside down by his leg! He was already on box rest as he was lame but didn't at the time know what was wrong. We wanted to see if everything else sorted its self out before we decided to operate. So gave him time... And gave me time to argue with the insurance! We decided mri scans were the best way forwards. Although he could have had the operation after his wounds had healed from the ' hanging' but he kept developing infections in his leg. It's been a long struggle and i still have a recovery and fitness plan to go through before he will be 'ok'. The operation has a 75% success rate which I think is good enough to have a shot at. I to at one stage thought about pts but I decided he was far to happy and i had to try everything first. If the op doesn't work this may have to be a big decision I have to make as he dislikes being left out in the field and has allergys in summer and mud rash In winter!
Hope everything go's ok for you!

 

[applecart14]

75% in a really good success rate so I would probably have had a stab at it myself. Its like anything you have to weigh the good and the bad. An example with myself: I've been offered an operation on my back but when one in three hundred end up with paralysis it doesn't seem that good an option. No doubt if my quality of life was so poor that I had to have the op then it would be a case of having to risk things. At the moment the pain killers work, when I start coughing up blood due to stomach ulcers from taking so many co-codamol I will have to have a rethink.

Guess it depends on circumstances/temperment of horse/prognosis etc, etc.

 

[flitz02]

Thankyou for all your replies especially little mj& appleccart I too was offered an op but due to no insurance & 3 kids under 3!!!.... i just wouldnt be able to do the rehab work with her.She has been turned out in a small paddock & it is almost a case of kill or cure....which sounds harsh but my only other option would be to have her pts.
The vet has been & is quite happy with her ....He has said it's going to be a long slog 12-18 months but it is sadly the only option for me at this present time.In my mind if there is no great improvement by the end of autumn then it is decision made for me.I have had horses for over 30 years & the only other tendon/ligament problem i have had is a mare that did her check ligament she had a huge swelling & was sound!!...Thankyou all again & little mj i wish your horse every success it's been a very long slog for you & heres hoping for a happy outcome for you.Can i be really cheeky& ask how much the op is going to be for you....just curious..pm if preffered.xxx

 

[xxMozlarxx]

Thankyou for all your replies especially little mj& appleccart I too was offered an op but due to no insurance & 3 kids under 3!!!.... i just wouldnt be able to do the rehab work with her.She has been turned out in a small paddock & it is almost a case of kill or cure....which sounds harsh but my only other option would be to have her pts.
The vet has been & is quite happy with her ....He has said it's going to be a long slog 12-18 months but it is sadly the only option for me at this present time.In my mind if there is no great improvement by the end of autumn then it is decision made for me.I have had horses for over 30 years & the only other tendon/ligament problem i have had is a mare that did her check ligament she had a huge swelling & was sound!!...Thankyou all again & little mj i wish your horse every success it's been a very long slog for you & heres hoping for a happy outcome for you.Can i be really cheeky& ask how much the op is going to be for you....just curious..pm if preffered.xxx

Hi, i have had 2 horses with suspensory injuries and I am finding it unbelievable that you have been offered an operation for this for a horse who only appears to have got the injury recently. The normal treatment is box rest followed by in hand walking on the road for weeks and building up to ridden work. Shockwave is also a standard treatment but an op is usually the last resort when none of the above has worked and some vets won't do it at all.
What rehab has your vet given you?

 

[little MJ]

The op is about 1,000 per leg at Liverpool uni (leahurst). My horse has a degenerate condition of his suspensory ligaments (hind). The shock wave therapy made his condition worse and his ligaments will never get any better. The only thing we can do for him is the op. This is why the operation is offered to some horses earlier than most. He hopefully will beable to go back to dressage at Elem level Without a problem.

 

[xxMozlarxx]

But your horse did have shockwave and presumably some kind of attempt at rehab for you to know that the shockwave hadnt worked? OP posted that it was a minor injury initially and no big deal, seems very odd that an offer was made of a major and not always successful op that some vets won't do and is controversial before anything else?

 

[Horsestudent2022]

The op is about 1,000 per leg at Liverpool uni (leahurst). My horse has a degenerate condition of his suspensory ligaments (hind). The shock wave therapy made his condition worse and his ligaments will never get any better. The only thing we can do for him is the op. This is why the operation is offered to some horses earlier than most. He hopefully will beable to go back to dressage at Elem level Without a problem.

This is interesting. My horse’s suspensory also got worse after shockwave. How did your horse end up doing ? I know this post is from a decade ago !

 

[Bob notacob]

Sounds like a pelvic injury and other things are a distraction. Very difficult to diagnose and a very poor prognosis .Too deep to x ray or scan . I hope I am talking complete bollocks but I lost my best friend in the world like this. Tears in my eyes ,grown man here ,sorry.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I doubt you will get a reply I don't think they post on here anymore unless they changed user name.

 

[Horsestudent2022]

Sounds like a pelvic injury and other things are a distraction. Very difficult to diagnose and a very poor prognosis .Too deep to x ray or scan . I hope I am talking complete bollocks but I lost my best friend in the world like this. Tears in my eyes ,grown man here ,sorry.

Sorry to hear. They are all special but I am at a loss as to why so many end up lame !