SEL
Well-Known Member
I think I'm just posting this because I'm feeling really down about the whole experience and need to vent! I insisted the vets scanned S's hind suspensory ligaments a few weeks ago. She's had this on / off uneveness for a while, but not something that vets were easily spotting on a trot up - in fact at times she was trotting up lame on a foreleg (taking turns as to which one). She'd had a silly moment on the lunge in the middle of the heatwave when our arena surface was deep and pulled herself up then looking a bit ouchy - but nothing obviously "lame"
So I got stroppy, pointed out that it was my money, and we had the scans. Right suspensory a bit thickened, left looked OK and nothing to indicate any lameness issues. So plan was to inject her hocks once I returned from holiday and go from there (known arthritis). But when the more senior vet came out to inject the hocks she brought the scanner with her and went back in around the hock area. Right was fine (although obviously the thickening on the original scan hasn't gone away), but after a good 20 mins on the left one the vets concluded that there was a problem. It looks like where her chestnut is on that hind leg the ligament has at some point come away and is basically no longer there - it definitely wasn't visible to 3 vets on the scans anyway. Now she's had her hocks injected its actually more obvious that she has a twist on that leg on landing and it also explains the slightly odd hoof flare that she gets.
I'm gutted really because it doesn't look like there's a lot I can do apart from seeing whether she can compensate for it over time. No idea whether it happened in the summer or at some point in the past 2 years (the last time they were checked) and I just didn't notice it - or thought it was a PSSM type stiffness from behind. The vets were all very supportive, but not in a 'lets do this and then this and it will cure it' type manner. Right now she's in gentle work to see if the injections in her hocks will loosen her up and make life easier for her - plus it should indicate whether there really is lameness up front or whether she's compensating for problems behind.
So if anyone has any positive stories on a similar injury then let me know. She's only 8 and it seems that every time I sort something out she goes and breaks somewhere else
So I got stroppy, pointed out that it was my money, and we had the scans. Right suspensory a bit thickened, left looked OK and nothing to indicate any lameness issues. So plan was to inject her hocks once I returned from holiday and go from there (known arthritis). But when the more senior vet came out to inject the hocks she brought the scanner with her and went back in around the hock area. Right was fine (although obviously the thickening on the original scan hasn't gone away), but after a good 20 mins on the left one the vets concluded that there was a problem. It looks like where her chestnut is on that hind leg the ligament has at some point come away and is basically no longer there - it definitely wasn't visible to 3 vets on the scans anyway. Now she's had her hocks injected its actually more obvious that she has a twist on that leg on landing and it also explains the slightly odd hoof flare that she gets.
I'm gutted really because it doesn't look like there's a lot I can do apart from seeing whether she can compensate for it over time. No idea whether it happened in the summer or at some point in the past 2 years (the last time they were checked) and I just didn't notice it - or thought it was a PSSM type stiffness from behind. The vets were all very supportive, but not in a 'lets do this and then this and it will cure it' type manner. Right now she's in gentle work to see if the injections in her hocks will loosen her up and make life easier for her - plus it should indicate whether there really is lameness up front or whether she's compensating for problems behind.
So if anyone has any positive stories on a similar injury then let me know. She's only 8 and it seems that every time I sort something out she goes and breaks somewhere else