Suspensory ligament damage

[LisaBlakeston]

Hi eveyone
I have a 32yr old retired cob who has sprained his suspensory ligament in his hind leg. The Vet has advised that it is not a total rupture and recommended box rest and short walks between 15-20 mins daily. He seems to be making good progress and can weight bear and walk on it without any problems, the only thing is his hoof twists on contact with the ground does anyone have experience of this , is it common in suspensory ligament injuries? Will the twisting motion get better in time?

Any comments/advice will be a help thanks

 

[squiff]

I have seen a few with suspensory Ligament damage as ran a yard for a vet for a few years. The damages were not as bad as what yours sounds like and even ours were on total box rest for a few months. I'd be concerned that your vet is advising short walks at this stage. Perhaps ring another vet and ask for their opinion. I am guessing that the hoof twists as on one side the ligament is not holding the leg at all.

 

[LisaBlakeston]

Thanks racingchick

He was in his stable when the injury occured I arrived to give him his morning feed and noticed when he came out he was lame so he must have done it during the night this is mainly why the vet diagnosed a sprain rather than a rupture of the suspensory ligament, she said ruptures are normally jumping injuries. I see what you are saying regarding the twisting motion its something that is going to need a second opinion from another vet. It puzzles me that apart from the noticable twisting of the hoof he is not lame at all and is on his toes wanting to go (have to walk him with a bridle). It is 7wks since the injury occured I hosed with cold water twice a day for the first few weeks until the heat went and his legs have been bandaged since and apart from the twisting he seems fine, nobody I have spoken to has seen this twisting motion before.

 

[puddicat]

Can you be absolutely certain the twisting motion was not present and unnoticed before the injury? It is difficult to explain, horse legs have well defined ranges of movement and don't have the freedom to start and stop twisting however hind legs do twist to some extent when they contact the ground. From your description there is no chance that the twisting is an effect of damage to the ligament. That leaves the possibility that the horse has adapted its gait to reduce pain. The best person to ask about it is your vet.

 

[LisaBlakeston]

Thanks for the advice puddicat
The twisting motion was not there before the injury, its possible as you say that he has adapted his gait, I have spoken to a few vets for advice and none so far have experience of this twisting of his hoof makes me wonder if it is something else maybe.

 

[puddicat]

Is the twisting only on the injured leg (if so it would be less likely to be an unrelated problem that occurred by coincidence)? If so which is the injured leg left or right? Is it the hoof that you notice twisting and if so does it twist anticlockwise or clockwise whilst on the ground ? Presumably you're noticing it at walk? Excessive twisting of the hind leg certainly isn't common.

 

[LisaBlakeston]

The twisting is only on the injured leg (back right). It is the hoof that seems to twist making the whole leg twist anticlockwise at walk.

 

[puddicat]

Hmm, well, if its the whole leg then the twisting movement must come from the hip joint, non of the lower joints in the limb allow rotation of the leg. The hoof does what the rest of the leg does because it's stuck on the end so it isn't the hoof that is causing the twisting. Even if the movement was initiated at the hip it doesn't rule out the possibility that the reason for it is to reduce pain lower down in the limb so there could still be a link to an original injury in the region of the suspensory ligament. If the original cause was soreness in one of the hip muscles it should have cleared up by now. OK so I think there are diagnostic pathways that might be able to tie it down but as you've said, that's the vet's job to do it or refer to an specialist centre. sorry, that's not been much use

 

[Spot1]

Does he twist on the toe or on one heel? Have you noticed any changes in his foot balance? ( are the heels of equal height?) Is he shod? Sorry for all the questions

 

[LisaBlakeston]

puddicat, thanks you have been helpful any advice is

Spotties, he twists on the toe the heels are not of equal height (lower on the injured one, classic sign of suspensory damage)
The farrier today diagnosed torn outer branch of suspensory ligament, basically this is what the vet said although he also has not seen the twisting motion before. Looks like its going to be a long period of rest for him.

 

[Spot1]

Does your farrier suggest any corrective/remedial shoeing?