Suspensory Ligament Strain

[Flibble]

This is my first time posting here so I hope this makes sense. It appears I am in the same boat re lameness as a lot of other people. My horses lameness started in December although he does have a history of going lame whenever he hears me post an entry form.

He was treated by the vet was sound again and has spent most of this year going lame on and off. He got side lined as my dad was ill and worrying about my horse and ferrying to the vets was a worry too many and when my dad was better and the horse went lame again he was sound by the time he got to the vets for nerve blocking.

Well here we are post 3rd trip and set of nerve blocks plus two separate lots of injections into fetlock joint and two separate short stints of box rest. Suggested working on Bute and still lame back to the vets and this time bingo he has a strain of the suspensory ligament at the top where it attaches to the canon bone. Unfortunatly to make sure he was still lame for the vet he had been out to play with his friends.
Anyway he is 16 and a Cleveland Bay Cross TB now on Box Rest for 2 months then walk in hand for two months and then gently hacking for two months.
It was suggested that Cartrofen and shockwave therapy could be done as well but I have decided to go for the 6 months being bored out of our skulls. He is a good lad and accepts his box rest he has always liked his hotel room anyway. I have had him moved to a stable where there is more activity around him.

To get to the point what experience do you have of the successful recovery from this type of injury. He was never mega lame with it. I am hoping to get him sound enough to loan out as a hack so that I can get another horse to compete on. He is a really nice bloke and I trained him from the age of 4 to accept traffic so I am hoping if I can get him sound he will make a super hack as he is an armchair ride and knows his job.

 

[silverstar]

I know what you are going through however, my horses situation is slightly different (has not been shod correctly and now think he has a bruise/abcess/muscle strain) but has been lame for most of this year and my plans to sj have been out of the window.

I hope your ned comes sound soon.

I am thinking next year of maybe selling him although it would break my heart to do this.

 

[Molineux]

I had the same with my old horse, we had a silly accident on with jumping and he did his Suspensory.

He had 2.5 months of Box Rest, then the vet come out and gave him some dope so he could go out in a small field on his own for an hour a day.
He was sound but never going to be 100%, took him out in hand just up the track and back.
Best not to go in the school if you have sand etc as it will put strain on the ligament.

just stick to the road..

Really that is the only advice I can give you, I know what you are going through as I have been there.

My horse never really recovered from his injury and he went to someone else as a light hack.
He could never jump or go on hard ground etc, but did not Strain his Ligament he did his Suspensory Tendon.

So may be different.

But I would def not go in the school with him.

Claire x

 

[Flibble]

Thats a bother as I have worked out that on the VetsTimetable I can start ridden work at Christmas when there is no daylight but the school has floodlights. I have this job thing that gets in the way maybe I will have to ride up and down the dark and creepy lane next to the dual carriage-way. I am looking forward to it already last time he had a long lay off I broke my collar-bone bringing him back into work and a friend fractured her shoulder blade with hers 'Walking in hand'.

 

[star]

rest alone doesn't tend to fix PSD - my horse had it and had shockwave and came sound in 6wks. 6months later he was back in full work competing again. i did my final year dissertation on it and it can be a real bugger to sort out - the longer it's been going on for, the worse the prognosis. i would always go for shockwave as treatment. various studies have shown rest alone leads to soundness until they're put back into work and then they go lame again.

 

[Petrie]

Mine pulled his suspensory earlier this year, near fore, up near the canon bone.

He was never lame, but I occasionally noticed one or two unlevel strides while schooling on a left circle, and he also developed some evasions on the right rein in canter. Strange things which my local vet couldn't quite put his finger on - he thought it was his sacroiliac joint, I was convinced it was his right shoulder.

We got referred to Andy Bathe at Rossdales, who found the suspensory strain after all the usual nerve blocks and scans.

As it was minor, he was still allowed out in a small paddock, and I had to walk him (ridden) every day for 3 months, starting at about 30 mins, building up to almost an hour and a half. During this time he had two sets of injections (tildren and a steroid) and 3 sets of shockwave therapy.

After 3 months, he went for a re-scan and a progress check, and was pronounced sound. Beaming smiles all round, particularly encouraging from Andy Bathe as he tends to be doom and gloom.

Then I was given two options: go for it, increase the workload, see what happens, or be patient and give him another 3 months of hacking only, then two months of building up his fitness again and light schooling, then another re-scan and progress check.

I went for the patient route (the horse is only 5) so yet another 3 months of boredom! We've just finished that now, and I started schooling him lightly again last week.

He feels sound, better than ever in fact. So fingers crossed he will stay sound, and will be able to fulfill his potential as a competition horse.

In the whole great scheme of things, 6 months is not a long time, and I don't begrudge it at all.

I would go for all the treatment available though! I do think the shockwave therapy has helped his recovery.

 

[kerilli]

walking out after box rest is always fraught with danger. if there's a possibility of sticking him in a small concrete-floored crew-yard (no bigger than the size of 3 or 4 stables, i'd say) after his initial strict box rest, i'd go for that. it makes them much much safer, less like a bottle of pop that someone's shaken for an hour before handing it to you! i'd let him live in that while you are doing the walking work.
i've heard only good things about shockwave therapy and suspensories, so i personally would go for that too.
hard ground (roads) is definitely better (and safer) for the rehab work. he's less likely to be a prat on it (hopefully) and no likelihood of deepish or holding surface straining his suspensory again.
if he's a total fruitbat and you can't find/make a crewyard, so have to hack him out of the stable after boxrest, i would slightly sedate him, at least for the first few times, in the interests of your safety.
good luck!

 

[Petrie]

Yes, walking out on the roads was interesting at times, to say the least, especially when we were only on 30 mins, not enough time to settle down.

And mine was never put on box rest, he was allowed small paddock turnout! I dread to think what he would have been like after box rest.

I second that about walking on the roads - you need a flat, even surface to do it on. Plus, bridleways, or even worse, open fields, are just an invitation for an explosion, aren't they.

I was lucky enough to have some company for some of my walking, but it is difficult as who else is going to want to walk on the roads every day!

I had another with a very bad kick injury a while ago and was prescribed box rest for him. He wouldn't settle though and flew round and round the box at a rate of knots, so the vet sedated him and we got him out on a small fenced off patch of grass (about the size of 3 stables). He settled really well in there, and I just moved it around when he finished the grass. He recovered very well and came sound.

Box rest is a nightmare, and I would avoid it if at all possible.

 

[kerilli]

absolutely. one of my eventers had full box rest followed by walking out for 5 mins, then 10 mins, then 15 mins a day. eek. i tried in hand one day and that was quite enough of that, he was nearly lethal. then ridden, the moment you turned for home, there would be an absolute explosion. he never dropped me, but it was pure desperation, not wanting him to destroy his legs galloping home without me!
another on box rest did the same thing with me once, first time i took him out, and i heard his heels click together clean over my head. not fun at all. i, too, would absolutely avoid box rest if at all possible.

 

[star]

vets prescribed box rest for mine, but i think i only kept him in for a couple of months, if that. i started turning him out in a tiny bit of paddock (size of 2 stables) for an hour while i mucked out etc then just gradually increased his time out there till he was spending all day out - he was generally pretty sensible. if he went out in silly mode then i got him straight back in again. he escaped from his stable on the 2nd day of box rest and galloped down to his field with me in hot pursuit - luckily never did him any harm but i could have killed him! he also galloped around like a lunatic when i first turned him back out properly and fortunately the ligament was strong enough by then to withstand it, but definitely recommend sedation for these scary times! my horse was also a git to lead out in-hand, but luckily very sane to ride so we just got on with riding sooner rather than later - ideally should all be straight lines out hacking but it all happened over winter and i worked full time so we mostly did our walking in the school just walking large round the edge - talk about mind-numbing! luckily the shockwave worked magic and after 3 months we started trotting, then 2 months later cantering and a month after that were back competing, started back at prelim and he won it, then went to sponsored ride few weeks later and he basically never looked back. 4yrs later he damaged some other ligaments and is now retired, but his suspensory never played up again. i also fed him MSM and used magnetic boots during his recovery - no idea if they helped but they didn't do any harm! He went back to jumping 3ft, sponsored rides, Medium level dressage etc etc.

 

[Flibble]

How much shockwave therapy and how much did it cost and how soon after injury ?
Did you need to take him to vets for therapy?
I have Bioflow boots and he is on 5* superflex.

I dont need to get the lad Comp fit as after 12 years I want to find him a nice hacking home. He is rather like a big brown Labrador really so as long as he is sound he will do somebody well.

I am very lucky he has settled in the box we moved him to as it is much busier. He is kept at Livery at a riding school and has quite a large fan club.

I was lucky with my previous horse as she fractured her pedal bone retired to a career as a brood mare and is now a happy plodder with a friend and I can see her from the garden of a local pub. She is very happy and spoilt rotten or at her age spoilt good working it out on my fingers she must be 24 or 25 I lose track.

 

[star]

3 lots of shockwave 2 weeks apart - about £200 each as need sedation each time. some vets have a portable machine, but most require you take horse to vets each time. cost me a fortune as i dont have my own transport. he had it straight away after diagnosis - 1st treatment on the day they diagnosed him - sooner the better.

 

[Petrie]

Yep, same as Star. Mine had his first session as soon as it was diagnosed, before I went to pick him up. Then I had to transport him back down there at two weekly intervals for the next two sessions.

It is expensive, but then mine is a 5 year old that I bought to compete, so I had to fork out and do everything that could be done. If it had been an older horse about to retire, or one just for hacking, then I might have had a different view on it.

 

[star]

mine was 16, but still in his prime and just about to start affiliated dressage. i went for it without a 2nd thought, but i'd only had him 6mths and the insurance was paying, so just wanted to give him the best chance.

 

[dieseldog]

How close are you to Willesley? They quoted me about £120 per set of shockwave with all the sedation etc

 

[Kelso756]

Do any of you know how your horse did the injury. I have similar situation with on again off again lameness, but the horse does not jump, race or even work very hard, so I am not sure how he would have a serious injury, but symptoms sound like what you guys had

 

[rcm_73]

My mare has done her inner suspensory (the lower part) and at the time she was turned away as I was working on a youngster, she did hers galloping about the field in all that wet weather

she's paying for it now..she's been prescribed 3 months box rest

 

[star]

[ QUOTE ]
Do any of you know how your horse did the injury. I have similar situation with on again off again lameness, but the horse does not jump, race or even work very hard, so I am not sure how he would have a serious injury, but symptoms sound like what you guys had

[/ QUOTE ]

vet said repetitive strain type injury - he went lame very gradually. was working Medium, competing Elem and doing the odd bit of small jumping. think Welsh Cob's back legs aren't meant to do half pass etc.

 

[Flibble]

Not a clue how the lad did his. He just kept being a little bit lame.

Box Rest is going well though he thinks he's in a hotel with very good room service. His hay goes on the floor and in two small haylage nets.
I use my best Singer scissors to walk down the lane and pick him bunches of cow parsley and blackberries and on non blackberry days he gets grass,clover and dandelions.
Its a shame the other man in my life isnt so easily pleased.
Havent had a chance to respond before as I was told last week that I might be redundant so I have only just crawled out of the ditch to refill my empty gin bottle!