Suspensory Ligaments and lymphangitis

[Ealana]

I put my horse out on loan a month ago to the perfect home - everything was going fantastically. The loaner had the vet out to another horse on the yard and at the same time asked him to look over mine as there was a hope in the future he would potentially buy.

Now my horse doesn't have great lower limb conformation and he has a couple windgalls on his hind fetlock. Every vet that has ever seen him has always said,'he's sound' they don't pose a problem so don't worry about it' and so we've continued working him, he's been jumped and galloped. He does get slight swelling if stabled on this hind leg but it goes away immediately with exercise or turn out and there is no heat at all - we've always just been told that its fluid retention.

This vet however has said that my horse has lymphangitis in this hindleg with little they can do about it and that he is also about to have suspensory ligament damage.

This isn't our normal vet, but my vet is too far away to travel and to be honest not great with anything more than vacs and abscesses. So we're going to ask this vet to come do an assessment and scans etc. we are covered for 4000 vet fees and loss of use (which I so hope isn't required).

Does anyone have experiences of either or any advice for what we should do?

Obviously because of this he is being returned from loan but with no where to stable him on the mainland(I'm from an island) and him being 17hh of 10 year old warm blood - he's not the most sought after 'happy hacker'.

Any advice would be most welcome and sorry for the mammoth post - I'd offer pimms and a BBQ but its a bit early and that's supposed to be for tonight

Thank you

 

[fatpiggy]

Your horse sounds like my old girl - she had permanent thickening in one hind leg due to old bouts of lymphangitis, and it would go away completely during exercise, then refill overnight if she was stabled. Its true that there is nothing you cand do about that. But "about to get suspensory ligament damage"???? Is the vet psychic? Horses with less than perfect leg conformation can usually work perfectly well at "normal" levels (ie not top level competition) for their entire life because their legs have found their own balance. Its like you see in those old cruck framed cottages - leaning all over the place but perfectly sound as long as you don't try to change anything.

 

[Ealana]

Yeah that's what I was under the impression of. I've had this horse for 5 years and I'm not ignorant to his conformation faults but he has never out a lame step with us and this has come as a bit of a shock. He's going to be scanned and x-rayed so we'll have a more clear understanding about what is going on.

Is there any evidence to suggest with better shoeing to give support to his legs they be able to heal or at least be more supported? He is low in the heel with long toes but the farrier I'm working with now is doing a lot to help correct this slowly but even in the last 8 months there is a noticeable difference to the shape of his hoof. He is low in the pattern too - but the hoof pattern axis is correct.

Healing vibes needed and the hope that nothing is too serious