[Rick Burten]

I don't know why it would be good to lower her hoof angle, I would love it if you shared that with me!

Slightly lowering the heels transfers more of the load bearing off of the suspensory ligament and superficial flexor tendon and onto the deep flexor tendon and in so doing, acts as an aid in allowing the structures to heal.

So then it is wise to keep her in shoes during the rehab process?

It Depends. My preference is to use orthotics. Others have a different view.

[vxf111]

My pony strained his suspensory (low) when he was already quite aged. You should have seen the ultrasound. There was so much floating in there! A lifetime of barrel racing with people who ride you hard and put you up wet will do that to a guy. Before I got him, he had a fairly rough and tumble existence.

I did cold therapy, Surpass, and wrapping and he was on stall rest for just over 6 months IIRC. Then we brought him back very very slowly. He never came up lame again and went right back to the level he had been doing once his slow rehab was done.

So there can be happy endings. With soft tissue, they key is to give it time, go slow, and do NOT let the horse wall out and reinjure. Drugs may be your friend.

[RedHorses]

Mine had a hind and low hind suspensory injury. He was on stall rest with hand walks for sixty days. He had four shockwave treatments spaced two weeks apart. I poulticed for the first month. I used Back on Track no-bows for half of the day once the heat was gone. BoT most of the day after the poultice was done. Moved to saddle walking (I was bareback most of the time, but he's an exceptionally level headed fellow) and half turnout in a tiny area (about five times the size of his stall) after the sixty days of stall rest. I continued to use the BoT no-bows at night through this phase. The last ultrasound was 4-5 months after the initial injury and the vet said his leg looked like that of a horse half his age.

After that it was a slow rebuilding of strength, increasing turnout size, then turnout length. He didn't go back to his group turnout until after he was w/t/c under saddle. I always increased his ridden work and made sure his leg was okay with that stress before adding turnout stress (ie. longer time or larger space). I'd say it was about a year before we were back to where we'd been before the injury in everything except jumping.

That was I think four years ago (maybe five) and he's been fine ever since.

My boy's injury occurred around this time of year and I just wrote off the show season. I think we could have hit a couple of dressage shows late in the season, but the venues could get slippery and I wasn't willing to take the risk. He's a lifer and I was willing to take a year off if it meant a sound horse for the years to come.

[Koniucha]

So I wanted to come back and give an update. The vet came out this morning and did the ultrasound. Turns out it is not as bad as initially thought! The rehab is 3 mos and he wants us to walk for 15 minutes a day for a bit. Stress level has gone way down!

He also did x-rays on her feet so I can show the new farrier.

[Rick Burten]

The vet came out this morning and did the ultrasound. Turns out it is not as bad as initially thought! The suspensory is just pulled away a bit in her right front.

Pulled away from what? What does 'a bit' mean?

The rehab is 3 mos and he wants us to walk for 15 minutes a day for a bit.

Based solely on my experience with rehabbing tendon/ligament injuries, that seems a very short time.

Stress level has gone way down!

That's a good thing. And, I'm glad that the injury seems minor.

He also did x-rays on her feet so I can show the new farrier.

Why were the rads taken and what do you expect the new farrier to glean from them?

[Laurierace]

I second the "pulled away from what " question as that sounds catastrophic to me.

[Koniucha]

Ok, I guess I said it wrong. It is not catastrophic. The injury is not as bad as we thought, according to my vet. I am much happier.

[Chall]

Never mind, just reread for comprehension.

[reay6790]

So what was the official dx? Strain? Tear? Inflammation?

[Koniucha]

So what was the official dx? Strain? Tear? Inflammation?

I have to wait until I have the paper in front of me to answer that. I am at work and don't want to casue confusion. The point is that it is not that bad, according to my vet.

[Rick Burten]

So, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst, your horse's injury is a________?

[Koniucha]

So, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst, your horse's injury is a________?

Look, it is not as bad as I was thinking. The important thing is that I am happy and my vet, who is a licensed veterinarian and was present during this ultrasound, is happy.

My reason for updating was to share my joy, but I regret posting it.

[SLW]

Thank you everyone for the encouraging words! It is frustrating because riding wise, we have only been doing cross rails and working on basically one fence at a time. It had to have happened in turnout, a wrong step.


The vet did do the blocking on her, both feet. Yes, the diagnosis is from a lameness exam only, but I will be doing both U/S and x-rays. Also the shockwave therapy, which seems like a popular course of action.

I hate reading this sort of stuff. A vet I worked for diagnosed either a suspensory or DD flexor tendon problem with my horse- it's been 3 years so I can't remember without pulling up the records. The horse was weight bearing on a stove pipe swollen front leg. Vet arrived at that diagnosis by palpating the leg. He sent me out with no special precautions for stall rest etc. Hummm.

I got a second opinion from another vet who used an ultrasound on the leg. Guess what?? Within 4 minutes it was clear the suspensory/DDT was fine. The horse had pulled his forearm muscle.

[Koniucha]

I hate reading this sort of stuff. A vet I worked for diagnosed either a suspensory or DD flexor tendon problem with my horse- it's been 3 years so I can't remember without pulling up the records. The horse was weight bearing on a stove pipe swollen front leg. Vet arrived at that diagnosis by palpating the leg. He sent me out with no special precautions for stall rest etc. Hummm.

I got a second opinion from another vet who used an ultrasound on the leg. Guess what?? Within 4 minutes it was clear the suspensory/DDT was fine. The horse had pulled his forearm muscle.

I guess I need to be more specific with which post has my update.

My same vet did an ultrasound this past Saturday (2/2).

[vxf111]

Why the pile on the OP??

[ElisLove]

Glad the news is better than you thought. I also don't always know exactly what the diagnosis is cause I am not a vet and don't always understand/fully comprehend what the vet is telling me. And sometimes we don't go into full, deep explanation cause I am not gonna understand it and would rather talk about what I need to do to help my horse recover.

[reay6790]

Totally undersandable ElisLove-

I come from a science background and I think diagnoses are very important. I enjoy researching about them so that I can be knowledgeable about what is going on and how to correctly rehab.

[horsepoor]

Why the pile on the OP??

Perhaps because it IS Super Bowl Sunday.

OP- sounds like you did get good news, and I'm glad you came back to update. I hope the layup goes well and you can put this little setback behind you. Good luck!

[ElisLove]

Totally undersandable ElisLove-

I come from a science background and I think diagnoses are very important. I enjoy researching about them so that I can be knowledgeable about what is going on and how to correctly rehab.

Oh I do a ton of research, and question asking, but sometimes it goes over my head (or is just too much info for me to take in all at one time) and the thing I really NEED to know is HOW to take care of my horse. Then I can research to my delight and ask my vet questions on my research if I feel it will change what I am doing for my horse.

[SLW]

I guess I need to be more specific with which post has my update.

My same vet did an ultrasound this past Saturday (2/2).

I caught that after I posted. What I hate is a sloppy exam the first time giving dire news without doing a work up which is why I shared the example. Like you, I was given bad news but my vet did not US which in this day and time, and the fact that he runs an equine practice, is BS. The second vet did a simple US and found the simple problem.

I am happy for you that your horses problem is a simple one!