RE: [RC] Suspensory ligament problem - Susan E. Garlinghouse, D.V.M.
A “lesion” in the suspensory (or
another or connective tissue structure) means there are some torn fibers.
Have you ever seen the inside of one of those bungee ties? Looks like a bunch
of rubber band strands all lined up, right? Imagine that as a ligament
(or tendon) with some of the individual fibers snapped. That’s what’s
happened to your horse.
The prognosis for recovery depends on
where the majority of the injury occurred (origin, proximal, mid or distal body,
branches, and so on) how many fibers are damaged and how willing are you to
stick to a recovery program of exercise? When your vet tells you hand
walking twice a day for 20 minutes, do EXACTLY that. You’d be
amazed at how many people will think that just standing in the stall all week
is okay, followed by “just a short ride, and he was feeling so good
I let him canter just a mile or two”.
Commit yourself to a religious and
anal-retentive fervor of following the exercise program your vet will give you
to the letter, and you have a decent to good chance of returning to work at one
level or another, depending on the severity of the initial injury.
Good luck,
Susan Garlinghouse, DVM
From:
ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Lani M Olson Sent: Friday, May 20, 2005 6:09 PM To: Ridecamp Endurance Subject: [RC] Suspensory ligament
problem
This
is becoming a nightmare. The mare I hoped to do endurance with (11 year old
Morab) had locking stifles. We ended up doing injections and she seemed to be
improving, but the vet noticed she was slightly lame on the left front. After
nerve blocks and ultrasound, he found a lesion on the suspensory ligament, put
my 24/7 pasture horse on immediate stall rest for 3 weeks, to be followed by 3
weeks stall rest with twice-daily hand-walking for 20 minutes, then he will
repeat the ultrasound. We have no clue as to how long this has existed or how
it happened. This vet has a terrific reputation with equine legs, but that also
makes him an extremely busy man. I was having trouble absorbing this and now
have some questions. After searching the archives for an hour, not finding what
I need to know. Exactly what, medically, is a "lesion". The clinic
would not venture any opinion on her future - does that mean this is really
bad? The favoring of the leg was so slight we really had to look to see it, and
at no time did I ever see a swelling in this leg. Can anybody help me
understand the severity of this, what it is and if I'll ever have her on the
trails again?
