[RC] Suspensory Injury - Response to Amy Cieri - Richard Sacks
I can emphasize with you problem. My 19 year old
horse (at the time) tore his suspensory ligament in 5 places and his deep
digital flexor tendon in one place at the Fireworks 50 last august. Regardless
of what caused it I was told by my vet (Chuck Kessinger - Adobe Animal Hospital,
Santa Cruz 831-475-6365) to expect anywhere from 8-12 months of rehabilitation
and that there would be extensive scarring that would limit the horse's
performance. This was based on what he saw in the ultrasounds that he took. The
problem with suspensory injuries that when they heal the fibers that regrow do
so in a haphazard manner rather than lining up linearly. This random formation
of fiber is what is seen as scarring. I decided to try Suspensory Saver from
Figuerola Laboratories (www.figuerola-laboratories.com).
In the 1st week of January I had chuck take another ultrasound to see how my
horse was doing. This ultrasound showed no signs of any lesions and only linear
fiber growth. Chuck was mightily impressed. He tried to find out from the
company what was in this stuff but they wouldn't tell him. They said it was
propriety. All I know is that my horse was back to work in 4 months with no
adverse signs. It's expensive, but IMO worth it's weight in gold
if you care about your horse. It appears that there are other products that
do the same for fractures. Just before FireWorks this year (I think I am jinxed
at this ride) my 4 year old Shagya got kicked by my other horse and
suffered a saucer fracture on his right cannon bone. The x-rays Chuck took were
sent off to Davis on August 2nd and their opinion was that the fracture would
sequestrium (the chip would die due to lack of blood supply) and would require
surgery for removal. Yes, I used our OXY-Flow leg bands over the wound but I
also bit the bullet and got a hold of Amerdon International (www.amerdon.com) and got a hold of their
Rapid Response F (about $270 per gallon). Four weeks later chuck performed
a field examination and said it look as if it had completely calcified but he
asked me to wait a couple of more weeks and continue with the Rapid Response
before we did a follow up x-ray. They were done on Thurs. August 15th. There is
NO sign of fracture and the bone density appears to be the same as the rest of
the cannon bone. He has calcification where the impact was but he is sound and
was pronounced ready to go. I rode him today and he was a little hot
(understatement) from being cooped up for just over a month. Based on my
experience I would highly recommend either of these products. Sometimes
manufacturers tell the truth.
