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[RC] [RC] Suspensory injury - Lucy Chaplin TrumbullCindyYour post worries me, as I don't know if your vet can tell that it is a "mild" suspensory injury without ultra-sounding it. I don't want to be "Chicken Licken" (or was it Henny Penny?) about it, but it seems like your vet is being a bit blasé about it (OK, I admit it, I'm completely angst-ridden about suspensory injuries). I'm currently rehabbing a second suspensory injury (same leg, different place) on my mare. Although she had some thickening and was reactive to palpation with her first susp. injury, she never had any heat to speak of. First time around, we did six months of rehab and then I turned her out for a year, apparently sound. Second time around she never showed any signs at all - no swelling, no heat, just on-and-off lameness that would come and go fleetingly minute by minute (depending on how cheerful she was feeling). She wasn't flinchy/reactive to pressure this time around either. The only way to tell was by blocking the area to get her to trot sound, and then u/sounding to confirm (she also has pedal ostitis, which probably contributed to the problem, but luckily my vet was savvy enough not to stop with her feet and suspicious enough to investigate further up her leg). She's been confined now since June (stall + pen adjacent to her buddy - big enough to be interesting, but not big enough to get up any real speed) and has been on a careful rehab (again <sigh>...), gradually stressing the leg: Month 1, ride at a walk, 15 mins, 3-4 x week Month 2, ride at a walk, 40 mins, 3-4 x week Month 3, ride at a walk, 40 mins, including 2 mins trotting on good, flat footing, 3-4 x week (if she shows signs of soreness, go back to walking) Month 4, increase the length of time trotting by 2 mins each week (if she shows signs of soreness, go back to walking). Re-ultra-sound at 60-90 days We're due to go an have a second ultra-sound on Friday and I have my fingers crossed. Anyhoo - I'm not saying your gelding is necessarily where Mouse is, but you still don't want to be complacent with suspensories - they can take a very, very long time to heal. As I discovered first time around with Mouse, just giving them "a bit of time off" doesn't necessarily cut it - they can unravel slowly until you have a catastrophic injury on your hands. In Mouse's case, she brewed her first injury for a year or so - finishing some rides "a little off", but the symptoms were slight and I could explain them away as shoeing problems, or lack of conditioning. Hah. Hind sight is everything. Finally she did her first 50 and voila, something concrete to work with - but only after 40+ miles. <sigh> In Mouse's case, her physiology means that she's always going to be likely to have tendon/ligament problems - so much for her endurance career - but right now I'd be pretty happy to do casual trail rides without her going lame. Hope this helps and good luck with your horse. My gelding has been diagnosed with a mild suspensory injury. No heat and no thickening. Started head bobbing today on solid ground when circled for a while on a line, but only if the injured leg was to the outside. Was very lame yesterday after routine warm-up in a soft dressage arena. [Had slight, but consistent head bob by the end of our dressage lesson two weeks ago, but no problems with last week's lesson.]I'd appreciate feedback/suggestions from folks whose horses have had similar injuries. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lucy Chaplin Trumbull elsietee AT foothill DOT net Repotted english person in the Sierra foothills, California * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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