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RE: [RC] Causes of Suspensory Injuries - Susan E. Garlinghouse, D.V.M.

Yeah, sometimes vets forget that what's interesting to us may be something
the client would just as soon stayed in the dark about. :-/  I saw an
incredibly cool radial nerve paralysis a couple months ago that had me
getting all excited, I had to bite my tongue in front of the client until at
least I was back in my truck.  (The horse eventually was fine.)

There are a lot of typical injuries that show up in different disciplines---
TBs blow ligaments and tendons from galloping (also lots of chip and slab
fractures), endurance horses injure front end ligaments and tendons from
overwork, reining horses have hock and stifle problems, hunter/jumpers have
back problems and front end lameness problems...you get the picture.

There are a million reasons why a specific suspensory injury may occur, but
think of the suspensory system like a big rubber band attached at the top
and holding the fetlock in a hammock down below.  There are other supporting
structures, but the suspensory is the primary one that keeps the fetlock
joint from collapsing onto the ground.  All the suspensory ligament has to
do in life is go "boing" when weight forces the fetlock joint downward.  Too
much downward force, either all at once (ie, a jumper landing), or just a
tiny bit too much over and over and over (ie, an endurance horse) and fibers
start to overstretch and tear and voila, a suspensory injury of one sort or
another.  I know this is horribly oversimplified, but the details of
individual causes would (and do) fill thousands of textbook pages.  They all
come down to the same thing, though---a rubber band stretched too far.

Susan Garlinghouse, DVM, MS




-----Original Message-----
From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ridecamp Guest
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2005 10:40 AM
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [RC] Causes of Suspensory Injuries

Please Reply to: Sheila Larsen Sheila_Larsen@xxxxxxx or
ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
==========================================

Well when I was having my horse ultrasounded for a suspensory
tear the vet looked up and me and said something to the effect of "You know
I always see suspensory injuries in endurance horses from trotting and bows
in racehorses from galloping, isn't that interesting."  I think it was my
glare that then caused her to say, "well maybe you don't think it is all
that interesting right now."

I do know that several years ago Equus magazine had a very 
interesting article about suspensory liagments and why they
tear.  Mmm it was interesting!, what the vet said was correct.
Susan Garlinghouse could probably speak about this,but a google search would
probably turn something up.  All I remember is that
it had to do with landing and take off and the pulley system of the
liagments. 


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[RC] Causes of Suspensory Injuries, Ridecamp Guest