Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Dyane:
> ...it is more helpful to compare x-rays than to try to guess
> whether we are talking about the same apples and not assorted
> other fruits of a lame horse.

The x-rays really were an eye-opener. I knew that foot was
more upright and had a tendency to dish, but the mechanical
reasons for that had been a mystery up until then.

People mentioning short-necked horses reminded me that this
is another of Mouse's problems - she is short necked (and very
greedy <g>), so that also contributes to her problem.

Maybe once her problem was just a hi/lo thing, but it developed
into something more, despite being shod or trimmed every 6-7
weeks.

> Anyway, if you are convinced that Mouse has tight tendons on her upright
> side, did you ever consider surgery?  Apparently, there is a surgical cure
> although my understanding is that it might be controversial for older
> horses.

I did talk with Dr Marty Gardner about it. The surgery involves
cutting the check ligament and allowing it to reheal longer.

The check ligament is a short, pointing-diagonally-down thingy
that connects the suspensory to the back of the cannon bone about
half way up the back of the leg. By lengthening it, it allows
the suspensory to drop more. Dr Gardner told me that this was
a surgery that they would do mostly for youngsters.

Mouse wasn't really a good candidate for this - mostly because
*another* of her problems (gah, this makes her seem like she's
riddled with them, eh? She's actually quite nicely put together)
is that her pasterns drop when she trots, so she's very boingy.
This results in a gorgeously smooth trot (she's taking all the
concussion and impact up in her fetlock joints), but doesn't do
her tendons any good. Dr Gardner, watching her trot on the lunge,
commented how she looked like she was a really smooth ride and
he said her injuries were the price I was paying for that. Couple
it with her tendency to be, er, rubenesque, everything was against
her.

> I am the last person (or maybe the first) to recommend chasing
> dreams down the halls of veterinary medicine, but did you research that?

We kind of went through it. Had it just been one individual
thing, and had she been perfectly suited to the sport, we
may have pursued it further. But Mousie wasn't a "natural"
when it came to distance. She struggled at all levels and
although she got better as she got fitter, I was never convinced
that she was enjoying herself enough to push the issue. I was
really proud of her accomplishments, even though compared to
other horses they were minimal. For her, she did good.




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Lucy Chaplin Trumbull
elsietee AT foothill DOT net
Repotted english person in the Sierra foothills, California
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