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suspensory ligament recuperation, long



When Dorika pulled the ligament it wasn't terribly obvious initially.  It
took Richard and I a couple of minutes to slow the horses who both seemed to
think that they were Secretariat  <G>, at which point we both noticed that
they were a little off at the trot.  We were about a mile out of the club so
we more or less walked home.  I say more or less because Dorika doesn't
really recognise a flat walk as a gait, so it's usually more of a slow jog
no matter what is going on.  When we got back we trotted the two out, saw
some swelling in and just above the fetlock so applied cold water for about
1/2 an hour.  The next day I had an American vet and my Egyptian vet coming
out to see my colt who had a guttural pouch infection left over from a
relatively mild case of strangles (endemic here and vaccine has to be
imported).  They looked her over and pronounced judgement.  We don't have
equine clinics or portable x-rays here so things are done the old eye-ball
and fingertip method.  They gave her an injection in the fetlock (I forget
what and I forgot to record it....have to ask Emad, my local vet) and she
was put on a regime of morning and evening handwalks for 20 minutes followed
by 20 minutes with a cold hose and something that Jack makes up in his
kitchen or something <G> called "Super Sweat" that is applied locally to the
leg.  Hand walks went on for 2 months, largely because Emad couldn't believe
that this perfectly behaved lady who would stand still for almost anything
with a halter on could be such a total hellcat in turnout.  He had my groom
turn her out for 3 minutes in the sand paddock, the only turnout we have,
and thus undid about 2 weeks work.  As soon as she could trot without
showing any lameness we started her walking under saddle, the only way to
give her any real exercise.  At that point she was still slightly lame with
a flexion test, so she just walked initially for 20 minutes, gradually
working up to an hour or so.  Then we went on to add trot, slowly first for
10 minutes and then increasing.  She can now do a trot for a good 20 or 30
minutes straight, slow canter on the right footing for another 10 easy (she
ALWAYS wants more), and once in a while will actually walk.
Because I can't really check her recovery without a flexion test which will
stress the area, I prefer to assume the worst and work her slowly.  About 4
years ago she almost died from laminitis.  Her front feet were bundled into
betadine pads and duct tape because they were bleeding, and she was
absolutely skin and bones.  She let me know that she wasn't ready to throw
in the towel, though, and she got through it.  I had her shoes stripped off
at the start and she was on a light diet and turnout for a year until the
feet had completely regrown.  No riding whatsoever.  Jack Leonard, from
Pennsylvania, is our American vet who comes over for the breeders here.
When he first saw her about 18 months after she started work again (2 1/2
yrs after she came down with laminitis) he couldn't believe that she'd been
so bad.  I'm the only one who can tell, because her pretty forefeet are not
quite as lovely as her hind....and she had the most beautiful feet I'd ever
seen in a horse.  Never been shod till she was 5.  So I learned early that
patience pays off.

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
Cairo, Egypt
gabbani@starnet.com.eg



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