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  Discussion on Is she recovering from her ruptured Peronius Tertius?
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 13, 2001 - 8:16 pm:

My 5-year-old mare ruptured her Peronius Tertius approximately 10 weeks ago as a result of kicking incident where she got her leg caught in a gate (approx. 4 feet up). My Veterinarian reported that the rupture is proximal to the hock and x-rays showed no hock damage. Recently, this mare has displayed marked improvement in the cadence and regularity of her walk. She continues to hyper flex her stifle, displays puckering of the flexor tendon at the point of the hock and has puffiness in front of the hock joint. She has actively flexed her hock, but it is apparent that she is extremely weak. Is it possible to flex the hock through compensation with other muscles? I have been hand walking (sometimes she tries to trot or jig) her for approximately 30 min per day. I am interested to know if she is progressing appropriately or if I should schedule her for more tests. If she is progressing appropriately, do you have any recommendations for an exercise program? Thanks!!

Posted on Friday, Dec 14, 2001 - 7:45 am:

The post is a little confusing, when you say she still hyperflexes the hock, don't you mean "hyper-extends" the hock? Hyper-flexion would be a stringhalt like motion while hyper-extension would be straightening the hock (and leg) out. The terminology is a little confusing as the anatomist have argued in the past which should be called which. To me when the hock is folded up like during the forward phase it is flexed, when it is straightened out it is extended.

Yes there are other muscles/tendons that assist the peroneus tertius flex the hock. The cranial tibial muscle is the main flexor of the hock but the digital extensors also act in a minor way to flex the hock when they act. The peroneus tertius does not flex the hock per se, as it is completely tendinous. It ties together the flexion of the stifle and the hock. So that flexion of the stifle aids (forces) flexion of the hock.

Without examing your horse I cannot say if it progressing normally but I do not see anything that worries me in your post.
DrO
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