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Discussion on Inflammation of the digital sheath
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Saturday, Oct 27, 2007 - 10:02 am:
Well here I go once again.. My 6 year old mare that I have been working pretty aggressively with this summer came up with a swollen fetlock last month..not lame or hot.. I thought maybe she cast herself.. I cold hosed / wrapped / bute / and put surpass on her and the swelling was gone in 24 hours..
Took her to an intensive clinic a month later where she worked her fanny hard, gave her a day off. Then rode her working on what we had learned.. The next morning the fetlock was swollen and the leg looked like a tree truck.. Again I did the same as above & made an appointment for an ultrasound.. I am very paranoid now adays
Again she is not sore or lame or hot on it.. And after my treating her the swelling has gone down again..
Ultrasound readings: Showed inflammation of the digital sheath with mild thickening of the annular ligament. Discret tearing of the tendons or ligaments was not identified...
After reading your articles I will assume that the vet found no adhesions or he would have reported that as well..
My vet said to ride her lightly and continue with what I have been doing for the next 30 days except not to give her bute longer then 10 days..
He did say that this is something that could be chronic and show up again? So my question is do I now not try to move this mare up the levels in dressage asking her to work off that hind end ?.. Or what can I do to improve my chances this does not flare up again..?
She is or was very capable of becoming and placing in the ribbons mid. level dressage horse or higher..
 On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Saturday, Oct 27, 2007 - 4:21 pm:
...also , Dr. O have you heard of these wraps?
https://www.justequus.com/Shop-BackonTrack/Shop-BoT-Horse.html BACK ON TRACK..
or do you think i would be wasting more $$$
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Sunday, Oct 28, 2007 - 8:57 am:
Hello Ann,
I too will presume there are no tears or adhesions but not because of the ultrasound. There are limits to what an ultrasound can show you with respect to what goes on in the digital sheath, see the article Flexor Tendinitis for more on this. The lack of lameness does suggest that this is more of a chronic synovitis/desmitis characterised by overstretching of tissues.
However continued progression and worsening of the lesions described can lead your horse becoming chronically lame. If you want to do the best you can with this horse you need to consider a prolonged rehab of the tissues that are abnormal on the ultrasound so they will heal as strong as possible.
Consider a program like that described in Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Treatment Methods » Rehabilitating Injuries to the Tendons and Ligaments. Match up the current symptoms and lesions with as close as you can to those in the chart and pick it up at that point. Modify to suit your goals and resources then present it to your veterinarian and see what suggestions they have.
I am not familiar with the boots and they look a bit goofy to me. A good ankle boot, neoprene and Velcro for instance, to help control swelling would be a good investment but the boot should not be used with the thought it will protect the ankle during exercise, even the best ones have minimal support for the tendons and ligaments, but should be used for when you have overdone it and need to control swelling. Getting swelling under control quickly and then reassessing what you are doing to prevent it from happening again is a important strategy.
DrO
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Sunday, Oct 28, 2007 - 9:48 am:
Thank you, I looked over the over view and I would consider this MIlD.. and a wake up call to me!~ Last month was a guess that she knicked herself, twice done I knew I needed to investigate a little closer.. We are going into winter so laying her off and bringing her back slowly, well its a good time of year to do it...
What I don't need is two mares with tendon issues and a gelding with broken hoofs.. We might just have to change our barn name from SPOTSROCK to REHABSUCKS..
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots.
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Member:
sunny66
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Posted on Sunday, Oct 28, 2007 - 10:32 am:
Oh Ann, I'm sorry... but you've caught it early!! That's more than half the battle! Good for YOU 
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Sunday, Oct 28, 2007 - 11:10 am:
Aileen, Thanks I think MAYBE I was lucky this time, and well I will be very careful with her from here on out..
After intense clinics she will be iced and wrapped and given some days off .. Dr. O does that sound reasonable AFTER I have rehabbed her and slowly legged her up??? What about DMSO after a hard work out too.. ???
This AM NO SWELLING AT ALL, all tho she does have lingering windpuffs that she has had all along..
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Monday, Oct 29, 2007 - 8:20 am:
Let's see how the rehab goes before we conjecture intense clinics. You want to avoid taking a horse to a clinic that greatly exceeds what the horse is doing normally. You want to build up work slowly to find this horse's level of tolerance to work, where work does not exceed the horses ability to repair. Though I have recommended it, I am not much of a DMSO fan for cases like this and would prefer the ice, wrapping, and most important rest.
DrO
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Monday, Oct 29, 2007 - 9:47 am:
Again thank you for your response Dr. O.. I of course am counting my chix before they hatch .. the planner in me , or the worrier..
Her leg is completely normal looking except the wind puff.. would you take her back in for another ultrasound after 3 months or so of rehab? Or should I just continue with a slow progression of our training after the rehab work?
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
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