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  Discussion on Hind Leg Suspensory Desmitis
Author Message
Member:
scrupi1

Posted on Thursday, Nov 11, 2010 - 6:56 am:

Dr. O,
In a diagnosis of mild hind leg suspensory desmitis would you expect the horse to work out of the lameness after warming up at the walk and trot? Susanne
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Nov 11, 2010 - 7:20 pm:

No, every suspensory desmitis I remember worsened with exercise. It is one of the clues to me that this is the problem in a difficult lameness that localizes to this area. There may be some chronic cases that present like this but I don't remember any. Important is to do proper diagnostic work and not rely solely on such historical or epidemiological information as this for the final say.
DrO
Member:
scrupi1

Posted on Friday, Nov 12, 2010 - 5:06 am:

Thanks Dr. O, We have had the vet out a few times and been unable to accurately diagnose anything but I am going to have him out again as the symptoms may be obvious enough at this point to successfully block the area. I will let you know if we come up with anything definitive, this has been frustrating but I am hoping that it is joint and not a tendon issue that we are dealing with. Thanks again
Member:
scrupi1

Posted on Saturday, Nov 20, 2010 - 6:56 am:

Hi Dr. O, I have talked about this in another thread but wanted to discuss a few things about my mares case further.

The vet was out, noted that my mare was grade 1 lame on the lunge circle to the left. Decreased flight pattern and decreased step length of the left hind were noted going left at the trot. Hind leg flexions were normal.

Stifle was blocked, step length at the trot improved to the left but slight toe dragging was still noted, I rode her under saddle and the vet thought that the grade 1 lameness was still there, she felt better to me riding wise.

He than blocked the origen of the suspensory, we did not lunge her, he advised that I ride her instead to see if she came sound and he said that she did. I did not feel any difference between the ride with the stifle blocked and the ride with the stifle and origen of the suspensory blocked.

He did not think ultrasounding the suspensory would be beneficial and did not advise rest. He instead recommended injecting both the stifle and the origen of the suspensory to see how it affected the lameness.

I spoke to my regular vet who was fine with injecting the stifle but did not think injecting the origen of the suspensory was a good idea and thought that we should ultrasound and start on stall rest which is what the articles in this site recommend.

I guess I am just confused, I don't understand why the lameness vet would recommend nearly the exact opposite of my vet/this website.

So, my plan is to have my vet out to ultrasound the suspensory and inject the stifle, and start the rehab protocol based on the findings of the ultrasound.

Does this sound like the correct plan?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Nov 20, 2010 - 9:05 am:

You should discuss your concerns with the lameness vet and see if he can explain his reasons. The idea is to create a dialog between your two professional caretakers so such confusion is minimized. In the meantime we still recommend resting acute suspensory desmitis or even acute exacerbations of chronic suspensory desmitis.
DrO
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