This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below:
HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Lower Limb » Suspensory Desmitis, Strain, & Sprain »
  Discussion on Minor desmitis of the lateral Suspensory branch
Author Message
New Member:
Catsmeow

Posted on Monday, Aug 22, 2005 - 10:20 pm:

I have a 3 year-old Holsteiner mare who suffered an injury to her suspensory in April of this year. We noticed a swelling on the lateral side of her RR fetlock. It had no heat and was not sensitive to palpation. The next day when I longed her, she would buck and kick out in the canter--very unusual for her. She was fine once I started riding her but about 20 minutes into the ride, she came up lame at the trot. Two weeks later I took her to the vets at Texas aTm and they diagnosed her with a minor desmitis of the lateral suspensory branch. The swelling I had seen was a hemaetoma resulting from her injury. Both vets I saw that day downplayed the injury and said that it was not bad and that a full recovery was expected.

My mare was put on stall rest for 2 months, then I hand walked her for about 4 weeks, then I began riding her at a walk for 15 min. for another 4 weeks. It has now been 5 months since the injury and we have worked up to 30 minutes of riding with no more than 20 minutes of trotting.

On subsequent visits to the vet, ultrasound has revealed improvement though she is not yet 100%. The concern I have is the disparity in what I have read and what my vets have said. One of the vets I have seen thought that I needed to forget my mare had been injured and treat her normally. He thought I should go ahead and work her as long as she continued to show no lameness, heat or swelling. Another vet I saw at aTm had a more guarded plan. He was very clear in stating that she was not ready for full work; exercise was good--but to be careful. I have taken the more conservative approach to rehab but my concern is will she ever return to full work? So much of the literature out there indicates that rear suspensory strains are difficult to recover from and that the prognosis is generally poor.

I have had this mare for less than a year and I started her undersaddle myself. I had been riding her for less than 3 months when she came up lame. I had hopes of jumping her...is this still a possibility?

Catsmeow
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 23, 2005 - 7:35 am:

Catherine, yes it is possible that you might jump this mare but the prognosis depends on the severity of the injury. One vet has said the prognosis is excellent, what does the more cautious vet say the likely outcome will be? The actual prognosis probably lies between the two.
DrO
New Member:
Catsmeow

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 23, 2005 - 5:12 pm:

The first two vets I saw described the injury as minor. I panicked a little at their mention of the suspensory but they both reassured me that the injury was not a big deal. The third time I went to aTm a different vet performed the ultrasound,he simply said that she was not ready for full work and that, while exercise was good, not to over-do it. He would not commit to a long-term prognosis. On that same visit the original vet (the vet I actually had the appointments with)proclaimed that she needed to be ridden and I needed to not worry about her leg. He has always insited that he saw no reason for her not to return to full work. However, she still has a lump on her right rear fetlock that is not much smaller than the original hemaetoma. She has not been lame since the day she came up lame while we were riding.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 24, 2005 - 6:44 am:

This lump, if firm, represents granulation tissue that will eventually become a scar. It does not sound like there was much actual injury by the vets comments but there is nothing wrong with bringing this horse along slowly. For some ideas on a slow recovery see, Equine Diseases » Lameness » Treatment Methods » Rehabilitating Injuries to the Tendons and Ligaments. It strikes me you should be about day 90 - 120 but obviously the fist vet thinks you could move more quickly through the regimen. The key is where ever you start, give the horse 2 contiguous days rest a week and a month to adjust before progressing to the next step.
DrO
Home Page | Top of Page | Join Us!
Horseadvice.com is a BBB Accredited Business. Click for the BBB Business Review of this Horse Training in Stokesdale NC