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 » Localizing Lameness in the Horse »
  Discussion on Suspected suspensory injury or soft tissue injury
Author Message
New Member:
Hoover

Posted on Thursday, Mar 2, 2006 - 9:57 am:

Hello, my farrier took a powder on me and my horses feet were 2 1/2 weeks overdue (my farrier kept saying he was coming but wouldn't show up)my 12 yr old quarterhorse gelding toes were too long and he tripped while I was lunging him and twisted his right fore leg. He was obviously lame when trotting, head bobbing & short strided. There was no heat or swelling. I had his feet done by another farrier who was out at the farm for another horse but I was very unhappy with the way he trimmed my horses feet. I gave him a weeks rest but when he wasn't improving I called the vet out. He had no sensitivity in the hoof, he nerve blocked both the ankle and the knee and there was no improvement. He did say there was stiffness in the ankle. We did x-rays to make sure he didn't chip or fracture anything and they came back clean. Currently he is on small paddock turnout (with a buddy next door) only. He has never had a lame day in his life and I want to do what is best for him, time does not matter to me, his long term health does. I do dressage and some light jumping with him and he is extremely athletic. He is used to turnout from 3:00pm until 7:00am everyday and out all day on Sunday with a buddy, he doesn't do very well when he is in his stall all day. The very words suspensory injury bring fear. What's my best course of action?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Mar 2, 2006 - 7:52 pm:

The problem is that we don't know why your horse is lame Sandra so we can not give any better advice than that at Equine Diseases » Lameness » First Aid for the Lame Horse where we deal with treatment of the undiagnosed lameness.

However I do think most likely is, considering your history and exam findings, that you have a strain in either the flexor, suspensory, or check ligament, with check ligament at the top.
DrO
New Member:
Hoover

Posted on Friday, Mar 3, 2006 - 9:08 am:

Thank you for your reply. What tests do you suggest to determine what Hoover's lameness is? If it's his check ligament instead of his suspensory is his prognosis better and should we be doing anything different in regards to his treatment? He does not appear lame at the walk, he has started pacing in his paddock (he misses running and playing with his buddy)and I worry that pacing will put too much pressure on his injury, should I stall rest him? He is still very lame, head bobbing stumbling and short strided at the trot. He rarely stumbles when well.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Mar 3, 2006 - 12:10 pm:

The problem is that we don't know why your horse is lame Sandra so we can not give any better advice than that at Equine Diseases » Lameness » First Aid for the Lame Horse where we deal with treatment of the undiagnosed lameness. I know this is a repeat of above but the article I reference does directly answer your question on treating horses with undiagnosed lameness.

Concerning the diagnostic steps at this point and specific therapy for diseases of the supporting structures down the back of the cannon see Equine Diseases » Lameness » Diseases of the Lower Limb. You have ruled out everything from the ankle down and the joints of the knees. So you need to start above the ankle. The article on the above menu that discusses lameness in the cannon region would be a good start of how to localize and diagnose lameness of this region.
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