Recovering from Collateral Ligament Injury

[3Hanns]

Hi Rubs- I have not posted up till now because I don’t have good news, and did not want to upset everyone’s positive energy.

My Laney has been lame for the last 2.5 months on her right front (same foot- she was blocked)…vet originally thought it was abscess, and I’ve treated it as such… but no improvement…we took x-rays, and she DOES have a tiny bone spur near her coffin joint (she has always had this) that has increased in size a touch…vet thinks she might have tweaked it, and we started IRAP about 3 weeks ago. The spur is NOT in a load bearing area…and vet feels it should not be really bothering her normally…vet thinks she may have tripped, and irritated it. I am hoping and praying that this is not the CL again…

If she is not better in another month or 2 after IRAP we will re U/S.

On the brighter side, the lameness does seem a little different, and no heat/swelling in the dorsal area, that she had before…

She is back on stall rest/ handwalking for now…I am so sad :no:, but glad to hear Rubs is doing great

[yellow_rose]

my gelding is still fat. still hairy. but happy as a clam. i’ve turned him out with a buddy now that he enjoys harassing (but not playing hard… again, too fat to move fast…)

got front shoes put back on him, that’s making a huge difference.

he is quite sound if he’s out 24/7, sometimes if he’s inside for a while he comes out gimping a little then works out of it. has anyone else had this experience?

glad to hear rubs is doing well!

[Rubs_Not_Pats]

3Hanns,
I am so sorry to hear about your continued problems with Laney. I thought everything was going well. I will send some positive energy your way. I know in my heart every ride I have on Rubs is a gift and every stumble, every time she hits a pole, I freak out inside. It is so hard.

Yellow Rose,
We are on the no turn out plan, so I couldn’t begin to comment. But the reason is that the barn turn outs are small and the ground is not flat. So there is a higher likelihood of injury. I may turn her out in one of the rings one day, but right now we are doing so well, I don’t want to rock the boat.

[Rubs_Not_Pats]

We have been jumping pretty consistantly 3-4 days a weeks since my last update, some days are easy, some days are courses. In the last month, we seem to have really hit a turning point. This mare and I have never really clicked in the jumping department. Now, in the past month, we finally seem to understand eachother. We have progressed to lines at 2’9 and today for my first time ever (on this horse), we got the out’s set at 3’. Rubs is still sounder than ever. I have been keeping her up on her legend and trying to keep her lunging down. She has already been to one unrated show with me and will do another this week. We are thinking to do the 2’3-2’6 and if all is well there is a B show the following week. We are aiming for either the non-pro (2’6) or low Children’s/AA Hunters (2’6-2’9). We will see how the weekend goes. She has no shot of placing in any of this, as it is way too easy for her but I need the experience and I don’t think we can make it around a 3’ jumper class in the next two weeks. (we have this horrid tendancy to leave strides out), so until we have more experience, I will keep her doing easy stuff, at least for her. I just wanted to keep you all posted on her progress.

I hope all is improving for everyone.

3Hanns, How is Laney doing?

[fatorangehorse]

update on horse from original post

Hi folks - I started this thread goodness knows how long ago. My horse was just back in work. He’s now jumping around prelim - though I haven’t xc schooled him and back schooling 3rd level dressage. He’ll go xc for the firt time in a few week. I’ve been meticulous about footing and eased his way up - but signs are good.

Hang in there.

[3Spots]

Thought I’d chime in with my mare.

Her lameness began last June, stall rest for July didn’t work, MRI diagnosed the medial collateral ligament injury in her RF hoof. August through November was pretty much stall rest and handwalking, upping it from 10min/day to 40 min/day. Began mounted walk in November, trot in January (though wind and rain kept us from a regular schedule). Finally got consistent trot work in Feb/Mar and began canter in April. She’s up to maybe 10 min of canter. Still doing big circles and no lateral work and no turnout.

Two weeks ago I started her on more trail work and longer sessions (1.5h hills and creekbed sand). She has remained sound through all of this. She’s 9, no Legend or Adequan or joint supplements, worked 6x a week.

I am just a trail rider, so this amount of comeback is perfect for me, although we need to work up to steeper hills, longer rides and a bit rockier terrain. I let my trainer jump her prior to her injury just so she’d have something different to do, but I am not going to do that again. I don’t care to jump (other than occasional log) for jumping sake, and part of me thinks the injury might have happened because of that.

I haven’t allowed turnout yet, but I want to do so. I think she needs the downtime and she usually NOT a maniac in turnout. I figure more cantering and more trail work will strengthen things up and then I will just need to look the other way and take the chance on turnout. Starting with turning her out after she’s tired, or having some feed in there and it’s not windy/crips and not next to any wild horses, etc.

She has been such a good girl through all of this – no drugs needed, and other than getting out twice and big bucking on the leadline twice, there have been no antics.

A good news story for me so far. Just wanted to let folks know and add to the “success” stories for those who are confronting this just now.

jan

[3Spots]

Okay, so I looked the other way last week and she was an angel in turnout. Did that after every ride and life is great. Did it tonight before we rode and I had a banshee on my hands. Squealing, running, bucking, sliding for a full 5 min. She would not stop, and got all the other horses riled up. So not like her. Had to throw hay in to get her to focus and slow down.

So…yikes. Did it all just get undone? I let her cool off and eat, cold hosed her, put on some linament. I don’t see any swelling or lameness, but I was only there for an hour post-romp. I’ll go check on her in the morning.

Part of me is worried that I just ruined her, part of me says, “it’s been 10 months, we’ve been cantering, she’ll be okay,” and part of me says I was going to have to cross this bridge sooner or later. I know I’ll walk towards her stall tomorrow with dread in my heart that the worst has happened and I’ll be high as a kite if she is fine.

How is everyone else doing: Rubs, 3Hanns, FH, Blue?

[ljc]

Jan – Take a deep breath!!! After ten months, it’s unlikely Mendy will have undone all the healing that’s taken place. It’s possible she may take a minor step back but even that is the worst case scenario and won’t set you back very far. She probably REALLY needed to play. It will take a long time before you can watch her be goofy without worrying but I promise the time will come when you don’t even think about her ligaments. Heck it only took me ten years to stop worrying about Benjamin’s tendons!!! Seriously, horses will be horses and while they are capable of self-destruction, they are also pretty darn strong. Let us know how she is tomorrow.

[3Spots]

Breathing deeply…

She’s okay!! At least as far as I can tell in my trip to the barn before work. No swelling, sound at walk, looked fine in a tight turn in the wash rack, willing to weight all legs, impatient for food. Her old self.

I didn’t lunge her because I didn’t have time, but will ask the gal who helps ride her if she sees anything at trot/canter.

LJC, thanks for the pep talk. Just as others have said, every trip/stumble makes me hold my breath. But this little event will make that seem like a piece of cake. I can’t imagine her doing anything worse than she did last night, so maybe will finally relieve that lingering nagging feeling of always being “on guard.”

I do feel like a kite right now. This deserves a Starbucks!

jan

[Fharoah]

Does anyone have any experience with collateral ligament in the pastern desmitis?

During rest was your horse in a stall or a small padoc? During rest peroid how quiet did your horse have to stay? My horse has had almost a year off, five months turned out (misdiagnosed) ridden at walk to keep level but still ran around, showed some improvement in the first month then remained 2/5 lame. He had another five months small padoc handwalking still wired allot of the time with vitamin supplement only and local grass hay still 2/5 although less reactive to distal flexions. Now diagnosed with an MRI there saying more rest. It has been two weeks since the diagnoses and he has been reasonably calm on ace granules, however I am debating useing resperine instead. I would like to lightly take the edge off all the time, oppinions?

I was also wondering if stem cell sergery works on older injury?

Would a game ready help if injury is in the pastern and fetlock?

Thanks in advance!

[3Spots]

My understanding is that stem cell fills in tissue – a tear, etc. I don’t know that it would work on an older injury, unless your MRI says there is still a tear? Otherwise, I think folks are using shockwave. (And of course, whether stem cell really does DO that isn’t really substantiated as far as i can tell.)

My rehab was in a 16x24 stall. She kicked at her neighbors, so I hung mats to soften the blow, but otherwise didn’t act up. She has been in that stall the past 10 months, only getting out for rehab. First four months were hand walk. Mounted walk beginning month five and light canter (1 min) beginning month 7.

Desmitis might be a whole different thing, but it would seem that the rehab would be similar to a tear. Lots of time off. I hope someone can chime in with experience!

jan

[Fharoah]

He does have a small tear in his deep digital flexor tendon in the fetlock region with increased inflamation. They injected it with steroid and HA, and injected his pastern.

They consider thy consider the collateral ligament to be the main cause of lameness.

[vali]

My gelding had a collateral ligament injury in 2002. We did 3 rounds of shock wave, with no real result. After 9 months with very little improvement, we did Acell injections. That did the trick, and he came back to Training/Prelim level eventing after another 6 months of handwalking and then walking and trotting under saddle. He’s 17 now and my mother has him and takes him hunting and to Novice level hunter paces.

[horsegirl520]

My horse was diagnosed with a left front medial proximal inter-phalangeal collageral injury yestereday. I was told to stall rest him with light hand walking/hand grazing for 6-8 more weeks (he was stall rested for 2 months already and then we tried to increase his exercise before finding out what the real problem was – my vet was hoping it was just scar tissue build up). The “defect” on the ultrasound wasn’t defined as a tear or strain or anything like that… it was just a “defect.” My horse is only lame lunging, on pavement, to the left… he’s sound under all other circumstances.

I just ordered my horse “SmartTendon” from SmartPak… I figure it can’t hurt.

[Rubs_Not_Pats]

Well, all was going great and Rubs was off on Thrurday. It was ever so slight and I could only pick up on it in tight small circles. It is the opposite leg. I have been super careful with her on the footing. So it looks like it is in the area of the annular ligament. Just a small amount of fill. We used ice therapy, put two days of surpass and will walk her for five days. It is day three, swelling is resolved and she is sound. Other than that we have been doing great, she has been jumping three days a week and holding up well. She until Thursday felt better than she ever did. I am going to say that 9.5 out of 10 people would not have noticed anything it was super minor and I am being a total control super freak.

As far as rehab to the new person with problems. Better to go slow and consistant. Rubs was off jumping with controlled, progressive exercise for a year and it was the best decision I ever made.

[fatorangehorse]

[QUOTE=horsegirl520;3237302]
My horse was diagnosed with a left front medial proximal inter-phalangeal collageral injury yestereday. I was told to stall rest him with light hand walking/hand grazing for 6-8 more weeks (he was stall rested for 2 months already and then we tried to increase his exercise before finding out what the real problem was – my vet was hoping it was just scar tissue build up). The “defect” on the ultrasound wasn’t defined as a tear or strain or anything like that… it was just a “defect.” My horse is only lame lunging, on pavement, to the left… he’s sound under all other circumstances.

I just ordered my horse “SmartTendon” from SmartPak… I figure it can’t hurt.[/QUOTE]

that’s how mine showed up - never consistently lame. The tear only showed up on the mri. Nothing on the ultrasound - the mri showed a VERY significant tear. You may want to go that route if you can manage the $$$. If not, i found NO benefit from stall rest. If you have a big field to turn your horse in - you may want to consider it.

i’ve good things about smart tendon . . . my horse won’t eat it!

[Bluehorsesjp]

I got to sit on my horse today!!

Hi all,
Just a quick update.
After 7 months of stall, small pen (12 x 12) rest my horse is sound. I actually got permission from my vet to start him back under saddle yesterday.
30 minutes of walking adding 5 minutes of trotting after a few weeks building up to 10 minutes of trotting before the next recheck.
It was so nice to actually sit on him, although he feels so weak behind.
My current plan is to do 2 weeks of walking on the roads around my house. Same route we hand walked on. After 2 weeks I will start shipping him to an arena down the road for our trot sessions.
I was reminded to go slow by my vet. And after all the muscle loss of 7 months I am certainly going to go very very slow.

[Rubs_Not_Pats]

Congrats! That is super news! Go real slow, It makes a world of difference.

Rubs is not having any leg problems. Turns out she got something under her pad and her frog softened and she is heel sore. So it should resolve shortly. We are still working her. She doesn’t seem lame, just takes a funny step every now and again and they are getting to be more and more infrequent.

[Rubs_Not_Pats]

Update

We are back in the show ring for the past two weeks! Rubs did the second years (3’9) and if the regulars would fill, we would do them (4’). She is going awsome, currently sounder than she has ever been. I am careful though. I watch the footing, amount of work, she gets ledgend before the shows and Game Ready after jumping on days she does the “big” stuff! So far, so good, keep your fingers crossed.

How is everyone else doing?

[3Spots]

Hi Rubs!

I moved Mendy to a new barn two months ago and we are now in full training for dressage and she has remained sound and is muscling up. Tomorrow I take her for a week of horse camping. Yahoo! It has been 14 months from original injury diagnosis.

Until the move to this barn, I have been a trail rider that takes an occassional lesson, but I needed to get Mendy into steady work because the gal I had to help ride – well, it turns out she wasn’t – and Mendy had a complete bucking, kicking, screeching around the turnout, and dead lame event when turned out. It was only after the fact that I realized she hadn’t been worked in four days.

Needless to say, my heart really sank on that one…luckily, she just tweaked her shoe and then stepped back down on the clip, (of the non-ligament-injured foot, thank goodness), and once we took the shoe off, she recovered in a week.

So, it isn’t jumping by any means, but full training means a lot more work than she had been getting, and she is holding up… and I hate to say this, but I am enjoying the lessons, too!

jan