Hooooo boy.
To answer your question: yes, he’s off LF/RH.
My experience is below. Some, all, or none may apply to you.
Dora is 17 this year. She’s had a history (pretty much her whole life) of a LF/RH lameness that was better while in work. It always blocked to the LF during lameness exams (she had two, one at 5 and one at 14), but I knew her stifles are weak and always though it was the right stifle. No one could find anything on xray or ultrasound on the LF.
In August last year she came up slightly lame LF with mild swelling (swelling was new). Ultrasound revealed a strained check ligament. Vet recommended walking undersaddle starting at 10 min/day adding 5 min a week until we got to 40 min then start trotting at 2 min/day. We also iced daily (against vet’s recommendation, because it really helped her), applied Surpass daily, and lasered every other day. She had been barefoot but we put front shoes on her to make sure the feet were perfectly balanced all the time. She almost immediately became sound and only had a week or so in that period where she was lame, and only while walking uphill. Her walking was only on a hard surface (soft sand is bad for soft tissue injuries), and slightly uphill once she was sound. We got to about 6 minutes of trotting a day when…
In October she injured an unknown tendon or ligament in her RF (it was very swollen but there was no lameness). After consultation with the vet I decided not to ultrasound, since treatment would be the same as the LF injury. Back to walking. Now we were icing, lasering, and Surpassing both legs. I discontinued the Surpass at some point because it wasn’t helping much. By February (due to lots of rain in Dec/Jen) we got to about 4 minutes of trotting a day when…
She came up very lame on the RH. Ultrasound revealed a “pretty shredded” (vet’s words) meniscus. But hey, we can inject the stifle!! Stifle was injected mid-March and then back to walking. We’re now lasering 3 out of 4 legs every other day. 
With the spring grass, I’ve started locking her in her stall overnight (she’s usually on 24/7 pasture) and when I do that I wrap her with Back on Track wraps - they are AWESOME. Her legs are tight and cool to the touch in the mornings. I actually ordered some BoT turnout boots for when she is out 24/7 again. I’ll probably just have them on overnight. Locking her in has also allowed her to lay down and really rest, which is also crucial (she’s out with 2 young horses that don’t let her lay down for long).
What I’ve learned:
- Keep them moving. As others have said, scar tissue builds up. Forced exercise (meaning walking under tack at a FORWARD pace, not puttsing around) is better than just turnout, but turnout is also imperative. The treadmill is also great, but I would avoid circles (longeing or a hot walker).
- Expect ups and downs.
- My vet said (again, my horse, my vet, different situation, but a *REALLY* good sports medicine vet) that it doesn't matter what the ultrasound looks like or what the leg looks like, if she's sound, she can work. That does worry me a bit, so I am being extra conservative and increasing her work VERY slowly.
- Listen to your horse. Randomly over the past month Dora has been lame on her LF again :facepalm:. So I started icing it again and that helped. So we ice it everyday - nbd. Once you do this for :counts on all of my fingers: 9(!) months, you'll get a feel for his progress and when to push and when not to push. I hope yours doesn't go that long!
- Go slow and do what you can to support him. In addition to the specific treatments for her legs, Dora gets a massage at least once a month (more frequently if I feel something off). All of the body is connected, and if one part is tight or weak that will put strain on everything else.
- Be patient and relish the time with him. It was hard in the beginning for me to think about not jumping or horse showing again, but now I take it one day at a time and will be happy if we can w/t/c again. I love doting on Dora and going on long walks. Take pleasure in doing what you can - if he's good on the trail, find some trails that you can explore together - alone or with friends. Even hand walking out on the trail is good (for both of you!). Maybe try ground driving if you're comfortable with it.
PM me if you want anymore ideas or just to commiserate. Good luck and jingles! <3
