Ok the vet checked her and every thing, but i just wanted to know some ways to help her, my vet just told me rest! Has anyone had this problem? anything you did that helped the process? any supplements, rubs, or homeopathic stuff that helped your horse heal smoothly? I know it takes a long time to heal but if there is anything i can do to help her i want to do it!! please help ! thanks
Suspensary, i cant spell. anyway, she was either having to much fun in the pasture or she was hurt when riding, i dont think riding because i came back from vk and thats when she started looking really off. I already bio wrap her and cold hose her leg.
I am not vet wrapping her, i am pillow wrapping with a regular wrap around, bio wrap means i am wrapping both front legs so she doesnt start to favor one.
Suspensary ligament, not spensery.
Anyway, the only way to heal this is rest, rest and more rest! Nothing else you can do, I imagine she is on box-rest? I would bandage her legs for support and to stop them filling.
Other than that, there really isn't anything you can do that will make a difference.
How did she do it?
ADD: Re: the second answer – I wouldn't use vet wrap, unless a poultice is needed (but it's unlikely she has any I think; the damage is internal). Use stable bandages over thick gamgee. Alternatively, as she's going to be on box rest fairly long term, I can recommend Premier Equine International's Boot Wraps – they provide the support of bandages and gamgee without the hassle. They have seen me through several stints of box rest and one of my horses wears hind ones every night as his legs fill. http://www.premierequine.co.uk/acatalog/horse-boots.html – third one down. I would avoid the magnetic ones as it could interfere with the healing process. Some people say it helps it, but my vet advises against it and I agree with him, lol. NEVER EVER bandage for more than 12 hours. it will cause circulation damage and can weaken tendons etc. I do 12 hours on, 12 hours off with my horses when they're on box rest.
ADD: I've just read your additions, it is likely that she's over done it in the paddock. Especially if she was unfit at the time as the turnover of tendon, ligament and muscle fibres in an unfit horse is slow and so some of the elasticity is lost. Heel wedges in her shoes will help to alleviate the pressure and can help to quicken healing, along with egg bar shoes. You may want to speak to your vet and farrier about this. If she has a long pastern (as in, her long pastern bone is too long as all horses have a long pastern bone! lol) then this can also make her more prone to damage as the fetlock "over bends" and puts excessive strain on the ligaments and tendons. Boots that wrap around the fetlock can help this (often called training wraps) as they offer support but it's more important to avoid, or limit, concussive work on hard ground. Witch Hazel and Arnica (available in a green jelly from most tack shops) or just witch hazel (get it from the chemist, dilute with water) can help the swelling and bruising whilst the injury is fresh but it will not help to heal the ligament any faster. Email me if I can help any further.
Comments
Suspensary ligament, not spensery.
Anyway, the only way to heal this is rest, rest and more rest! Nothing else you can do, I imagine she is on box-rest? I would bandage her legs for support and to stop them filling.
Other than that, there really isn't anything you can do that will make a difference.
How did she do it?
ADD: Re: the second answer – I wouldn't use vet wrap, unless a poultice is needed (but it's unlikely she has any I think; the damage is internal). Use stable bandages over thick gamgee. Alternatively, as she's going to be on box rest fairly long term, I can recommend Premier Equine International's Boot Wraps – they provide the support of bandages and gamgee without the hassle. They have seen me through several stints of box rest and one of my horses wears hind ones every night as his legs fill. http://www.premierequine.co.uk/acatalog/horse-boots.html – third one down. I would avoid the magnetic ones as it could interfere with the healing process. Some people say it helps it, but my vet advises against it and I agree with him, lol. NEVER EVER bandage for more than 12 hours. it will cause circulation damage and can weaken tendons etc. I do 12 hours on, 12 hours off with my horses when they're on box rest.
ADD: I've just read your additions, it is likely that she's over done it in the paddock. Especially if she was unfit at the time as the turnover of tendon, ligament and muscle fibres in an unfit horse is slow and so some of the elasticity is lost. Heel wedges in her shoes will help to alleviate the pressure and can help to quicken healing, along with egg bar shoes. You may want to speak to your vet and farrier about this. If she has a long pastern (as in, her long pastern bone is too long as all horses have a long pastern bone! lol) then this can also make her more prone to damage as the fetlock "over bends" and puts excessive strain on the ligaments and tendons. Boots that wrap around the fetlock can help this (often called training wraps) as they offer support but it's more important to avoid, or limit, concussive work on hard ground. Witch Hazel and Arnica (available in a green jelly from most tack shops) or just witch hazel (get it from the chemist, dilute with water) can help the swelling and bruising whilst the injury is fresh but it will not help to heal the ligament any faster. Email me if I can help any further.
References :
Advanced NC, level 3, in Horse Management including modules in Horse Anatomy and Health.
I JUST CHECK ON THE HORSES WOUNDS AND PUT THEM INTO BOX REST OR A STABLE. PUT A VETWRAP ROUND IT AND CHANGE IT EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS.NEXT TIME ASK YOUR VET ABOUT ANYTHING HE RECCOMENDS. BUT PLENTLY OF REST AND CUDDLES.
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You don’t bandage a “suspensory apparatus ligament tear”, unless the vet advises you too. But you are not really sopposed too anyways, it only adds pressure around the tear, and you do not want to put absolutly any pressure on it. When you see swelling around this area, the leg is trying to heal it’s self. If you wrap it, it will only keep it from swelling like it is supposed to and will take longer to heal.
The vet is right, lots of rest and no exercise or you can make it worse. He/she needs to be confined to a box stall with limited movement so that it heals correctly. Flexuate ice and heat therapy on it for about 15 to 20 minutes a day. Cold first then the heat. Yoou might even see him devolop “wind puffs” around the fetlock joints, this is normal for a leg injury, they will look like two golf sized balls on both sides of the leg. Like I said these are normal, but if they start to get heat in them, call the vet they need to be lanced and drained. These also “pop” up to help the leg to heal. You also might notice swelling around the knee, also normal. When he seems to be getting back to normal, Which may take a month give or take with age and body condition, Call the vet back out to examine him again to make sure he is ok to be worked.
Good luck
References :
Equine sports massage therapist & bodywork, Trigger point therapy, Myofascial release and much much more. Plenty of years experience too.
When a horse tears any tendon or ligament, rest is very important, but soon limited exercise will be necessary for proper healing. When a tendon heals, the long fibers that make up the tendon or ligament will heal solid in scar tissue, leaving that ligament more prone to injury or strain, and cause possible contraction in the foot due to the inability to stretch out and allow the foot to land the proper way. If the horse is able to move during the healing process, then the tendon or ligament will regain some elasticity. Hand walking is a good idea, ask your vet for how long and when to start. Poultice will help. When my filly hurt her tendon, of course it was a minor strain and she healed well and quickly, I would cold hose her, put liniment on her leg and wrapped overnight and let her move around during the day. I would use a standing wrap on your horse rather than vet wrap. Cold hose is a good idea as well, twice a day for ten minutes, perhaps more often, as far as that goes, ask your vet. Good luck with it, it will take a very long time, but if you’re diligent and careful, your horse will do very well after she’s healed.
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Usually a horse with that sort of injury would be rested, given Bute, and standing wrapped, for support. Linament, like Absorbine can help as well as it increases blood flow to the area. Also Epsom Salt poultice can help relieve pain in the muscles/tendons.
Using Pillow wraps and a polo or standing wrap over it wrap BOTH front legs. Since she is favoring the right, support will help ease the pain of standing on it. And in the same line, since she is favoring the right she will be putting more weight on the left, if you don't support it, it too will likely become sore.
If you decide to use Linament, like Absorbine, it is VERY IMPORTANT to make sure you do Not rub the linament in before wrapping it, this will burn, and sometimes scar, the skin. If you rub some on your hands and just run them, with the hair, down the leg in one motion, it should not burn.
Main thing is rest and support.
Edited to Ad: I was just flipping through my SmartPak catalog and noticed they do have tissue support supplements for tendons and ligaments. Not sure if/how well they work but it may be something to look into. check out Smartpak.com
References :
13yr horse owner, professional trainer, 5yr vet assistant (1yr at an equine only veterinary hospital), Pre-vet student.
Also have used linament and pillow wraps in the above manner on my mare who gets stocked up in stalls.
I’m sorry for this injury. One of my jumpers went through this almost two years ago. He needed about 1 complete year of just sitting in his stall. I walked him for 15 minutes a day after about a month, but it was a long time before he could go back to work.
He was insured, so we went ahead and tried this new procedure called PRP injections. The vets took a blood sample, extracted the plasma from it, and injected it into his injured muscle. It did speed up the recovery time and the muscle healed quite strong. He eventually worked back up to jumping and competing, albeit at a lower level.
Wrapping is not a bad thing, if your vet suggests it. We poulticed him when the leg filled with fluid, just to draw out that moisture and keep it cool. We also pillow wrapped his back legs to keep him from stocking up. Vet wrapping a leg is a no-no, as it’s too easy to make it too tight and do more harm.
Sorry to say, but it’s the rest and the time off that really heals a suspensory. Best of luck.
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