# Help for suspensory ligament injury



## HazyXmas (4 November 2011)

I've got a 6 yr old mare that injured her high suspensory ligament in July, initially 1/10th lame & was told by vet 'that she was slightly unlevel' & to give her a week off. She was due a break anyway as we were going away ourselves so agreed with vet that she would have three weeks off but in usual routine of out at night & in for 8 hours during the day. You can imagine our horror to come back to her 4/10ths lame & after seeing another vet & scans, being told it was suspensory damage & she should have been box rested from start.
So, she has had 8 weeks box rest followed by 4 weeks walking out, building upto 40 mins, she then started restricted turnout & small amounts of trotting. I have to say that i am utterly depressed & frustrated as she is being a complete pain. We have to ACP her to go out as had two VERY scary incidents on the roads & i wouldn't have believed how much she can throw herself around in the smallest paddock (approx 4m x 5m) I daren't leave her so she is only out while i'm at yard. Why don't they ever do anything to help themselves?
Anyway, my question is, are there any supplements that i could feed to help strengthen this ligament & also would magnetic boots or wraps help her? I've looked at brodpod leg wraps, has anyone used these.
Thank you so much for reading. I feel at the end of my tether


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## tontoandtigger (4 November 2011)

Hi, sorry you are having such a horrid time. my old mare did her suspensory ligament in both legs the vet told us she would never be sound again!!. we tried to keep her on box rest and she got worse then became a danger to handle she would pin you against walls drag you around the yard and when allowed out for 10 to 15 mins to try and get her head sorted she would go blastic. in the end we got another vet who said that the box rest had made the situation far worse and that the horse needed to be out 24 hrs 7 days aweek. he said the suspensory ligament requires the horse to be moving!!!.
so we turned her out and walked away (i was in a state) after acting like a tit for 20 mins she just calmed down and we left her after a few weeks she seemed better and gradualy she got sounder she was hacked out for meny years after that and was never put on box rest again. sadly she passed away earlier this year but it had nothing to do with her legs.she was 25 years old.
try talking to your vet about giving the horse more turnout, they are after all big animals that need to move. if you have a horse that is happy in the stable 24hrs a day then that great but if yours is like mine  they just wind themselves up more and more and can end up doing more damage.
we tried loads of supliments but found turnout more important.
good luck keep your chin up and remember it will get better.


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## Silent Knight (4 November 2011)

Problem with liganemts is that there isn't a huge blood supply like tendons/muscles and so they take ages to heal My mare was never realy right after pulling hers  She damaged it jumping out of an area of sticky mud in the field.


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## stencilface (4 November 2011)

Hi, mine is on box rest/restricted turnout at the moment for the same injury (you will find many threads on here from me!).  I have been feeding him a balancer to make sure he gets everything - but stopping that today in the hope that he might start behaving as apparently they can make them crazy - and yes, my normally sane horse can throw some moves out on our walk hacks  

There are various things you can feed, I have been told to feed something that has MSM and glucosamine in it - so I feed mine Topspec 10:10 Joint supplement.  There are many out there though, globalherbs and riaflex both do similar things.  I am also giving mine a herbal spray that gets sprayed directly onto his gums twice a day - it has arnica, rustox and ruta grav in it all of which are supposed to it, depending on what you believe!  My horse chiro swears by it though so I bought some.  Link below.  Do a search for other threads about this on here - there are many! 

I am considering getting an animal communicator out to mine in the hope she can tell him to stop being such a complete prawn 

Did they scan anything else at the vets?  As more often than not they damage their other leg and sacro iliac area through compensation.  Mine also has hind shoes with a lateral flare, which are meant to help in the way they walk.  I also put magnetic boots on every day to help with blood flow, he wears a magnetic rug at night to help with his back.

Did they give any treatments at the vet?  Mine had 3 shockwaves treatments which are to help improve bloodflow and to stimulate the joint to produce ligamnet fixing stuff.  I am going back to the vets (8 weeks in) next week as I am not happy as he is still lame in trot and I just want them to have another look at it.  In for a penny, in for £4k, right....?!?!?!?! 

http://www.crossgatesbioenergetics.com/animal-health/equine.xhtml


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## HazyXmas (4 November 2011)

Thank you for your advice  although i am more worried than ever now :-( 
She's not had any treatment at all. Had one scan & x-ray on 5th Aug when problem was diagnosed (lots of nerve blocking before to isolate area) then 8 weeks box rest then back for another scan & x-ray which did show improvement. Both legs (fronts) done on both occasions, no problem showed up on 'good' leg (front off) she seemed ok when walking out but has behaved so badly that i fear she has caused another problem. My daughter is worried that she is putting in the occasional 'short' stride when trotting, we have ordered some magnetic boots & started her on NAF superflex tonight, she just had turnout today, two lots of 1 hour & seemed quiet, thank goodness. It is very confusing when vets can't agree, another vet from the same practise did tell me to dope her & then turn her out 24/7 for the next three months. I'm reluctant to do this as our land is so wet & sticky.
Good luck to everyone else going through this


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## carterk3 (4 November 2011)

My horse is also suffering from the same problem but she is only four. No idea how she did it and it was only picked up after being noticeably (2/10) lame on her right hind. She is currently turned out in a small yard during the day with another horse to keep her company and this seems to be working. I can lead her calmly from her little yard to her stable without any major tantrums. My vet told me that suspensory ligament injuries take an incredibly long time to heal and she will need at least until next May without being ridden. I'm not in any rush and would prefer to let it heal properly. He also said that often the amount of damage you see on a scan does not relate to the amount of lameness so probably not worthwhile re-scanning for some considerable time. Wouldn't dare feed my horse any hard feed as she is such a good doer I think it would drive her crazy and that would not be a pleasant experience. Has anyone received any information about what their horses are likely to be able to do in the future. Is the best I can hope for just a pleasant hack?


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## Alphamare (4 November 2011)

My mare tore her front suspensories (just one leg)

She was on field rest for a YEAR! 

She is now sound and on the brink of bieng brought back into work.

I am not convinced that the amount of time off you have been prescribed is enough though.


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## stencilface (5 November 2011)

I am hoping that another 4 months of our current programme and I might be able to turn out 24/7 (depending on what vet says next week)  Then I think I will be walking, then trotting for at least another year - on the roads, never in a school.  I want to do this slowly and properly and only have to do it once.  I have learnt my lessons from other injuries to always take longer than you think you need!

Mine was never really lame though, and never had heat or swelling.  A flexion test would bring out the lameness but for the ridden work up at the vets they told me to take him home for the week, ride him to make him lame then take him back.  This was because he wasn't really lame enough to do an effective nerve block


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## PitPony (5 November 2011)

When my mare tore her suspensory ligament away from the bone...she was on box rest initially and then we created a paddock juts outside her stable...the ground was far to muddy and sticky to put her in any of the normal fields...
She would still go a bit nuts at times but I just had to go with it...even giving them sedative does not guarantee they will not do it. The vet would come to her and do the scans etc. we just had to wait for it to heal enough...in the end I moved her t oanother yard with better turnout. 
When trotting her up one day for the vet she bu**ered off and I broke one of my fingers as the lunge line wrapped round my finger and stuck to my glove...so not only did the vet deal with her that day but also me!! 
It is a long process...and at some point you just have to grin and bear it when they have their wild moments..it isnt easy. I have my mare on Newmarket Joint Supplement more for her arthritis that she has though.
I wish you luck and you have to find out what works for your horse to get through the rehab...the above worked for mine. Another excellent facility at another yard I was at was they hade two areas under a couple of barns that had fencing - high/grid metal - with shavings on teh ground water and hay so the horses on rehab could go int there without too much room to run but enough to moveabout and they wre on the yard so could be seen at all times and they couldwatch what was going on...brilliant set up I have to say...


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## Holly Hocks (5 November 2011)

My mare has been diagnosed with mild proximal suspensory ligament injury in her near hind.  It's believed that it's been there for some time - possibly since her racing days, so has been described as chronic, rather than acute.  My vet thought it was bone spavin at first, so it's been there a while before being diagnosed this time.
My mare has been off work since beginning of October and is in at night and goes out during the day.  I have decided to turn her out as she goes nuts in the box and it is just too dangerous to even try walking her out in hand when she has been on box rest.  I will be giving her time off until April when I will start walking her out in hand and then I will get her scanned and x/rayed during the following weeks to see where we're at.  She has also just had her second dose of shockwave therapy yesterday and is going back for her final one in two weeks. 
But my mare does have bilateral bone spavin, mild arthritis in one fetlock where she had a bone chip removed, and navicular in both front feet.  So the chances of her coming back into hard work are minimal.  I remember joking with the girl from the racing yard that if she was too difficult a horse to ride, she could be my broodmare.  I never for one minute thought it would be true!!


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## pinklilly (5 November 2011)

Do you find with your horses with previous suspensory injuries there legs are often slightly puffy and a bit warm?  I have had my now 4 yo ( ex-racehorse but didn't make the racecourse due to not being able to stay sound doing canter work ) since April last year, he's been turned out since then.  According to his former trainer he had suspensory injuries in both forelegs.  He was never scanned and this is all the information I have, as far as I know he left training in January 2010

He was sound when I got him, and has been sound ever since apart from an abscess though I do find when he's been hooning about like a mad thing his legs are a little warm and puffy.

My vet examined him and couldn't find anything, she said 4 to 6 weeks walking on the roads and see how it goes.  I wanted scans done but she said it wasn't worth doing as it's so long after his injuries.

Anyone got any thoughts on this?  And would you think he'll only ever be able to be used for hacking?  It's quite difficult with not knowing the full veterinary history.


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## carterk3 (6 November 2011)

Hi - my horse had no puffiness of swelling but apparently that's because it's injured close to where it inserts into the bone. If the injury is lower down then I think you get heat and swelling at the time of injury. Don't know about years later though.


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## applecart14 (6 November 2011)

jelphick said:



			I've got a 6 yr old mare that injured her high suspensory ligament in July, initially 1/10th lame & was told by vet 'that she was slightly unlevel' & to give her a week off. She was due a break anyway as we were going away ourselves so agreed with vet that she would have three weeks off but in usual routine of out at night & in for 8 hours during the day. You can imagine our horror to come back to her 4/10ths lame & after seeing another vet & scans, being told it was suspensory damage & she should have been box rested from start.
So, she has had 8 weeks box rest followed by 4 weeks walking out, building upto 40 mins, she then started restricted turnout & small amounts of trotting. I have to say that i am utterly depressed & frustrated as she is being a complete pain. We have to ACP her to go out as had two VERY scary incidents on the roads & i wouldn't have believed how much she can throw herself around in the smallest paddock (approx 4m x 5m) I daren't leave her so she is only out while i'm at yard. Why don't they ever do anything to help themselves?
Anyway, my question is, are there any supplements that i could feed to help strengthen this ligament & also would magnetic boots or wraps help her? I've looked at brodpod leg wraps, has anyone used these.
Thank you so much for reading. I feel at the end of my tether 

Click to expand...

I'm considering PRP (type of stem cell treatment) for my horse who has a sprain of the lateral branch of the suspensory ligament on his near fore.http://www.vet-stem.com/prp/

My theory is that the best thing to strengthen the ligament is to do the most that your insurance will let you do, and for me PRP is an option which I am considering at present.


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## BJC (7 November 2011)

My horse was diagnosed with RH suspensory damage about 10 weeks ago now (2/10 lame).  He had the PRP treatment applecart is thinking of, and is now going through a 9 month rehab program.  As a pharmacist, used to the amount of information publically available on  human treatmentss, I was worried about PRP (and all the other treatment options we discussed), as there was so little information available.  However, 2 horses on my yard had undergone treatment with PRP for suspensory damage, and both are now fully recovered and back at work, so it seemed worth the risk.  Through work, I also recently met a US equine vet, who told me how lucky I was to have an equine vet so up to date with best current treatment options. My horse is doing well and the scans show the fibres filling what was a hole in his suspensory.  
I was really lucky, as my horse responded incredibly well to Magic, which he started (syringe for instant effect) after trying to kick his way out of his stable.  Next day, he was calm and relaxed in his box while all his friends were away out of sight in their field, and he has remained on Magic (powder) ever since, even though he now has restricted turnout.
I also put magnetic boots on him for an hour every evening, and he still gets glucosamine.
It does seem terrible that there is no consensus amongst vets on the best treatment options for suspensory ligament damage (accepting all injuries are somewhat different from each other).  Again, I keep comparing this to the situation with humans, where there are clear treament guidelines for most illnesses.  But then a non-horsey friend damaged a ligament in her leg, and was told by her doctor just to rest it as much as possible. She couldnt believe there were so many treatment options for a horse, but not a human.
Good luck to everybody going through this.  It is a nightmare having to make a decision when there is so little information available comparing outcomes after different treatments.


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## Jerroboam (7 November 2011)

Mine has been back into work for approx 12 weeks now, after 24 weeks of box rest and in hand walking. He is a 17.3hh KWPN and was totally hideous to handle. If you can, ring a friendly farmer and see if they can let you rent the end of a barn that you can deep litter for the winter. It really makes lfe so much easier! We found the magnetic boots did work well, keeping the blood moving around the injured area and he was also tightly bandaged 24/7. We also used ice cold water to reduce the sweling and bruising in his near fore which worked well, a lot like using frozen peas on a human! We did find that the initial advice was 8 weeks, then another scan, followed by another 8 weeks in etc etc... so don't get your hopes up to much yet. Don't worry, ours is now 100% sound and will be back in 'proper' work (hunter) within a matter of weeks. As with anything just be mindful of the fact that the injury will always be there, however slight. Good luck!


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## Goldenstar (7 November 2011)

Do you know anyone with a horse walker where he could go in livery although I am not a fan of them it might be better if he would settle to it there's a livery yard near here where they take horses coming off box rest I hate the thought of all that walking in smallish circles but thats what they do there,
It's awful when the vets say ten mins twice daily controlled walking and breeze off the yard leaving you thinking how exactly, all you can do is your best.
One of ours was lethal being lead but would walk calmly being lead from another horse but I dont think that would be a good idea unless the horse had been used to that before.
Good luck with it .


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## stencilface (7 November 2011)

BJC - thats exactly it - the more I talk to people, the more confused I become!  I may ask my vet about the stem cell treatment - out of interest, how much did it end up costing?  A friend of a friend who is a horse vet has mentioned this 

Hmm read on the website its not recommended for degenerative SL desmitis - which is what my horse has (not sure on degenerative bit - but its definitely chronic damage) woudl it still be good on that?


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## BJC (7 November 2011)

Hi Stencilface.  PRP isnt the same as stem cell treatment.  Blood was taken from my horse, which was treated in a special filter to produce enriched platelets, which were then injected back into the damaged area of his ligament (under ultrasound guidance).  It wasnt cheap(initial bill for diagnostic workups, including scans and his treatment was about £1700.  He is now having ultrasound scans throughout his rehab exercise plan (before we started ridden work at walk, and the next one, before we are allowed to add 5 mins of trotting/day to his exercise - in 2 weeks time).  The full rehab program will take 9 months (if all goes well), which would still just leave time for surgery under his insurance - if we need it.  My vet told me stem cells were no better than PRP for ligament injuries, but much better for tendons.
Unfortunately, I think you are right.  My horse had an acute injury (although I dont know how he did it) and not degenerative damage, so this may not help you.
I would love access to a horse walker, but having to hack out every day to maximise my horse's chances of recovery is really making me braver than I ever thought I could be.  I am lucky that I have access to bridleways without having to go on the roads, but I have a horse that has never had the courage to hack of his own, and is capable of throwing big tantrums.  But - we're getting there, probably helped by his fibre-only based diet, Magic  and just taking things one step at a time.
Good luck


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## applecart14 (8 November 2011)

Sorry if I've already missed this but has your vet discussed with you about giving your mare shockwave and PRP?

My horse is going in next week for PRP (protein rich plasma) which is like stem cell.  Mine had three lots of shockwave, LW ultrasound and pulsed magnotherapy. His is only a slight sprain on the outer branch of the supsensory ligament.


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## BJC (8 November 2011)

Applecart - my vet never discussed the option of shockwaves and PRP, but she doesnt seem to be a big fan of shockwaves.  I would be interested to hear how it goes - but - my horse did have a tear in his suspensory, rather than just a bruise.  Good luck


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## lcharles (8 November 2011)

My mare is on her third week of box rest for a suspensory ligament (LH) and has her third and last shockwave treatment tomorrow night. The vet said the shockwave probably wont make a massive difference and is considering operating to cut the nerve in that part of her leg. She said its unethical to not try the shockwave but even though my mare is 4/10's lame there is no tear showing on the scans. 


She will have her last shockwave tomorrow and then three weeks more box rest until she is re-assessed. 

Luckily she's happy chomping on hay in the stable!


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## CharlesMax (8 November 2011)

I am sorry to read what you are all going through! Mine has also been diagnosed with suspensory ligament damage in one of his forelegs. The annoying thing is we THOUGHT his mild lameness (1/10) was because of a splint at the beginning of the summer so we turned him away for most of the summer and brought him back into work for the hunting season (and to sell him on!). The day before our first cubbing experience of the season, I noticed he was lame again - after a full diagnostics/nerve blocks/scans, etc it turns out that the lameness was due to a suspensory ligament - possibly caused by the splint! Had we known, we would have rested him until now and he could have been fine - seems like the 'good' work we were doing him actually caused further damage. 

The vet has said we are looing at 3-6 months box rest but I was hoping to turn him away for 6 months/a year and forget about him as he is happiest when out but I am having serious doubts after discussing this with my vet and reading your comments. I do, however, know that my boy will go insane if kept in over the winter so I am considering taking that risk.

Good luck everyone!


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## g21smith (8 November 2011)

you could try global herbs tendoneze and to calm them down I was advised to try argent nit which is a homeopathic remedy you can get it from boots the cehmist or on line you should give 5 tablets a day it worked wonders on my stressy mare when on box rest


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## ladyt25 (8 November 2011)

My understanding of stem cell treatment was that this was used to assist in the repair of tears/holes in tendons (and evidently ligaments) so i would have thought this is only likely to have an effect if this is the case? I only base that on seeing footage of a vet treating a horse with a hole in its tendon by using stem cells to repair it. I guess the treatment will differ depending on the severity of the condition/injury.

Our horse physio did also query how well box rest worked for ligament damage as the ligaments do need to be able to stretch and move so can prolonged box rest actually make the horse worse? It's very difficult, there doesn't seem to be a right or wrong way to treat really does there.


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## applecart14 (9 November 2011)

CharlesMax said:



			Mine has also been diagnosed with suspensory ligament damage in one of his forelegs.  

The vet has said we are looing at 3-6 months box rest but I was hoping to turn him away for 6 months/a year and forget about him as he is happiest when out but I am having serious doubts after discussing this with my vet and reading your comments. I do, however, know that my boy will go insane if kept in over the winter so I am considering taking that risk.

Good luck everyone!
		
Click to expand...

It depends on the severity of the injury but my vet said that whilst initial box rest is good the horse does need to keep moving in order to place various stresses on the ligament in order to heal correctly and with the minimum amount of scar tissue.  Don't feel bad about not noticing your horses injury, it is very difficult to see that the horse has a problem sometimes.  Here is me riding my horse 4 months into his injury which is slight sprain of the lateral branch of the suspensory tendon n/f.  

Out of interest for those that watch the video, how many of you could say *honestly *that you would know that this horse had a potentially serious tendon injury?  If the horse was galloped or jumped at this stage in his injury the tendon would develop a massive tear which would take many, many months to heal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U93TkaYep0

If you look closely he is slightly hopping on the right fore.  He is still doing this hopping at 6th November some 5 months later, but it is very slight and he is overall moving much better according to my physio.  The hopping is an over compensatory movement to take the weight of the n/f.  He is still sore on the near fore though when palpated.  I've been umming and ahhing for ages about whether to go ahead and have the PRP done, but I feel it is the best thing for him as he is 14 and will never get another chance at it.  I have to do what is right for him, and give him the best I can afford whilst I still have an open claim (and sod the premium increase next year) lol


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## HazyXmas (9 November 2011)

This seems to be quite a common injury :-(

For the moment we are on an even keel (touch wood, i know how quickly it can all change with horses!) our mare is going out in a very tiny, electric fenced paddock for an hour and a half morning & late afternoon, she is well behaved for the most part as long as i bring the others in. As it is dark so early now, my daughter isn't able to walk her out after school & after witnessing her behaviour over the past six weeks i don't feel brave enough to ride her out by myself.

Sometimes you just have to accept that you are doing the best you can for them, & with all the conflicting advice, i am being guided by her & some common sense 

A worrying new development is that three small splints have appeared earlier this week, is this normal or is it because she's been such a nutcase on her road 'walks'? I am putting magnetic boots on for 4-5 hours a day & she's now on NAF Superflex, is there anything else that might help.

Many, many thanks for all your thoughts & advice, it's tough but i know that i'm not the only one going through it.


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## carterk3 (12 December 2011)

hi - my horse is still lame even after 8 weeks of being shut in a small yard. Now shockwave therapy is on the agenda. Just wondered what other people's experience of this is? My horse has damaged her suspensory ligament on her RH high up at the point where it inserts into the bone. Not sure if that is relevant or not.


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## amage (12 December 2011)

My girls aggravated her hind suspensories earlier this year and we treated very agressively by medicating both hind suspensories twice a few weeks apart. After first dose two weeks complete box rest then walking out (no walker allowed). At this point I put her on Wendalls Valerian calmer (amazing stuff cannot rate it highly enough). After two weeks walking again we reviewed and decided to do top up medication to help progress. Then about another 6 weeks box rest and started back walking again. At this point I double dosed the calmer for my own safety (tis seriously amazing stuff- have considered dosing the OH with it when he gets antsy!!). Lots of long slow work building up slowly and oodles of turnout and she was back jumping at her previous level and legs are better than ever. Unfortunately she is having a few other issues at the moment but her legs are unbelievably good. Two vets questioned my vet treating so aggressively but I am so glad we did. My vet is a specialised leg surgeon and is a trusted friend as well and pricewise going more agressive early was cheaper in the long run!


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## beehorses (12 December 2011)

tontoandtigger said:



			Hi, sorry you are having such a horrid time. my old mare did her suspensory ligament in both legs the vet told us she would never be sound again!!. we tried to keep her on box rest and she got worse then became a danger to handle she would pin you against walls drag you around the yard and when allowed out for 10 to 15 mins to try and get her head sorted she would go blastic. in the end we got another vet who said that the box rest had made the situation far worse and that the horse needed to be out 24 hrs 7 days aweek. he said the suspensory ligament requires the horse to be moving!!!.
so we turned her out and walked away (i was in a state) after acting like a tit for 20 mins she just calmed down and we left her after a few weeks she seemed better and gradualy she got sounder she was hacked out for meny years after that and was never put on box rest again. sadly she passed away earlier this year but it had nothing to do with her legs.she was 25 years old.
try talking to your vet about giving the horse more turnout, they are after all big animals that need to move. if you have a horse that is happy in the stable 24hrs a day then that great but if yours is like mine  they just wind themselves up more and more and can end up doing more damage.
we tried loads of supliments but found turnout more important.
good luck keep your chin up and remember it will get better.
		
Click to expand...



My old boy did one leg then a year later the other - First leg tried box rest nearly killed my dad so we turned him out by day in by night and just laid off the exercise for 4 months untill swelling had gone right down then started walking but leg would go up and down so more time off. 

MIRACLE - read on the internet somewhere french competition rider wrote keep them in work if they were in the wild they would not stand still or rest. 

So took this advice and worked him only at walk but didn't give him rest days when the swelling went up. 6 weeks leg went right down and never came back up!! A year later he did the other leg gave him a week off but still turned out then rode at walk for 4 weeks then a bit of trot etc. full recovery in 3 months! jumping and gallops on bridle paths leg never swelled since.


Not saying this will work as every horse is different but it will give you some hope.


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## paulineh (12 December 2011)

Twelve years ago my Arab mare damaged one of her front Suspensory Ligaments (Can't remember which one) In those days all she had was rest as she does not do stabling for a long time. She was bandaged on both front legs and turned out. WE gave her 6 months off and then started slowly to build her fitness up.

She is now 21yeras old and still competing at a high level (Endurance) This year alone she has done the Golden Horse Shoe (160k class) Won 1 race ride and came 2nd in another one. She finished the season with completing the Arab Marathon in under 2 hrs. To this day she has not had a problem with the ligament, hence the reason I can not remember which leg she did.







On Course at the 2011 Marathon by mydass15, on Flickr


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