suspensory ligament injury

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From: Allyn Brewer-Babitch 
Email: allyn@sindar.com


Hello everyone,

I'm a newbie needing advice.  My recently purchased, 9 year old, in foal
(due mid August), lightly ridden Bashkir Curly mare (who's really 1/2
Missouri Foxtrotter, 1/4 Thoroughbred, and 1/4 Foundation Curly- she's
15.2, hunter type, somewhat refined bone and medium body), has just been
diagnosed with a suspensory ligament injury (have there been an awful lot
of those this year?)  Diagnosis was just with palpation and flexion, but by
a good "leg man";  nevertheless, I'm taking the mare to a different vet
next week for an ultrasound to confirm (or hopefully refute?) the
diagnosis.  Also to get further advice on treatment.  First vet wants egg
bars all the way around for support- but with Kay-Leigh's very big
overstride, she could just rip those right off.  So he suggests she live in
bell boots.  She is out in a level grassy paddock now, and it worries me
that round the clock wearing of bell boots could be irritating.  I really
don't want to stall her, as she is due to foal in two months- and I sure
don't want the foal growing up in a stall.  I have the option of moving her
into a medium-sized, dirt-surface foaling stall and pen at a different
stable- I think I'd feel better about her being in bell boots in a dirt pen
rather than tall dry grass.

Has anyone had to keep a horse in bell boots outside?  What did you do?
And did any of you support suspensory injuries with shoes that don't trail
behind and invite being stepped on?  My dream would be to remove the shoes
altogether and just keep her properly trimmed, while resting her- anyone
ever do that?

The other thing the vet said was that she had too much flexion in her
pasterns- yet this flexion was commented positively on by the vet I had vet
check her before purchase.  (Can being "very" pregnant increase this
flexion?)  She has a big floaty trot, very smooth and ground covering.
Anyway, he felt this might be the reason for the injury, and that she might
need these therapeutic shoes for the rest of her life- which I guess means
she would have to wear bell boots for the rest of her life too.  I sure
hope I can avoid that!  BTW, this mare was not even broke until she was
six, and was then ridden out in the rough trails of Eastern Oregon, but at
an easy pace- as far as I know, she has never been "overridden".

This lameness (which is slight) started when she pulled a shoe three weeks
ago, or so it seems.  She and the four horses she was in pasture with (at
the time, they were in a 5 acre hilly pasture) did get out of the fence and
into the adjoining field, where they had a heyday with the neighbor's 3
horses.  I'm just mentioning this as a possible cause for injury.

The vet also wanted me to admonish the shoer to "shoe to the leg, not the
hoof". IOW, line the shoe up with the way the leg goes, NOT the way the
hoof goes, even if it means the shoe is slightly skewed on the hoof.  I
started putting shoes on the mare a couple of months ago because her wear
pattern was uneven (ie her hooves looked unsymmetrical).  A distance rider
friend of mine theorized that maybe THAT was the stress- trying to "even"
her up, and altering her normal way of going.

Anyway, I will listen to what the ultrasound vets have to say (they were
recommended by some top endurance people), and I have the name of real
lameness specialists about 150 miles away if it comes to that.  I thought
of just going to them right off, but as big as Kay-Leigh is I would like to
spare her the trip.  Also, since her lameness is slight- we thought it was
an abcess at first- I thought I'd go the more conservative route to start.
I sure hope I'm making the right decisions here!

Any advice would be welcome-

Allyn Brewer-Babitch
Skyhorse Bashkir Curly Horses
San Jose, CA
allyn@sindar.com

PS I'm STILL not able to post directly, but have to use the "unsubscribed" Post a Message.  This despite the fact that I'm now getting ridecamp in both the regular AND digest form!  Anyway, please do post to the list, if you want, as I