Suspensory Damage

Your horse slipped during a workout and now seems to have some swelling and heat in one of his legs, but you're not quite sure what has caused it. He may have injured his suspensory ligament (simply referred to as the suspensory), the ligament that is between the cannon bone and the tendons on the back of the horse's leg. Injury usually occurs when the suspensory ligament stretches but does not come back together, and is seen very often in performance horses.

  1. Signs

    • Some heat, swelling and lameness are usually the only signs of injury to the suspensory. Generally, anything that happens to the top of the suspensory cannot be felt because of the location just underneath the knee. On the lower part of the suspensory, however, the fetlock (ankle) may start to swell or the swelling may show up on the back of the fetlock.

    Contributors

    • Working your horse on ground that is too deep (hard for your horse to move in) can cause the suspensory to overstretch. If your farrier isn't balancing your horse's hooves correctly, the horse could be stepping wrong and torquing his suspensory. Usually suspensory damage is caused by fatigue, as the horse's body is unable to recover as quickly as when the horse is fresh.

    What Happens

    • The flexor muscles that let the fetlock extend allow the suspensory ligament to overstretch when they are fatigued. The flexor muscles do not move the fetlock back into place and when the leg is loaded with the horse's weight, the suspensory's fibers begin to tear apart.

    Treatment

    • As soon as you suspect soft-tissue damage in your horse's legs, have your veterinarian come out for an ultrasound and to prescribe anti-inflammatories if your horse has suspensory damage. Your horse will be on stall rest for a long time, maybe even the next few months, and you will have to hand-walk him daily. Your veterinarian will need to perform ultrasounds to check healing progress.

    Therapies

    • There are some other therapies you can discuss with your veterinarian. Some vets have injected corticosteroids and joint supplements into the area, while others have used shock wave therapy (which requires anesthesia).