Well I guesse we have new terms for the horses anotomy, new one on me as tendonds have allways conected muscle to bone, ligements connect bone to bone and suspend certain bones, All the new vet stuff can be very confussing??????????? Hoss

Thanks Hoss, Actually it is a suspensory tendon... There's some pretty good vets over here at Bend Equine Center and they did recommend several months of stall rest. But with all the advances in treatment these days I guess a person is always hoping for a shortcut... I agree, when it comes to the good ones you can't do it cheaply.. Thanks all!

Hummmmm I have yet to see a tenden support, you problly mean the ligament is torn, proper farrier work and rest, all exercise to be in hand. Remember that ligaments connect bone to bone, and the blood supply to the bone is thru the ligament, yer freind is looking at 6 months to a year of down time and special farrier attention for the rest of the horses life.This is no time to try to save a buck, as it will come back to bite you.Some of the new composit shoes may help, go to www.hoof-it.com, refer all to Steve Samit he's the expert on this and use of there products, they have a very good line of ice boots to help to, talk with the vet about drugs to help the blood supply, as there is limited blood flow in these areas and this is what hurts us so much. Good luck and keep us posted on the recovery of this horse, we all might learn something here. Hoss

Ditto Fatredhorse. Treatments have changed in the last few years with the advances in sports medicine. The expensive machines aren't a necessity but the best thing you can ever have in your barn is ICE. Remember, RICE. rest, ice, compression and elevation. I'm also a biggie on as little stall rest as possible. Walk the horse. Everytime he takes a step that hoof is acting as an auxillary "heart" and helping circulation to the limb. Massaging the leg a few minutes a day yourself can do wonders Icing an injury for 20 min ASAP can speed recovery at an amazing rate.Keep the "shake and use" compresses in your truck:-)

Thanks for all the suggestions! I will pass them along. The good news is she has a good farrier. Your input will give her some other options rather than just keeping him confined and maybe some of the alternatives will have him sound sooner rather than later.

azeri thanks.. I agree with you..that seems to work the best from what we have experienced as well. thanks..lots of success . fatred _ please dont feel that way . we are just all offering our suggestions.. not critisizing at all. just offering differant options and what we felt worked best for our circumstances.. we just happen to have the equipment at our barn so we do it ourselves.. its a great thing to have handy..to so that helps.

Wow. Guess I'm out of my league here. Didn't know everyone posting on this site had immediate access to expensive equipment and could afford (and find) a vet to visit 3 times a week. Neither are an option where I am located at. Just adding my 2 cents about an affordable treatment option that has worked well for me for 30 years and on hundreds of horses. So Sorry!

Very good Singlefilly and I am also having an incredible rate of recovery by using ART on pulled suspensories. (activerelease.com) People typically do not get the water cold enough to have effect. Do not use hose water but COLD water. A GameReady is also invaluable and you can rent one from Dover or Schieders or GameReadyEquine. Do NOT blister a suspensory A skilled farrier is a must, also

Quoted from a vet and how we treat them.. "Traditional treatments have included such primitive, and illogical, methods as blistering and firing, neither of which is capable of having any direct influence on the torn tendon area. Suggestions even still exist that the best way to treat a tendon injury is to lay the horse off for one or two years. Such thinking means a considerable waste of a competing horse's active life. Over the past fifteen - twenty years, we have treated injured tendons through physiotherapy, using muscle stimulation combined with local ultrasound or laser therapy over the injured area. In the first days immediately post injury, the local area is treated with ultrasound or laser and the leg kept supported in strong supporting bandages. From day two the flexor muscles of the forearm are stimulated in such a way that the contractions are seen traversing the length of the tendon. Treatment is continued three times a week and by the end of the second week the tendon will be expected to be tight and the horse taken for a walk in hand at least once a day, starting with about five minutes and increasing over the course of several weeks to anything up to half an hour. All decisions on progress are made based on the condition of the limb and, once the heat and pain have gone (ideally in about a month), the supports are removed while the horse is stabled and a little light trotting may begin. It is important to gauge progress on a daily basis and any setback simply means retrenching for a few days until the condition improves. Naturally, the time will to some extent be dictated by the extent of an injury, but partial tears repair quickly and the horse can be returned to work in a matter of months."" end quote. We have always wrapped, sprayed cold water for 15 minutes 3 times a day. Laser therapy, stall rest, and Bute. give time off and few weeks.. hand graze and go from there SLOWLY.. dont forget to reduce Feed Intake !!

One more thing...If the horse has a lot of hair on his leg, clip it before you blister it. Sorry, you got me started on a topic I am very interested in!