Suspensory Ligament Essay

• Suspensory ligament injuries:

The suspensory ligament is found down the back of the cannon bone that starts just below the knee or hock and splits into two parts that pass around the back of the ankle and end on the front of the long pastern bone. Acute front suspensory ligament injuries are most commonly found in eventers and jumpers due to the speed and the increasing load on the forelimbs from jumping and the chance of misstep.

Signs: These types of injuries can sometimes be hard to spot. Lameness ranges from barely at all to severe, depending on how bad the damage is. If the tear is in the main part of the ligament or the branches, the leg may become warm or swollen and sensitive at the site. If the tear is higher up the ligament, it

If the injury is lower down in the foot you might not be able to see any signs.

If a horse suffers a mild strain it may only take around 6-8 weeks. If a horses suffers a tear the injury may take up to 8 months to heal. Doing too much too soon is almost certain to cause the injury to reoccur in the future.

• Sore muscles:

When working you build muscles, but over working can cause strain and pain. The large muscles of the back and hind quarters are used mostly among performance horses. They can strain their muscles if they are asked to work too hard for too long. Most muscles strains are mild and the amount of damage is small. But it is a very common injury and can stop the horse from preforming to his best. A jumping horse may also experience sore muscles due to being put into draw reins for too long and not being able to stretch out his neck and back properly.

Signs: When a horse has a sore back it is sometimes hard to tell, most of the time he will be a bit stiff when he begins to work and his hind legs might not step up properly under his body and won’t carry himself