Ligament recovery?

Question

I need advice on my mare. it is believed she tore her suspensory ligaments in her hind fear ankle. She was son strict stall rest for 30 days. Then limited turnout in a small pen for 3 weeks. I then enlarged the pen and it has been 2 weeks. The pen now is approx 30X50. She looks to be sound walking and turning when she didn't use to be at ALL. I keep her leg wrapped with bandages 24/7 for support. This mare is about 25y/o and I do not ride her much. I was thinking about moving her to my 'dry lot' next weekend which is about 100X100 and keeping her in this for another 2-4 weeks. IS this a sufficient time before I move her to my pasture which is 4 acres? If I leave her in the dry lot for 4 weeks that would be a controlled turnout program of about 12 weeks. Is this sufficient? When I do ride her it is very limited and about 1 time a month. So I am not in a hurry to ride her. I just want to get her out to enjoy the warm weather with her pasture buddy.

Answer 1

The vet does need to be the ultimate authority, but a rule of thumb regarding ligament injuries is that it takes about 8 months for the injury to heal, depending on the extent of the injury.  A full tear (as opposed to a strain or sprain) is a pretty intense injury.  I believe you do need to back off the support wraps, at some point, and leaving wraps on for turnout is not a good idea.  You do need to ask the vet if she still needs the support of wraps and to continue with controlled turnout.  

Regarding the pasture turnout, it sounds like it's too soon - your vet should be able to tell you -  but when the time comes, whether or not she  tends to run around like mad when turned out will affect that decision.

Answer 2

Only a vet can give you the "exact" time frames for rehab, depending on the condition of the mare.  Anything else is a pure guess.  Also, ,my understanding is that a pasture horse that is  outside should not be wrapped.  Wraps are for stall and riding use only.  Again you should have your mare assessed by a vet to see if you are on the right track.  Takes the guess work out of rehab.   And you can avoid reoccuring problems.  Good Luck.

Answer 3

Tendon and ligament injuries take forever to heal (in humans, too).  If she is a sedate 25 and her buddy is too, then your timeline might work out as long as she continues to appear sound.  I'd go on the longer side though - maybe 4 weeks in the dry lot, adding some hand grazing in towards the end.  Don't do it if there's any chance your mare or her buddy might decide to go for a run or get in a little fight!