“He now has a torn suspensory ligament. “…

I just recently acquired a 6 year old Thoroughbred off the track. He broke his sesamoid bone a year ago but has completely healed since. He now has a torn suspensory ligament. He’s a little swollen and still has a little heat. He pulled up lame 2 months ago. He’s 100% sound and has been on stall rest with hand walking since the injury. Anything I should be aware of and any suggestions on how to go about treating him. I have a good idea about how to, I just want someone else’s opinion. The vet he goes to says he’ll be sound and able to be ridden. So any suggestions on what to do about stall rest, exercise and so on would be appreciated.

Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:

Hi Heather,
The extra time that the horse is getting will allow for a more complete healing of the sesamoid. Suspensory injuries can be pretty slow to heal because of the poor blood supply. If it was a pretty severe tear, it could take up to a year. 6 months would probably be the minimal amount of time for healing. You can have a Veterinarian do an ultrasound exam of the injury before you are thinking up putting hem back into training to be sure it has totally healed. Good luck.