Impar Ligament Recovery

[Tony Romero]

My 5yo reiner is back to work after treatment and rehab for an impar ligament injury to a front foot. He is shod with bar shoes right now. Any suggesstions for further shoeing would be appreciated.

TR

[Ronald Aalders]

Hi Tony,

What can we tell you with as little info as you have provided? And bear in mind your vet can give you more info we can, he knows the horse, knows how the feet look and more.

But basically ease breakover a lot would be a sound suggestion. You may want to stay away from hoof support materials. You don't want too much pressure in the navicular area. Stay away from deep sand too, don't walk the reiner in your in- or outdoor. The sand will be too deep.

If you would like some specific suggestions, please post pictures, all material you have from diagnosis to treatment. With that info we can not only make some suggetions, but also use your case as an educational tool, we can all learn from.



Ronald Aalders

[calshoer]

It would be helpful to know how badly dmaged the ligament is. There IS a way to ultrasound it, (going through the frog), but the vet has to know how to do it and it is a pain in the neck.As wel lthe frog hads to be pred really thin, which I don't particularly like to see done. MRI is a real valuable diagnostic tool , but not availble everywhere and obviously expensive when it is.
As a general rule I have found that impar ligament tears , like any ligament tear, can take a very long time heal. Many months to a year. To help insure the ligament is under the least amount of stress so it can heal, the shoeing needs to be exacting. The breakover point needs to be eased all around the front of the hoof, not just at the toe. Turning corners pulls on the ends of the navicular bone , if the edges of the shoe are not rolled or railed.
The coffin joint should be lined up exactly, preerably using Xerays ibefore AND after the shoeing to double check. I have found that if the horse does not show marked improvement in comfort with eased breakover and an exactly aligned cofin joint,
then wedging the foot up as much as it takes to gain that level of comfort is needed, for a while. It is important as Ronald mentioned to kep pressure OFF the frog directly under the impar ligament. I Use a hard plastic plate that the very rear of the frog an passively load onto, while insuring nothing is presing or pushing upward on the center of the frog, where the ligament is located.
Hope this helps you some. Patty