denglish
Member
I have a small 9 month filly patient with an injury that I have never seen in 30 years practice and I am casting about to find somebody that has.
This filly has cut the gastroc tendon which is part of the Achilles group of 3 major tendons that are at the back of the hock. The gastroc tendon is completely severed about 3 inches above the hock while the Superficial Digital Flexor and Peroneus tendons are not.
The Gastroc tendon is important because this attaches to and extends the hock and allows weight bearing. Without it, the animal cannot stand on the leg because the hock just flexes. There are no sutures manufactured strong enough to take the weight of the horse this high on the leg, and even if a suture strong enough is found the tension on the tendon will constrict circulation and prevent healing. A cast for the leg is not practical even in a dog with much less weight. The way we fix these injuries in dogs is to put a large screw through the hock into the bone behind so the joint is rigidly fixed and the tendon bears no weight. There are no such screws adequate for a horse and the bone is not strong enough to take the force anyway. The temperament of a horse is not conducive for healing with screws in such an important weight bearing joint.
I want to know if anybody has seen such an tendon injury heal reasonably by granulation. Euthanasia is being considered but currently the little one is eating and reasonably content.
I have posted the question on a few vet lists but have had no first hand experience reported. My colleagues in equine practice are all negative about this. It seems to be a rare injury, mostly the whole tendon is cut and of course it is is then draw the curtain time.
The value of the filly is A$2,000 which means it is fairly well bred. An ordinary filly here will be less than $1.000
This filly has cut the gastroc tendon which is part of the Achilles group of 3 major tendons that are at the back of the hock. The gastroc tendon is completely severed about 3 inches above the hock while the Superficial Digital Flexor and Peroneus tendons are not.
The Gastroc tendon is important because this attaches to and extends the hock and allows weight bearing. Without it, the animal cannot stand on the leg because the hock just flexes. There are no sutures manufactured strong enough to take the weight of the horse this high on the leg, and even if a suture strong enough is found the tension on the tendon will constrict circulation and prevent healing. A cast for the leg is not practical even in a dog with much less weight. The way we fix these injuries in dogs is to put a large screw through the hock into the bone behind so the joint is rigidly fixed and the tendon bears no weight. There are no such screws adequate for a horse and the bone is not strong enough to take the force anyway. The temperament of a horse is not conducive for healing with screws in such an important weight bearing joint.
I want to know if anybody has seen such an tendon injury heal reasonably by granulation. Euthanasia is being considered but currently the little one is eating and reasonably content.
I have posted the question on a few vet lists but have had no first hand experience reported. My colleagues in equine practice are all negative about this. It seems to be a rare injury, mostly the whole tendon is cut and of course it is is then draw the curtain time.
The value of the filly is A$2,000 which means it is fairly well bred. An ordinary filly here will be less than $1.000
