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VETERINARY ADVICE
Over the past five years, vet Stephen Ashdown has written many articles, spoken on equine matters and contributed widely to horse magazines.

Here he reproduces in the form of questions and answers about 100 topics, all of them common problems which afflict horses.

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Ligament Damage
Q: My 15 year old, 15.2hh Welsh Cob has just been diagnosed with proximal suspensory desmitis in his off hind. He is being treated with shockwave therapy and is on box rest, with two, 10 minute walks daily.

Is there anything else I can do for him?

A: Suspensory desmitis can be defined as inflammation of the suspensory ligament. Poor conformation may dispose a horse to getting such problems. However, the disease usually starts after a trauma of some kind, particularly when the horse is not fit enough for work that he or she is being asked to do.

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The condition will get worse if the horse is not rested and treatment given, but many horses recover well after good care. Most Treatment involves tackling the inflammation that occurs. It is worth remembering that if the ligament tissue is badly damaged it is very difficult to get it to repair well, and scarring and abnormal tissue will arise.

I have found MSM is very useful, both in relieving pain and helping to provide the building blocks for the repair of the ligament tissue. Antioxidant herbal formulae will also be very useful. I use one called Immuplus.

For pain relief I use frankinsense which I think works better with Devil's Claw. Phenylbutazone is useful in the early stages of such problems but is not good for long-term use due to its effects on the bowels and liver.

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