When your veterinarian informs you that your 6-year-old gelding has sustained a suspensory ligament injury in his left foreleg, your heart sinks. Not only are you concerned about the amount of pain and suffering your horse will endure in the months to come, but you are also concerned about other conditions that could develop as a result of this injury.

One of the biggest fears of horse owners is a leg injury that ends the horse’s career, or sometimes threatens his life. However, while some injuries might be too severe to allow for a full recovery, today it is possible to rehabilitate many of the more common leg injuries. Many rehabilitated horses live long, comfortable lives, and a significant number are able to return to the same level of work.

Common Leg Injuries

“Depending on what they do for a living, horses are going to be predisposed to certain injuries,” notes Jim Lillich, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, an associate professor of equine surgery at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan. “Racehorse-related injuries are far different than injuries sustained by working horses or pleasure horses