Suspensory ligaments in horses: my experience with Lenny's gradual hindleg lameness
When I talk to other riders today about suspensory ligaments in horses, I notice how unsure many are – just as I was for a long time. For over a year and a half, I gathered experience with a suspensory ligament injury that I couldn't have imagined before: first the vague feeling that something wasn't right, then the long search for a diagnosis, and finally the long road back to work. Lenny, my now fourteen-year-old gelding, demanded quite a bit of patience from me. I'm writing this report for everyone who is exactly where I was back then.
How it all began: Lenny suddenly stopped swinging through from behind
There was no dramatic moment, no injury in the field, no stumbling while hacking out. The tricky part was precisely that it all crept in very slowly. In the spring, I first noticed during flatwork that Lenny was no longer stepping under properly behind. The impulsion from the hindquarters that I was used to from him was simply gone. When striking off into canter on the left rein, he seemed stiff, almost as if he was hopping, and collection, which used to be easy for him, was visibly costing him effort.
At first, I blamed it on many things: the cold, wet weather, tense muscles, perhaps the saddle. It was my riding instructor who eventually suggested I have the vet take a look – she had noticed for a while that he was moving unevenly behind. I genuinely couldn't spot an actual lameness, and looking back, that is exactly what makes it so typical.
What a suspensory ligament injury in a horse actually is – and why the diagnosis took so long
Before, I could only roughly point out where the suspensory ligament is actually located. Today, I know it pretty well: the suspensory ligament is a strong band on the back of the cannon bone that splits into two branches further down and attaches to the sesamoid bones. It is part of the suspensory apparatus of the horse's leg and absorbs a large portion of the weight with every step when the foot lands. You can think of it as a kind of shock absorber that is constantly under tension.
When this area becomes overloaded or sustains minor fibre damage, it is referred to as a suspensory ligament condition or desmitis. This can happen acutely, but in the hind legs, it often develops gradually over weeks and months. This is exactly where the problem lies: while damage to the front legs often becomes clearly visible, the origin of the suspensory ligament in the hind leg is deep and difficult to feel. A clear lameness is often absent at first – instead, you only notice a drop in performance, that the horse moves differently on a circle, or loses impulsion while hacking. During my research, I read that suspensory ligament injuries in the hindquarters are among the diagnoses that are most frequently caught too late, and that matched our experience exactly.
My vet then tackled the issue thoroughly. First, she lunged Lenny on hard and soft surfaces and performed flexion tests. On a circle on a hard surface, the unevenness behind could indeed be detected. To narrow down the area, she used nerve blocks, numbing individual sections of the leg one after another to see when the movement improved. This ultimately pointed to the origin of the suspensory ligament. The final diagnosis was confirmed by an ultrasound scan, where I could see for myself that the structure in the affected area was not as uniform as it should have been. As unpleasant as that moment was, I was also relieved because what I had been sensing for months finally had a name.
Everything we changed – and why feeding was just one building block
The most important realisation first: there is no single miracle cure. What helped Lenny was a combination of many things over many months.
First and foremost was a controlled exercise programme prescribed by my vet. We started with just in-hand walking, initially for only a few minutes, and then increased the workload very slowly and in set stages. Having this patience was the hardest part for me – you naturally want to see progress, but especially with the suspensory ligament, any premature increase can set the healing process back. Trotting and, later, cantering were only reintroduced after several weeks, always coordinated with the follow-up ultrasound scans.
Alongside that, we paid close attention to the footing. Deep, muddy ground puts a particularly heavy strain on the suspensory ligament, so I chose exactly where we worked when riding and lunging. I discussed his shoeing with my farrier; he adjusted the hoof to relieve the strain on the affected structure. On the vet's recommendation, this was accompanied by a few sessions of shockwave therapy and regular physiotherapy, as Lenny's back had also become tense due to months of compensating.
And of course, I gave some thought to his feeding. I wanted to support his tendons and connective tissue from the inside, as best as possible.
Where the nuvallo move Snacks came in for us
While reading up on tendons and ligaments, I kept coming across the same substances, especially MSM and collagen. An acquaintance from my yard, whose mare had recovered from a tendon injury, then recommended nuvallo move to me. She said the only thing that had worked for her was something her horse would actually eat voluntarily.
I had exactly the same problem. I had previously tried a joint powder, and Lenny consistently sorted it out – in the end, most of it was left at the bottom of the manger, while he had licked the rest of his mash clean. Even hidden in half a banana, he eyed it rather suspiciously. With nuvallo move, it is different because it is not a powder but a snack that I feed him straight from my hand. No weighing, no dust, and above all, no more leftovers sitting at the bottom of the feed bowl.
What was important for our situation: per daily ration, nuvallo move provides exactly the building blocks that are often mentioned for tendons and ligaments – MSM and collagen, plus glucosamine and hyaluronic acid. As a gelding weighing around 600 kilos, Lenny gets seven snacks a day; for an average 500-kilo horse, it is six. The base is free from wheat and corn, featuring linseed cake, rice bran, and linseed, which I find reassuring given his rather sensitive stomach. And because Lenny was due to return to competitions after his rehab, it was crucial for me that the snacks are ADMR-compliant and can be used without a withdrawal period.
Over the weeks, feeding has become a steady, straightforward ritual. Honestly, I cannot neatly separate which part of our programme had what effect – the whole journey worked together. What I can say is that Lenny is enjoying his work again, and I feel he moves more smoothly today than during the most difficult phase. He no longer seems stiff in the mornings.
What I would advise an owner with the same suspicion today
If someone whose horse is "somehow not moving quite right" behind asks me, I always say the same thing: take it seriously, even if there is no clear lameness, and get your vet to look at it early on. The sooner a suspensory ligament injury is detected, the more targeted your response can be. The diagnosis and the controlled exercise programme were the deciding factors for us, and no supplement can replace that.
The nuvallo move Snacks were the building block that made my everyday life easier: a simple way to support tendons and connective tissue from the inside on a daily basis, without daily weighing and without leftovers in the feed bowl. If you have a fussy horse and are looking for this kind of support, I believe you can confidently give them a try – ideally over several months, as you shouldn't expect quick results from any supplement. In any case, Lenny and I are now back where I hardly thought we would be a year and a half ago: together in the competition arena.