D S L D Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis
D S L D Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis, or so it was named, actually is a proteoglycans accumulation in all connective tissue. Part of the connective tissue, in a random fashion, will be unstructured and thus unavailable for “work.”
The horse may exhibit:
- Poor work ethic
- Lazy Can’t/won’t lift back
- Pot belly
- Twisting hocks
- Doesn’t live up to promise of breeding
- Poor bum tuck reflex
- Slack feel on tail pull
- Frequent sprains/strains
- Laid up frequently because of injury
- Chronic, unexplainable lameness
- Fetlocks too low
- need for suspensory ligament boots
- Legs appear straighter i.e. post legged
- Dropped back
- Resting hind legs in alternation
- Craving for salt/minerals
These are all signs of connective tissue weakness, principally called DSLD. As it happens, the weakness can be found throughout all non-bone tissue, interfering with any request or resolve to become a performance horse. There is a great website, www.dsldequine.info. I recommend you visit it.