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.