Questions from Yahoo Answers

Some good replies to the question below were posted; however, the only reply that gave up-to-date information received a thumbs down vote. I registered with Yahoo to vote it up but am not allowed to vote until I accumulate points. Here's the link:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080905122153AAN8Hze

Coon footed horse/DSLD put down?

I have a coon footed pony thats hind legs have dropped so far, he has completely straight legs now(not even an angle at the hock). He is 4 yrs old and is on stall rest. The vet gave him 5 months before he will be in so much pain he will have to be euthanized.

I Dont see the point in keeping him around for five months just to be in pain. Maybe if there was a good outcome but sense theres not is there really a point?

I think it would be best to put him to sleep now and not have him suffer at all...but a certain someone is saying it would be extremely selfish to do that.
Is it selfish to put him down before he is in pain or goes crazy from being stuck in a stall? I thought it would be doing him a favor.

Additional Details

My vet gave him 5 months before his pasterns would be hitting the ground and he would be in a lot of pain. Right now his hocks are hurting him doe to the straightness in his legs.

Answers...

I don't have anything else new to post about, so here's a link to a Question posted on Yahoo Answers from the young owner of an Arab cross asking people to look at pictures of her gelding and tell her if her horse has DSLD. I tried to post an answer (even though the question is a couple of months old); however, Yahoo won't let me post or even vote. Don't know why. So if you have a Yahoo account, please try to post an answer directing the owner over to the DSLD-Equine forum for answers. And don't be too shocked at some of the answers posted in response to her question.

High Suspensory Ligament Injuries in Horses

Interesting article on suspensory ligament injuries. Note the last sentence in the quote below. I wonder if any of the nonresponsive horses were examined for DSLD/ESPA according to Dr Mero's protocols.

High Suspensory Ligament Injuries in Horses: "While shock wave therapy is able to help most of the non-resolving cases, there are specifically difficult situations. First, older horses seem not to respond as well to therapy and in my experience seem prone to re-injury. Second, horses with hind limb high suspensory injuries are often career threatening. While the horse can return to a reasonable degree of athleticism it is often at a lower level than where they were at the time of injury. And finally, horses with progressive chronic dropping of the fetlock are often not responsive to therapy."