Apollo was probably injured by slipping on a ramp while loading, he arrived here slightly off on his right hind after being shipped from LA by a commercial hauler in May of '99. (He was OK after the flight from Europe and when leaving quarantine)

He was never really lame, just a bit stiff and not stepping under himself quite as I knew he could and it took us a while and eventually arthroscopic surgery to figure out what was wrong. What the exploratory surgery (Oct '99) showed was a 40% tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in the stifle. The recovery period was to be at least 12 months, 4 months stall rest, then daily handwalking for another 4 months and after that daily turnout in a small paddock where he was exercising himself quite nicely. I opted to take things very slowly and didn't start working him until 15 months after the surgery. He had no other problems during his lay-up, legs are nice and dry, his feet are great and we've had no bouts of colic or anything else that usually comes with extended periods of stall rest. 

Now (May '01) Apollo is moving perfectly sound and it is nearly impossible to see he's had surgery. He is back in work under saddle and is doing fabulously well. I have taken him out on the trails, alone and in company, and have also started walk, trot and canter work in the arena. He's turned out in a large pasture every day together with another horse, something he just loves after all those months alone in a small turnout. He is getting back in shape much faster than I would have thought and there are no signs of his old injury bothering him which makes me believe it has healed just as well as we hoped. My vet has looked at him too and was very pleased with his recovery.

Apollo is not on any medications and should not need any additional maintenance but one might want to give him a shot of Legend every three months or so to avoid any future arthritic changes or try a glucosamine supplement. I kept him on MSM for the recovery period and that seems to work well, but all he really needs is just a regular and well thought out training-program to keep him sound and happy. If you have any additional question about his injury I can supply you with the phone number to my veterinarian so you can discuss the issue with him.