sprain

Question
have a question about a sprained hock/fetlock in my 14 y/o draft cross. how long typically does this take to heal? he seems fine some days, but then "stiffens up" when in the stall for a couple of days. also seems a bit stiff when going up hills. he does not come up lame, just very slightly stiff. He sprained his fetlock/hock about 6 months ago.The vet examined him, but did not do Xrays or ultrasound. Just flexed his foot, and watched him walk,trot and canter.The vet held his leg up and did like a "deep" flexion, and then would let it down and watch him walk. She came back up after about four months to check him, and said he looked very much improved, but it could take up to a year to completely heal.  Vet said could take up to year to heal. I only ride him gently one to two hours a week, no trotting or cantering.  
He is a lot better and He has never come up lame, just a tiny bit stiff now and then when he has been in the stall for a few days. I have heard from others that he could be stiff for up to two years after a sprain.Is that true? he does not have any heat or tenderness, no swelling. But the farrier said last time he trimmed his back hoof that he was reluctant to stretch it out, sort of stiff. He had been in the stall for two days prior to the farrier visit.When we turned him out in the corral, the stiffness seem to go away with walking around.
thanks for any information
amy

Answer
Hi Amy -

I have to say that I am a little confused about where the injury is located as the fetlock and hock are two different joints but regardless, sprains or injuries to the soft tissues such as tendons or ligaments are very avascular or not very populated with blood vessels.  Bones have lots of blood flowing through them and heal much faster - this is why you hear that somebody wishes they had broken their bone instead of just sprained it.  With less blood flow, there is much less access to the healing power of white blood cells thus, slower recovery.

Hock injuries are fairly common in big draft breeds but without a good set of x-rays, it's hard to say if there is further joint damage or not.  You are seeing for yourself that limiting your horse's activity causes stiffness to the injured joint so if it's possible to keep this big guy in a paddock full time with no stall time, he would do much better ... makes me wonder if there is some damaged cartilage really.  Cartilage allows the bones that meet to form a joint, slide freely against each other.  When it's gone or damaged, it does not return and bone surface areas ride or grind against other which is very painful.  If he has damaged the cartilage, then it's possible that the injured part of the joint is actually trying to fuse or grow together.  This does take a lot of time ... the time frame your vet gave you sounds reasonable to me for this process to take place.  Once the joint has fused, your horse won't have normal range of motion or mobility, but he should be sound or really close to sound ... again, hard to day without x-rays.

Hopefully that helps Amy, if not, be sure to let me know :)