Our case we are discussing this week is ‘Indi’, who unfortunately wounded her hind limb in a fence, not only damaging the skin but also severing the long digital extensor tendon.
The extensor tendon(s), which are located on the front of the cannon bone in all limbs, allow a horse to advance its foot relative to the cannon bone I.e. extend its fetlock in a forward movement. A horse that has severed completely its extensor tendon will still be able to pull its limb in a forward motion but it will often drag its toe, typically knuckling at the fetlock.
When Indi was first presented to us, she was able to place weight on her limb and walk slowly but knuckled on her fetlock occasionally. It was on closer examination that it was discovered she had completely severed her long digital extensor tendon.
After examination of the severed tendon, it was decided that surgical repair was not an option due to the damage done to the 
tendon. The exposed cannon bone was covered by suturing the flap of skin over the area and allowing the skin to heal over the damaged tissues.
Even though Indi had suffered a serious injury to her limb, she has a fairly good chance to return to function. Even though damaged tendons will not be replaced by tendon fibres, the soft tissue beneath the skin will act as a supporting structure which should allow Indi to retain use of her limb.
We are visiting Indi weekly to assess how the wound is going, and we are very close to being healed! We will keep you posted on her progress!