locking patella

Has anyone had any cases of locking patella? If so how young was your mini? And what did you do to correct the problem?

My brother was given a mini colt that had a severe locking stifle, never came unlocked. He was like this since he was very young. My brother had the vet come and do the surgery. Today you would never know he had a locking stifle. He runs and plays and looks and acts like a normal mini now. The vet didn't think it would work as Jasper was one of the worse cases he had ever seen but it did work.

which surgery did you opt for , cutting into the ligament to cause scar tissue or cutting through it completely ?

We havent done any surgery yet. My mini is a 4 month old foal. My vet says he wants to wait until he is a year old. And he is leaning towards scoring the tendon.

This is a very common problem in minis because it tends to be genetic... People make excuses like "it's a growth spurt" and then they breed the horse later on and it continues on.

There have been many, many people struggling with this here with minis... If you do a forum search on "locking stifles" you will find lots of advice.

Andrea

I have a mare that is now 11 years old. Only in the past 2-3 years has she had the locking patella. It seems the less this mare is used the worse her patella gets. She did not have an injury. Why would it wait so long to manifest it's self?

disneyhorse said:

This is a very common problem in minis because it tends to be genetic... People make excuses like "it's a growth spurt" and then they breed the horse later on and it continues on.

There have been many, many people struggling with this here with minis... If you do a forum search on "locking stifles" you will find lots of advice.

Andrea

Click to expand...

What are your thoughts on waiting until he reaches a year old?. My concern is the wear on the joint causing it to eventually get bone on bone.

I wasn't there when the surgery was done as it was my brothers mini. Though my brother also had this colt gelded at the same time as that was the agreement with the lady he got him from, she would furnish the application to register him once proof of gelding was done. My brother sold him to a young girl for what it cost him to have the surgery done and the cost of gelding. He did not make money selling him. Here is a photo of Jasper

I have a yearling here now that has a sticky stifle. His sire has sired many foals and none have presented with this problem, his dam has produced 10 foals for me and four for the previous owners and this is the first one with a bad stifle, so it can crop up at any time. When he was born all was normal, then around four months of age his left hind started to lock up. My vet has recommended to work him up and down hills, (which we don't have) or to work him over poles. Now he is a yearling and doing good, but not 100% yet, sometimes it still sticks, but no longer lockes. All my horses are currently on vacation, this time of year with 100% turnout and runin sheds. He is improving, but when he drops he will be gelded as he is awsome and I gave him to my grandson for a driving horse. If the stifle problem is not better by the gelding procedure we will have the stifle surgically repaired as well. I would recommend working him over poles to encourage him to pick up the leg and strengthen the muscles, if that doesn't work then have it repaired surgacally. I have found out this is acommon problem with minis and not to breed horses with this problem. Our stallion that sired this colt was scheduled to be gelded this winter already, as we are no longer using him for breeding. I might add this was our mares last foal as she is very old, so maybe that had something to do with it, not sure, but she's also retired. Good luck with your guy!

SCminis... I wouldn't worry about waiting to do the surgery... if I were you I would wait just to let the little guy grow up physically a little... I doubt there will be damage to the joint in the meantime. However, I would strongly suggest you consult a vet or two regarding this, because it's impossible to diagnose or treat a horse over the internet!

As always stated in these threads, make sure your farrier keeps the back toes "squared off" or "rounded off" because a lot of toe in back can contribute to the onset of symptoms.

Andrea

disneyhorse said:

SCminis... I wouldn't worry about waiting to do the surgery... if I were you I would wait just to let the little guy grow up physically a little... I doubt there will be damage to the joint in the meantime. However, I would strongly suggest you consult a vet or two regarding this, because it's impossible to diagnose or treat a horse over the internet!

As always stated in these threads, make sure your farrier keeps the back toes "squared off" or "rounded off" because a lot of toe in back can contribute to the onset of symptoms.

Andrea

Click to expand...

Thank-you for the feed back. We have had x-rays and there is no deformaty so that is a plus. I have been trying to get him out to walk and use it but he doesnt want any part of it.

We have yet another gelding with a locking stifle...which is disappointing, but since they are geldings, we won't be breeding it on. While many people say "work it out" and "square off toes" , in my personal experience those things are only temporary fixes. Yes, they do work...in the short-term, but the stifle will always show itself again...at some point. Surgery is the only permanent fix.

The problem I found in the past is many vets either don't want to do the surgery or don't have the correct "training" to do the surgery (which seems strange to me since I've watched this surgery being done and it is a very simple procedure). I haven't started looking for a vet here to do our "newest candidate", so hopefully I will find one locally.

Like others have said, once it is done, you would never know they ever had the problem...Just make sure you have BOTH sides done...not just the leg that shows locking (usually there is one leg that locks the most or all the time), because the problem is actually on both stifles, but the horse uses his strongest leg to "prevent" locking on one leg (if that makes sense), so if you only do the surgery on one leg, the other leg will lock up. We didn't know this and that is what happened when we opted to only have the one side done...then you are looking at another surgery charge to have the other stifle done!

LindaL said:

We have yet another gelding with a locking stifle...which is disappointing, but since they are geldings, we won't be breeding it on. While many people say "work it out" and "square off toes" , in my personal experience those things are only temporary fixes. Yes, they do work...in the short-term, but the stifle will always show itself again...at some point. Surgery is the only permanent fix.

The problem I found in the past is many vets either don't want to do the surgery or don't have the correct "training" to do the surgery (which seems strange to me since I've watched this surgery being done and it is a very simple procedure). I haven't started looking for a vet here to do our "newest candidate", so hopefully I will find one locally.

Like others have said, once it is done, you would never know they ever had the problem...Just make sure you have BOTH sides done...not just the leg that shows locking (usually there is one leg that locks the most or all the time), because the problem is actually on both stifles, but the horse uses his strongest leg to "prevent" locking on one leg (if that makes sense), so if you only do the surgery on one leg, the other leg will lock up. We didn't know this and that is what happened when we opted to only have the one side done...then you are looking at another surgery charge to have the other stifle done!

Click to expand...

Thank-you for your feedback. Can u tell me how old your horse was when this happened? My colt is only 4 months and my vet wants to wait until he is at least a year. I am very concerned about ther wearing of the joint. As I have never had this type of problem before I am not sure what should or shouldnt be done.

He was 2 when we bought him and he had this issue. We waited a year before having surgery done (after doing the special feet trims and working him over poles, etc), so to wait til he is a year will not hurt him. Just an FYI, since your horse is only a baby, do not work him over poles (except maybe leading him at a walk).

I have a gelding whose stifle locks only when he's really limited on movement. He's 7 and was new to me in July, and during the summer when he was out 24/7 and getting driven regularly, we never saw a hint of a problem. Come fall when they're in the sacrifice paddock near the barn and stalled more due to bad weather, he would come out in the morning all locked up. We've opted to strengthen the muscles surrounding the joint rather than do surgery. In addition to the hill/pole work, we're using kinesio tape in a couple of places during the work, and a modified EquiBand is in progress for the little guy as well. So far he's responding very well. Neither my vet nor my chiro/PT recommend the surgery. Though they do say better to score the tissue than cut it completely.

I would like to know how have you all handled trims and picking feet when they're more prone to locking up?

You say that you have been trying to 'get him out but he doesn't want part of it'. Does this mean that he is stalled a good part of the time? The one thing that any stifle compromised minis need is freedom to move - turnout 24/7 or if stalling is really necessary, then the space provided should be as large as possible so that the mini doesn't have to be walking round in small circles.

Freedom to move as much as possible and careful trimming of the hind toes, together will some 'walkies' in long straight lines, should keep your little chap happy and coping well until he is old enough for you and your vet to decide on the best course of action. It is also possible as your boy is so young, that with the right food and time to develop and strengthen his hind end, he will outgrow the problem, so dont get discouraged.

theres been a really good response to locking stifle

what about luxation of the petalla bone wich is sort of the same thing

means the knee bone of the stifle falls out of its socket...

If a horse is really bad, even constant turnout will not keep them from locking up. My gelding is in a big pasture with other horses. He didn't come in to his stall right away this morning for breakfast. When I went out to find him, he was quite stuck and didn't want to walk. If it gets that bad, I really don't see there are any alternatives to having the surgery. My guy is having his second surgery (first one didn't work) on Friday this week.

I know each animal is a separate case but I wouldn't worry too much about wear and tear. It looks terrible to us but the horse does learn to live with it. I was given a filly who had started at one year old and was seven by the time she actually got the surgery (yes I was told exercise etc etc and no, it did not work, and yes she had 24/7 turnout and she ran like a lunatic, and no, it made NO difference)

The Vet who finally did her, not for me but for the petting Zoo I gave her to (on the understanding she would get the treatment) actually only did one side- first, he said at the time, but she never did need the other side done. Now she was the worst I have ever seen- we had to roll her over some days so she could get up as she was locked solid. Her new owners were told to keep her quiet so they stalled her- she jumped the door two hours after waking up (she was sedated but not anaesthetised) and so they left her out and she never looked back. She is now pulling a cart for them.

I would emphasise that he had intended to do both sides, but as she was done standing he preferred to do one at a time. I think it was just luck she turned out not to need both sides done.

notice theres no coments on luxation of the petalla bone

nobody had this problam