For those who have had locking stifles

[Windhaven]

Just curious for those who have dealt with horses that have had stifles lock.

I had a 3 yr. old stallion locked up and stayed locked for 3 days. We (vet and I) could get it unlocked but as soon as he moved it locked back up. It took some banimine and unlocking it for 3 days before it stayed unlocked. Now when I received this horse he appeared to walk like he was sore footed, I thought it was due to a short trim before he came. But it really never went away and I have had him for 2 1/2 months. He is a little sickled hocked, appears to walk on his toes in the back and hardly ever trots, never runs or plays. He just walks around. When he stands he looks almost like he is squatting in the back end and when he moves he looks like he as learned how to move to keep the stifles from locking, by walking on his toes and taking short strides. I think some people call it a posty(sp) gait.

Now for those that have dealt with this. Did you notice a gait change and stance in the horse when they started or after it has happened?

Also for people that bought horses that had them lock up after they got them home, did you notice that this horse had an unusually gait or stance?

 

[Kim Rule]

Bilbo locks on his right hind. He doesn't lock all the time, just when he hasn't moved for a while. This mostly happens on really hot days, or when it is muddy. Normally he has a nice big stride when he trots. But if he's locking badly, he favors his right leg, and his stride shortens considerably.

In order to help him, these are the things I do:

1. I make sure he is not confined in any way. The smallest area I keep him in is a good sized paddock so that he can move around.

2. I have him with other horses so that he is encouraged to move.

3. I trot him up hills in order to strengthen and lengthen the ligament in his stifle. At first I hand walked him. Now I pony him off of the cart when I drive my mare.

4. When he was 4 I broke him to drive to help build even more strength in his stifle.

He is 9 years old this year, and he is doing very well. I'm starting to think that I will have the vet do the surgery on him that will fix it, but right now I have to pay for my own knee replacement, so I'll just have to make sure he is kept moving for a while!

Kim R.

 

[Boinky]

I have a ASPR pony who locks up a lot in both hind legs. When he's going through his phases he will usually lock up every other step or so. He doens't stay CONTINUALLY locked for days but it will pop in and out a lot. He didn't do it at all all summer except one time when i trimmed his feet and he yanked and something "popped" then he locked up a little off and on for a couple days then was fine. I've noticed he locks up the worst in the fall when it's muddy and some in the winter when it's slippery. summers he usually doens't lock up much at all. He does tend to be a little "off" after he's locked up and tends to walk funny when he's doing it a lot. I don't beleive it's painless like much of the literature say's about it. I recently asked my vet about doing stiffle surgery and since EVERYTHING is rip off expensive up here i was expecting him to say it would be a lot but he quoted me $150 to do both stiffles. He said there was two surgerys. one where they slice the ligament and one where they just do little small holes/slits and that is the newest of the two and seems to be very sucessful. he said if you do the one with the little slits and it doens't work you can always do the older version of cutting the ligament and that is usually sucessful too. I plan to have him done this spring i believe.

Hope this helps

Hillary

 

[wildoak]

If you are considering surgery, I would sure favor the second option. Recovery is faster, damage done is less extensive....but with hopefully the same result. We had a filly done a couple of years ago - sold her but as far as I know, she improved from it and she was the worst I've seen.

Something that has helped mine, short term at least, is feeding them some Karo syrup. I'm not sure why it works on the ligaments, but if I have one locking up badly I do that for a couple of days and it kind of gets them through it. Not a permanent cure by any means and I don't think you'd want to give it everyday but it's a quick fix.

I have a gelding who locks up intermittently, and I've done all the things Kim mentioned. He really only does it now if he is forced to stay inside for bad weather for a period of time, or for any reason doesn't get to move around freely.

Jan

 

[JourneysEnd]

I have a ASPR pony who locks up a lot in both hind legs. When he's going through his phases he will usually lock up every other step or so. He doens't stay CONTINUALLY locked for days but it will pop in and out a lot. He didn't do it at all all summer except one time when i trimmed his feet and he yanked and something "popped" then he locked up a little off and on for a couple days then was fine. I've noticed he locks up the worst in the fall when it's muddy and some in the winter when it's slippery. summers he usually doens't lock up much at all. He does tend to be a little "off" after he's locked up and tends to walk funny when he's doing it a lot. I don't beleive it's painless like much of the literature say's about it. I recently asked my vet about doing stiffle surgery and since EVERYTHING is rip off expensive up here i was expecting him to say it would be a lot but he quoted me $150 to do both stiffles. He said there was two surgerys. one where they slice the ligament and one where they just do little small holes/slits and that is the newest of the two and seems to be very sucessful. he said if you do the one with the little slits and it doens't work you can always do the older version of cutting the ligament and that is usually sucessful too. I plan to have him done this spring i believe.

Hope this helps

Hillary

I've seen a lot of success with the striation (probably spelled that wrong) surgery.

You do have to work the horses after surgery and you can't cheat on that if you want the surgery to be successful. It still allows for the horse to lock and sleep standing, but not to stay locked. In other words, be normal.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Yes, Kody locks and yes, he does show a difference in stance and gait when he's locking. Like yours he has learned to move in a way that he feels minimizes the problem but unfortunately it's actually just the wrong thing for him to do. When I drive him I encourage him to round up and flex the joints of his hindquarters and when he does that the ligament is contracted and doesn't lock. When he's loose he puts his head way down low and hunches his back and tries not to contract anything in his hind legs and of course it locks. Poor guy. How do you tell a horse to do physical therapy on their own??

We had the ligament splitting surgery this October, spent about $800 on the surgery and $500 on the presurgical x-rays, and it hasn't done a bit of good. He's still locking and now I can't afford to do the older surgery. Arrrghhh!!

Try having a good chiropractor out for your guy. Kody does lock in the normal course of things but if he suddenly starts locking hard and constantly I know he's thrown his lower back out. When he sees the chiropractor it immediately eases up and gets better and better for weeks. His whole way of moving and carrying himself has changed since he started seeing her; he's much better now.

Leia

Edited for spelling

 

[Windhaven]

Hello

I want to thank everyone for their advise. I have already checked into the surgery and it will cost any where from $300-$500 here.

My plans for this horse was to use him as a stallion but with this condition he is not breeding sound. So he is going back home.

 

[Keri]

I bought an 8 year old gelding that has back leg problems. Took him to a vet twice. But anyways, his tendon bounces back and forth over his hock because he doesn't have enough muscle to keep it in place. So it takes a month of light lunging in order to get him back into driving shape. Extra special care for him, but it doesn't bother me. Now, in the show ring, he looks like he's been rubber-banded becuase of his condition. Doesn't affect how he shows or him after exercising.

I talked to the vet about sugery. Scary! In his condition, they would cut his tendon and he would be healed. But then he would be prone to arthritis earlier. I keep him on a joint supplement to help with any pain he may have. But he's too young to consider that type of surgery.

I wouldn't breed a stallion with locked stifle. They are suppose to grow out of it, but as you can tell with my gelding, it just progresses into something more. If you plan on keeping him, I know you said you were sending him back, I would geld him. He would still be a great performance horse. Just probably out of proportion and causes him to have problems like this.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

The joint supplements are a very good idea as they get a lot of inflammation around the joint with this condition and it's very hard on them. According to my vet the arthritis risk with the tendon cutting surgery is because it destabilizes the joint and the bone is prone to damage during that time. My vet was very firm that the horse would have to be restricted completely for something like a month to minimize this risk and let the area scar and stabilize.

You should also make sure your horse's hind toes are rounded off so that it's easier for them to break over. The further they have to extend the leg, the more chance it will lock in extension.

Leia