Locked stifle.... frustrating

[Trish]

[SIZE=10pt]I am so frustrated, my 5 yr old filly has a locked stifle, it happened a couple of months ago and lasted about a day. We are going on 4 days now. I have rubbed her leg, walked her. We can't get it to loosen up and what I call "Pop". I will make an appointment w/ the vet in the morning.[/SIZE]

A friend of mine had the same problem w/ a yearling colt, and ended up having it cut surgically. He recovered well and will never have that problem again.

If you have had the same problem can you tell me about it. What was the cost of surgury? How long for the recovery. Other ways to help with out cutting.

Thanks so much!

:

 

[Ashley]

Dont know, never had it done. But do know she shouldnt be bred. Also did you try backing her to get it to give.

 

[RAPfrosty]

My 2 year old gelding has stifel problems. Are you saying that your horse has had it locked for 4 days or has it just been locking and then unlocking for the past 4 days? If it has stayed locked for 4 days I'd say that that is pretty seriouse and she may need help from a vet. Fever's has always "poped" after a few seconds. Sorry though, I do not have experiece with the surgary although I do hear they recover well. Hope it "pops" soon!

 

[Reble]

Found this info:

http://www.bevet.com/Stifle%20Disease.htm

 

[minijoyj]

Try backing them up when it locks up

 

[nootka]

Well when it did happen, it was to a growing colt that had been stalled for several days on end and I think he hurt himself on something as he was quite distressed. My vet said free exercise is best and basically if it was going to happen often, it was a problem, but it was not unheard of to happen in youngsters who weren't getting enough free exercise and/or put a leg wrong on play or took a blow (at least that is my recollection of what he told me).

All I know is that it did not happen ever again.

Liz M.

 

[bevann]

I have had several with locking stifle problems.I am no longer breeding that line.I did have surgery on several&with great success.The youngest was only 4 or 5 months old&vet didn't want to do it.She was dragging her foot so bad it turned over&I was afraid to wait and possibly cause other problems.The surgery is simple-local anesthetic& a very small incision requiring no stitches-1 small snip with the scapel and it is done. 1 day of stall rest&then turned back out.I have never regreted having any of them done.The weanling is now running&jumping around like a normal horse&happy in her new home.I have no idea of the cost since it was several years ago.good luck whatever you decide.There are people who have other suggestions for solutions without surgery.Confinement adds to the problem.Being turned out all the time is better.

 

[Buckskin gal]

Bevan, You say you no longer breed the line that produced the ones with locking stifles. Do you think locking stifles is a heriditary? I want to avoid the problem if at all possible and if it is hereditary what lines seem to produce it? thanks, Mary

I have had several with locking stifle problems.I am no longer breeding that line.I did have surgery on several&with great success.The youngest was only 4 or 5 months old&vet didn't want to do it.She was dragging her foot so bad it turned over&I was afraid to wait and possibly cause other problems.The surgery is simple-local anesthetic& a very small incision requiring no stitches-1 small snip with the scapel and it is done. 1 day of stall rest&then turned back out.I have never regreted having any of them done.The weanling is now running&jumping around like a normal horse&happy in her new home.I have no idea of the cost since it was several years ago.good luck whatever you decide.There are people who have other suggestions for solutions without surgery.Confinement adds to the problem.Being turned out all the time is better.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Yes locking stifles or bad stifles IS HEREDITARY ... it is a proven fact and most vets will tell you NOT to breed that horse as to not pass it on. In large horses it is possible due to injury to have stifle injurys however most research will show a stifle that locks over a period of time especially in minis (even iit it is spardoic) is not an injury based issue 99.9 percent of the time.

I personally would never breed to a horse who had locking stifles especially if the stifles locked in both legs.

As for this one who is been having issues for quite a while sometimes the cold weather can bring it on when they are prone to it , backing up sometimes helps. Although I do know of someone whose horse locked up and no matter what was done we couldnt get him to unlock.. He would just lock back up again. I think the end result for that horse is surgery

 

[Buckskin gal]

So, locking stifles are more apt to be from hereditary than from injury? Do you know how ahorse might get injured to cause it's stifles to lock? Seems like locking stifles are often defended by saying "oh it was an injury"

: Mary

Yes locking stifles or bad stifles IS HEREDITARY ... it is a proven fact and most vets will tell you NOT to breed that horse as to not pass it on. In large horses it is possible due to injury to have stifle injurys however most research will show a stifle that locks over a period of time especially in minis (even iit it is spardoic) is not an injury based issue 99.9 percent of the time.

I personally would never breed to a horse who had locking stifles especially if the stifles locked in both legs.

As for this one who is been having issues for quite a while sometimes the cold weather can bring it on when they are prone to it , backing up sometimes helps. Although I do know of someone whose horse locked up and no matter what was done we couldnt get him to unlock.. He would just lock back up again. I think the end result for that horse is surgery

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Yes locking stifles are more likely then not herditary.. If you have concerns about a horse I would ask your vet. I had a large horse with the issue who did have the surgery which was fairly inexpensive and he recovered quite nicely surgery was done at the farm. He went on to show for years with no problems as a riding horse.

I did lots of research and several top vets in So Cal including Dr Robert Miller- of imprinting fame (who did the surgery for me on that particular horse) They all felt that yes in a young horse you can perhaps wait a year or so and try exercise although needs to be flat or up hill down hill not round penning. To see if you can build up the muscles in the area to prevent it from happening however if a horse continues to lock (as in not one time fluke thing never to be seen again) especially an adult horse who again locks not just once but several times in a year ... it is a herditary issue. If both stifles lock it is more prone to be a herditary issue again this is just what I found out by discussing the issue with MANY vets.

 

[Minimor]

I've had one--an older gelding that had never previously had any problems--injure his stifle by geting his leg hung up in a rail while cast against the fence. The leg got caught & he must have given it a good wrench while trying to get free. However, that injury never caused his stifle to lock up--he was just very, very sore in the stifle for a few weeks, and stiff after that. It took a few months before the stiffness went away, but he's fine now.

I'm very, very skeptical when people say that their horse's locking stifle is injury-related---especially if the horse's stifle conformation is weak. That is the key to avoiding stifle problems--avoid weak stifles!

 

[kaykay]

imo and many others this is one of the most rampant faults in minis today. Too many excuses get made and the horses are kept in the breeding pool when they most definately should be culled. Like lisa i have discussed this with many different veternarians and one university. They all agreed that 9 times out of 10 it is inherited. Many of us have seen entire bloodlines that carry this.

now having said all of that I will say i have seen weanlings do it during a big growth spurt and then never do it again. But these are very mild and not consistent locking

Most I have talked with say it is from the stifle being too straight

also years ago my veternarian showed me how to push the hips sideways on a horse to get locked stifle to show up. the mare I had at the time was so subtle it was very hard to pick up on. She didnt lock but she walked slightly dragging one hoof. (why i called the vet) once he pushed her hips sideways it became much more pronounced. Its a good test to do when looking at a horse to buy.

so be aware that it can be very subtle and doesnt always lock

 

[bevann]

My vet told me it was heredity to the extent that it is a conformational fault passed on by the parents-too straight in the stifles.Unfortunatley that may be a problem with many Minis.It is also a problem in many toy breeds (Min Pins&toy Poodles)of dogs.Hence the choppy up and down action and lack of reach in front due to improper shoulder angles.(the front end must match the back end in order to be able to move).I discussed this many years ago with a very prominent dog show judge who also had Minis and Standardbred horses.We were at a Mini show and watching a halter class.We had both bred Pembroke Corgis&were discussing some of their problems.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

If you have had the same problem can you tell me about it. What was the cost of surgury? How long for the recovery. Other ways to help with out cutting.[/size]

Thanks so much!

:

Another option some choose is called blistering.. using Iodine and shooting into the ligament. I have yet to know of anyone who had succcesful long term results with this (but that doesnt mean it can't happen) I do know of a couple of different people who had horses they used this one and it did seem to work for a very short period of time but they went back to locking pretty quickly (which kinda throws away the injury argument)

I do agree with Kay and feel it is a huge issue in minis and now ask those whose horses I am interested in if they have locked or have parents who have locked(or offspring) dont always get honest answers but at least I can say I asked.

I also look for conformation in the stifle area and really most of the time it is pretty easy to predict who might be prone to stifle issues.

 

[Buckskin gal]

I do hope more people become educated on this problem and do learn to ask questions. How many of you would use offspring that shows no sign of this problem but one of the parents did? I know of a well known breeder who claims her program would be ruined if she avoided using anything that didn't have some stifle problem in the background. With it being so prevalent how can a person know if it is in a line or not? Mary

 

[HGFarm]

Many vets will not do the surgery until the horse is about 4 years old. They recommend lots of excercise to build muscles. Keeping them in a stall can make it worse. I have noticed that it appears to be hereditary, which the vet confirmed when I asked about it, as a neighbors mare had it and then did EVERY one of her foals- one so bad they thought they would have to put it to sleep. I dont know how that one turned out.

The surgery is simple and quick, but there are hazards later- like possible arthritis in the joint. SOMEtimes it can be outgrown and with excercise, can 'go away'. I have known one that had the problem after an accident.

 

[Magnolia_dream]

I would like to get that surgery done but because no vets around here do it(apparently it's uncommon) yah right :lol: But my shetland gelding lives with it, and by the way he got the locking stifle from doing the splits in the mud. My mom let him run around the yard for a while cause she thought he looked sad. We had a vet come out and told is tht he strained it and we figured out about the real problem by ourselves,not from a vet. We actually had one vet tell us to put him down! How ridiculous is that? He isn't in pain so we're still hoping he'll grow out of it. Equine massage therapy really helps by the way.

 

[Matt73]

I have recently decided NOT to breed a filly in the future that had intermittent locking stifles. Whether it's hereditary or not, I believe that if you're breeding you should start with as close to perfect as you can find. Of course, if it's due to an injury that's a different concern.

 

[runamuk]

So, locking stifles are more apt to be from hereditary than from injury? Do you know how ahorse might get injured to cause it's stifles to lock? Seems like locking stifles are often defended by saying "oh it was an injury"

: Mary

My experience with locking stifles comes from arab's.......it seems to run in family lines........especially in families where the horses grow fast.........excessive feed at an early age can create a whole host of stifle and growth plate problems....so a hereditary tendency to rapid growth combined with an excessive diet can lead to these problems as well. Restricted movement in growing animals also seems to be a contributing factor often stalled horses with only a few hours of turnout tend to this problem more than animals with full turn out. If you care to get into deeper detail pm I have a specific family line I have studied and been personally acquainted with and though not a formal published study can tell you the results of various feeding/housing systems.

With what I know now I would not reccomend breeding an animal that has stifled badly.

On the injury front...a blow to the stifle can cause this but it would likely also leave a limping horse not a locked one and it can be seen on xray