Locked stifle

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Range

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I've been reading the posts on locked stifles and now I'm confused. My 6 month old stud colt has a locked left stifle, due to an apparent injury. He is cow hocked, but probably will grow out of it. Vet hasn't seen him, but said to bring him in the morning to have surgery to unlock it. Should I have the surgery? Should I geld him? It's not inherited, far as I can tell. It definitely occurred because of an injury.

Help! Got one chance to take him to the vet in the morning and I'm so confused. Is the surgery expensive?

Thanks for your help!
 
How long has his stifle been locked from the injury? Sometimes a stifle lock can be treated by using a type of joint lubricant, plus exersize.. 6 months old seems a little young for a surgery like that, as the colt is still growing, unless the vet has taken this into account, and still feels it is necessary. Can you get another opinion?
 
Injury occurred sometime today, but now it's unlocked and just popping....
 
This can be common for growing foals.. as their rapid rate of growth can bring it on sometimes.. I would give him some time to catch up with himself a little and see if he outgrows it.. A good farrier "that knows about stifle locks" can help him deal with it better- while it is affecting him. ...
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Get some CortaFlx-HA, great stuff. Look it up on line to see what it does. If you get it Pm me and I'll help you with the doseage. Our RobinC suggested this to me when my stallion got hurt. Heck he's only 6 mos old, seems a bit premature to cut his tendons yet. Best wishes.
 
Please don't let that vet do surgery. He's much to young, it's not that uncommon in the young and they outgrow it. I can't believe your vet wants to hop to the surgery, he obviously doesn't know minis. Go into the Search Button on top of this page and put in Locked Stifle and alot of threads will come on and you can read all night long on it and then, don't take that colt in yet.
 
Somehow my husband and I have become the farm of locking stifled minis.

If it were me I would not get the surgery done yet.

I have a gelding that both stifles were locking as a weanling. We put him on Cosequin for a year and then left him alone. He is now 5 and I have only seen his stifles catch a few times. When he was younger both stifles would lock and it was horrible, but I have heard that the surgery can cause arthritis and I wanted to make sure he would outgrow it which he pretty much has.

I have another young horse that started when he was a suckling. He is now 2 and he is also, going through them locking and then not locking. I would imagine it won't be long before he has outgrown it as well.
 
If this just happened today, I'd discuss with your vet maybe giving it some time. Seems awfully quick to jump in.

If you decide to have it done, you have several options. With my yearling filly, the vet did not cut her ligaments, he just nicked them with a scalpel in about 3 places. It is supposed to achieve much the same results with a lot less trauma and down time. My filly was pretty bad prior to surgery, came back for several weeks without locking up but eventually it did start to catch again here and there. I moved her out to a bigger pasture where she is up and down hills, and she seems to be moving great now. They can also inject a blistering agent - just don't assume there is only one solution.

Jan
 
If you did not see the injury I would NOT assume there was one. Locking stifle can come om, out of the blue, as quickly as this. It is not the actual stifle locking that is hereditary, so I take it you are saying this colt has not got it from his parents because neither has locking stifles?? This is not so- it is the conformation that can cause stifle problems that is hereditary. I would not have surgery on so young an animal. Although it is not likely to clear up it could well become manageable. The surgery can be expensive, yes, and I would be looking for another Vet if this one suggested, without seeing the colt, that surgery was necessary!! Also, Yes, the colt needs gelding, but not whilst he is getting over other problems, and not because he has patella problems specifically. You should really have been looking at gelding him anyway.
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Don't worry, just sit tight and phone a few Vets- you do not have this one chance- if he does need surgery it can be done at anytime and i find the older they are the smaller the op and the better the result. Hang in there, calm down and start phoning round Vets and Vet Hospitals. If you get a Vet you like who does not do "big" animals surgery tell him how small your colt is- I have had Vets take my little ones on who only do dogs and cats, and they are excellent Vets!!
 
I wouldn't do surgery on a 6 month old. If his stifle locks up , try backing him up. Many times that will release the stifle. Give him time to outgrow it.

Robin
 
One of the best ways to unlock is to just back them up. Usually works. In young horses the recommendation is exercise and keep them in paddocks large enough to exercise. The worst thing you can do is keep them in stalls. My old guy started locking up while I was showing him from sitting in stalls and not moving around. After xrays and an exam we injected methyline blue into the joint to form a little scar tissue and tighten things up and he has been fine since. He also has his own special paddock that isn't flat to make him work a little.
 
If you did not see the injury I would NOT assume there was one. Locking stifle can come om, out of the blue
Absolutely true! Our filly went from running the pastures to dragging both hind legs suddenly. In her case, strangely, it was when I first turned her out in a big pasture with the other colts and she did a lot of running. Usually the opposite.

Sometimes they do outgrow it, sometimes it is severe enough to warrant surgery. I've heard the theory too that the surgery can cause arthritis as they age, but in discussing with my vet he felt that letting it go on indefinitely in one who is constantly abusing their stifles is more likely to cause issues. You do have time though - I gave mine a year to out grow it and she showed no signs of getting better, so we decided we had no choice with her.

Jan
 
Robin1 said:
I wouldn't do surgery on a 6 month old.  If his stifle locks up , try backing him up. Many times that will release the stifle. Give him time to outgrow it.
Robin

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DITTO!

MA
 
They can outgrow it in some cases but if this is from an injury, he probably wouldn't outgrow it.

My Vet will not do surgery unless the horse is at least a couple years old to give them a chance to outgrow it. Your might want to get a 2nd opinion.
 
Locking stifles are pretty common in miniature horses. I would not rush to surgery either as most likely it was not an injury anyway causing this. Most locked stifles has more to do with rapid growth than a genetic thing, in my opinion that is. Remember our fragil little ones, refined legs and light bodies?

Usually they will outgrow it. I have NOT HEARD of surgery to unlock them tho., but I guess that is what they do or what the surgery is for. Just never thought that far through it before. I thought you can unlock them fairly easy but keeping them unlocked was what the surgery was for.

Forcing them to move, either forwards or backwards can help put the stifles back in. Usually it can be done by hand if you know where put your fingers
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( I don't by the way, but have seen it done).

Beth
 
Range said:
I've been reading the posts on locked stifles and now I'm confused.  My 6 month old stud colt has a locked left stifle, due to an apparent injury.  He is cow hocked, but probably will grow out of it.  Vet hasn't seen him, but said to bring him in the morning to have surgery to unlock it.  Should I have the surgery?  Should I geld him?  It's not inherited, far as I can tell.  It definitely occurred because of an injury. 
Help!  Got one chance to take him to the vet in the morning and I'm so confused.  Is the surgery expensive?

Thanks for your help!

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