Locking Stifles

[Ghost Horse]

I was wondering if anyone had some really good references on locking stifles. I have been combing the forum and found some very helpful topics. But I was wondering if there were any good websites or books on this, just for extra reference. My 6 month old colt locked up on me this morning, but I was able to get him unlocked and he's doing fine now. The vet well be out at 2pm eastern time to check on him and "do the deed." I have read that locking stifles is hereditary... how? And where can I find more info on that?

Here's my little Pepper

He's sweet as anything and learning his manner's so well.

Thank's everyone ^_^

~Megan

 

[Ghost Horse]

Bumping this up.

 

[Keri]

Leia....hobbyhorse23 has loads of info!!!

I did the surgery on my 8 year old with locking stifles. I wouldn't do much with your little guy yet. They can grow out of it. would just exercise him a bit more to strengthen his muscles. Then reevalutate him when he's around 3. Then you can see how he's developed and if he may have a conformation problem related to it.

 

[sugarboy]

Hi,

I just want to share my experience with stifle issues. I have a full size appaloosa mare that was so sore that she just shifted from hind leg to hind leg . Her stifle popped in and out everytime she walked and you could see it was very painful. My vet said she need light riding and work of poles that sounds great except you had to fight to make her walk, it was awful. My vet said if she wasn't better in 6 weeks we should try the surgury but to me that was the last resort as I have heard sometimes it doesnt work and it can be expensive. I did some research on supplements and found this stuff I swear by its called "recovery eq" and I buy it through www.valleyvet.com the stuff isnt cheap but I saw a difference in just 4 days and now she actually gallops on the trails its incredible stuff for stifle problems and reccomend it everyone.

 

[Keri]

I did exercise and supplements with my guy too. Worked for a little while. Then all of a sudden, he locked up twice as bad. That's why I did the surgery. It cost me $180 to have both tendons cut. I would definately shop around. I called most of the vets here in utah and southern idaho until I found someone reasonable and would work on minis. I would watch your appy surgarboy, but it may only be a quick fix.

 

[Ghost Horse]

Thank you for your replies

I've been trying to get out everyday to at least free lunge him in the ring so he can wiggle and get his baby bugs out

But since I'm getting sick yet again its getting harder to do

(Stupid people at college who can't cover their mouth's when they cough

)

My vet did say that she could do the surgery but won't until we know for sure what is causing him to lock up.

He is on a supplement called "Grow Colt" I talked to my vet and she looked over the info and said it would be okay, he gets about 1/2 an ounce per feeding. He's 28" at only 6 months old and I don't think he's done growing yet. He does seem to be doing well today but I'm keeping a very sharp eye on him. And waiting for him to finish dropping so I can geld him

~Megan

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Nothing called "Grow" sounds too good to me, I have to say.

OK, doom and gloom time here.

He might grow out of it but this also means he is NOT a breeding prospect.

He might "grow out of it" but the chances are he will not and all the exercise in the world will help but not cure it, honestly!!!

This Is a conformational weakness and the weakness will always be there.

It does not normally show til later...the earlier it shows the worse the condition is and although I would probably be looking at trying natural remedies, I can assure you all of us who have had this problem have tried EVERYTHING on the market up to and including snakeoil and NOTHING works because you cannot cure conformation.

Right, doom and gloom over.

Worst case, he has the surgery...it works but it does depend on who does it and how much work you put into it.

My mare was due to have both legs done, then the Vet decided to do one leg and the other one never did need doing...no idea why!!!

She came sound as a bell in five days....Leia's Kody took a lot longer, but he seems OK now.

These are both mature animals, I would hesitate on surgery on a baby, but if he will not unlock you may need to consider it.

He needs to be outside, with access to inside, ALL the time, so he can free exercise, and he really does NOT need any enforced exercise at all.

NO lungeing or round penning.

If you have a round pen, leave him in it.

This is his best chance of recovery.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Worst case, he has the surgery...it works but it does depend on who does it and how much work you put into it.My mare was due to have both legs done, then the Vet decided to do one leg and the other one never did need doing...no idea why!!!

She came sound as a bell in five days....Leia's Kody took a lot longer, but he seems OK now.

Leia's Kody had the splitting surgery that does require a lot of constant work afterwards and never did come sound. In fact, he was worse than before! He's now six months out from the patellar desmotomy where the ligament was completely cut and hasn't locked a step since that day with no therapy required.

There's no question in my mind that the splitting is a waste of time.

Megan, I apologize for not replying sooner but I'm confident that you've already found most of what I would have had to say on this subject in previous posts. There are very few resources out there on this problem and most of them are either useless or completely disagree with each other. It's very frustrating!

I've been there, done that, and never did find any definitive answers. The best article I found was this one from the Atlanta Equine Clinic. It's old enough that it does not list the medial patellar ligament splitting as an option but the list of symptoms contains several that my gelding displayed and I'd never seen mentioned elsewhere. I hope it is helpful to you.

By the way, I admire you very much for the decision to geld your boy. I know it isn't easy but I think you're absolutely doing the right thing!

I do feel that in large part this is a hereditary condition as conformation plays a strong role in it and conformation itself is, of course, inheritable. Sure some offspring of parents with the problem will be fine and some offspring of perfectly normal parents will have it but the same is true of blue eyes or being the only short person in a tall family. It's called the "Genetic Lottery" for a reason!

But why play with a handicap?

Leia (who is still up at 5AM for no apparent reason so apologizes for any typos or senseless comments. I need sleep!)

 

[Kathy2m]

Leia has the best info on this subject, however I thought I would add my 2 cents. My vet says NO LUNGING, (it's not good to be in a constant turn), only straight line work, cavaletti work (your boy is pretty young for that) and working up and down hills. Good Luck, Kathy

 

[rabbitsfizz]

From experience I can tell you that all the hill work in the world will never solve this problem......but it cannot do any harm and, just like all the supplements we tried, it does make you feel as if you are doing something for the animal.

Letting this baby exercise himself is by far the best option in this instance as he is still very young to be having "enforced" exercise of any kind, bit like a puppy, I feel they should just be left alone, really.

The Vet booked my mare in to have the tendon splitting, and I understood that was what was going to be done, but, in fact, he cut it, in the end, even though we had discussed "scraping" as he called it. All she had to show for it was a stitch and a small eventual scar.

He has done the "scraping" with success but when he actually got in there he decided to go ahead and cut, so I guess the moral of that story is to find a Vet who has done and is prepared, to do both??

I know Kody had a bit of a marathon epic but my mare was the complete opposite...the morning after the op she jumped the stall door to be out with her friends so we left her there...she is now sound and driving, and rehomed (I loved her but she was a nightmare (pun intended) and is such a little goody two shoes with her people now it is just not true!!!

 

[Ghost Horse]

Thank you for everyone's advice and help

Rabbitsfizz: What other supplements could I put him on? He was weaned about 3 months old(maybe 4). He is turned out during the day with access to his stall. I don't leave him out at night because there are too many night creatures that try to get our chickens, I don't want horse on the menu. He and my other mini play along the fence line, or during supervised play time out in the field. They are never out together without someone there. When the vet was out she check him, and he only has one dropped. So we have to wait a bit longer before we can geld him.

Leia: Thank you for the article, it was nice to see the illustration of how and where they lock up. I keep reading Kody's story and that little horse has so much heart.

~megan

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Leia has the best info on this subject, however I thought I would add my 2 cents. My vet says NO LUNGING, (it's not good to be in a constant turn), only straight line work, cavaletti work (your boy is pretty young for that) and working up and down hills. Good Luck, Kathy

Those are the three (four?) things that everyone seems to agree on. I finally told my vet that if I don't lunge this horse he isn't going to get any exercise at all during the winter and he admitted that if that was my situation, lunging was definitely better than nothing! What they are concerned about is lateral stress on the joint so if you must lunge a horse who locks, do it on the biggest circle possible and teach the horse to bend and to use his back so he's traveling in a balanced manner and not straining himself against the lunge line. I agree entirely with the line I bolded from Fizz below on this specific case; your fellow is just a baby. Lots of free play and as little confinement as possible will be his best treatment for now. You can have his selenium levels tested and might want to talk to your vet about protein levels; I know babies need high protein for growth but on the other hand too much can cause joint problems.

Can you leave him loose in the barn aisle or a larger indoor area at night so he moves around? I think I'd also try scattering hay in different locations to encourage movement overnight.

Letting this baby exercise himself is by far the best option in this instance as he is still very young to be having "enforced" exercise of any kind, bit like a puppy, I feel they should just be left alone, really.
I know Kody had a bit of a marathon epic but my mare was the complete opposite...the morning after the op she jumped the stall door to be out with her friends so we left her there...she is now sound and driving

The more I learn, the more I realize that Kody definitely represented a worst case scenario.

I knew he was doing a lot of his activities on heart but never realized just how much of a handicap he was really under until it was gone. Now that he's all fixed he's a different horse and there's no stopping him!

Leia