Locking Stifles Support Group

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bunni1900

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This is a group started to help those new to this issue and allow others to offer their knowledge and experience. Please play nice and be kind to one another. This is for SUPPORT not for grandstanding.

I will start with my experience. I had my first encounter with this condition this year with a friend's 5 month old miniature foal. He was diagnosed a week ago today and is struggling greatly. Surgery is not really an option at the current moment so we are looking for alternatives i.e. physical therapy and a low protein, high vitamin diet. Any and all suggestions and information would be greatly appreciated!
 
Just curious as tom why you are saying surgery is not an option I had a very young filly done as she was dragging her foot so badly she was causing damage to the fetlock.She did fine,gave her away and to this day has no side effects of the surgery.I have kept in touch with her owner.Glad I had the surgery done on her.
 
Our vet is not comfortable performing the surgery on a mini so we would have to find a vet to do it, come up with the time, money and schedule to do so.
 
Then you do need to find another Vet, ASAP. I can tell you that all the "therapy" in the world will not cure the problem although it will help with the discomfort. It is a tragedy when this sort of thing affects so young an animal, the only two I have ever had (one an Arab, one a Mini) did not start until they were gone yearlings. The Arab I had put down two years later and the Mini was successfully operated on six months after the problem started and never looked back (The Arab, I should explain, was back in the dark ages before this sort of Op was an option)
 
I had a cute lil colt do it on both rears. I had no choice but to put my lil guy down. He druge himself and it was very uncomfortable for him as he was totally locked. I talked to all the vets in the area and no one could help me. So I did the kindest thing and ended his suffering. I tried for several months to get them to unlock but had no sucess. His momma is not being bred again so I dont possibly have this issue again.

Good luck to all that runs into this and hope ya can fix your babies.
 
If your vet clears the horse for physical therapy there are exercises designed to strengthen and support and improve this condition without surgery.

I have a dog with stifle slipping and locking and it was getting bad to the point of leg dragging and hind end collapse. My vet has me walking her in sand and doing slight grade hill work and I put her on yucca capsules. Amazing that after only a few weeks of therapy I have a sound dog (knock on wood) and she doesn't slip and she is so confident and you can see the difference in her face.

I really think the sand walking and yucca have helped strengthen her legs to support the knee cap so it can't slip.

I did google physical therapy on horses for stifle issues and there are exercise suggestions similar to what my vet has my dog on, so this is why I think my dogs condition is related and why I am posting. I love yucca, I have had good success with feeding it as a supplement for joint issues.

Best wishes.
 
Our horse is 18 and has had flare ups with this probably his whole life (we've had him 12 years). It has never been as bad as what some of you have experienced. He goes through periods where he'll lock up for a few seconds and then pop it out. Especially if he's not been moving around much, he goes through times when it pops or clicks with a hitch as he walks, but then he trots completely sound. I don't know why sometimes we go months without it happening, and then, like now, it affects him several times a week.

We do exercise and do hills, and that seems to help, but it isn't a perfect solution. I had a talk with the vet again this past week, and he is recommending that we consider estrogen shots (I think it is estrogen anyway, it is a female hormone). Do any of you have experience with this? Did it help?

I think that with a young horse or one that has a serious problem that interferes with quality of life, the surgery is a good option to consider. However, surgery does have risks, and it is expensive, which is why I have never seriously considered it, preferring to manage his mild condition through meticulous foot trimming and exercise. But maybe shots? What do you think?
 
MM I do not think your horse would need surgery- it sounds as if you are managing it just fine without. The surgery done on a mare I had was not expensive and was done with a local, not a general, anaesthetic.

We really need Leia on here as she is the queen of locking stifles and has been through all the ins and outs of it. The more muscle you have, obviously the better, but exercising a foal is going to be hard to impossible, I would have said. I have had this problem in dogs too and it was easy to manage, nothing like a horse, I am afraid.

Mindy, I am afraid removing just one mare form a breeding programme, whilst highly commendable, does not guarantee that the problem will not reoccur- although the conformational problems that cause stifle problems are inherited, the problem can crop up from two well conformed parents- it appears to be recessive.

UGH I HATE SPELLCHECK!!!!
 
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The other thing about this foal is he looks a bit malnourished. He has a pot belly, very dull and rough. He has been dewormed recently and I am hoping this will help. But I have had several people tell me to slow down his growth by giving him less protein and more vitamins and minerals. I should have thought of this as I had a similar situation with a colt who was over in the knees. I got him on "Rejuvenaide" and Strategy GX instead of Omalene 300 and it was a miracle the difference I saw. this foal, with the locking stifles, is exhibiting some of the same growth issues as my colt that was over at the knees; in junction with the described issues, they both are/were cowhocked, and dull coated. So I ordered some "Rejuvenade" and have switched him to Strategy GX.
 
Breeders who have it happen like to blame it on growth. Strengthening the hip is essential which means there needs to be protein. I see the advice to slow down growth all over facebook and it makes me so dang mad. Sounds like you have him on the right path now, though i would switch to a 16% sweet feed instead the 14.
 
I have to say--if this colt is looking rough and a bit malnourished, the last thing he needs is to have his protein reduced. Pot belly, especially if the horse is rough coated and not rounded over the top line, is a key symptom of a protein deficient diet.
 
Can someone explain why too much protein is supposed to be linked to the stifle issue? Protein is needed to build muscle, and strong muscle is a necessity for the stifle problem. It seems defeating to lower the protein for horses with the problem.
 
Some people think that growing too fast causes stifle problems. Therefore--they figure if you under feed (or feed less protein) the horse will grow slower and that will fix the problem. Very poor thinking IMO!
 
In my experience, stifle problems were the result of genetic conformation faults. Had a cute LITTLE mare, very nice front end but she was short hipped (bought her off of pictures and should have asked for more shots), and produced a baby that was totally locked up. We put the little guy down because I was NOT going to spend $3,000 on a give-away colt. And the likelihood of a life filled with problems were too high even with the surgery. As for the mare, gave her without papers to a family with kids up the road WITHOUT papers. That was 15 years ago and she's still there, very much loved and well cared for, driving in local parades, etc.
 
UPDATE: Midnight has now been with me for 15 days. I decided to do a SafeGuard Powerpack deworming. His coat, attitude and topline are all improving very nicely. We have been working very hard to build his muscle, and he is making a lot of progress! He is now actually placing it instead of just dragging it. And yesterday, for the first time since he was diagnosed, he was able to unlock it himself and take several "normal" steps! I am ecstatic! Today will be his last day of the powerpack and I will start him on the Rejuvenaide. Fingers crossed he will continue to improve!!!
 
Glad to hear he is improving. I had a similar situation with a colt that was a surprise to us. We purchased a trio of mares and had no idea this mare was bred, she had no belly what so ever and spit out the tiniest and scrawniest colt you ever saw. He had a locking problem where he would drag his back leg and the vet diagnosed it as locking patella. She said to unlock it, back him up in a straight line. That temporarily did the trick, then she said to try to keep it from happening, improve the quality of the diet, so we put him on strategy. We then added a joint supplement with glucosamine and chondroitin to try to repair any damage being done from the lock. Finally we followed the vet's strict exercise regimen of cavaletti/ ground poles. The idea was to get him to lift his legs high, not leap over to strengthen the muscles and tendons causing the lock. It worked and we were able to avoid surgery. We were very lucky to have the exercise work, as a surgery was out of our price range on a colt that we knew was going to be gelded, and as sweet as he was, not a show horse. I know that we all love our horses and want the very best, but sometimes when weighing out the options, quality of life makes decisions difficult. I would research vet surgeons in your area and get a second opinion. It may not be too late to remedy the problem with out surgery and allow your little guy to have a great quality of life. Best of luck.
 
Hi!

I have a nice 3 yr old gelding that I am wanting to start driving but his stifles lock off and on. We have tried steroid injections but that didn't help at all. Not really wanting to do surgery unless that is the absolute last option. I saw someone posted that they use a joint supplement. Does that really help at all? And does anyone have one that they drive and how do they hold up?

Thanks!!
 
Hi!

I have a nice 3 yr old gelding that I am wanting to start driving but his stifles lock off and on. We have tried steroid injections but that didn't help at all. Not really wanting to do surgery unless that is the absolute last option. I saw someone posted that they use a joint supplement. Does that really help at all? And does anyone have one that they drive and how do they hold up?

Thanks!!
A joint supplement has nothing to do with stifle problem. Some research indicates that giving joint supplement to young horses can inhibit them from producing their own. It is not a fix for stifle.
 

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