I went team penning this past weekend. We penned on saturday and I put the horse in a stall at about 7pm. Sunday at 9am I took the horse out of the stall and her left rear leg was locked. Some one at the show said back her up and it will unlock, and then walk her out. I did this three -four times and she has been ok since.
Has anyone else had this problem? Is there any excercise or anything I can do to prevent this from happening again?
I have only owned the horse about 4-weeks, I have penned on her three times, and she is a 6yr old aqha mare.
thanks
Posted 2005-10-24 11:47 PM (#32268 - in reply to #32237) Subject: RE: locked stiffel
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 378 Location: Nebraska
I have seen a locked stifle once from a hyper-extension, the ligament had to be pushed over the joint to unlock it. Rest is the best treatment, as with all ligament/tendon treatments, nsaids can be used, but swelling is the part of the healing process. Reoccurance is common but can be prevented. After rest, conditioning with warm-ups and cool downs will help prevent reoccurance. Maybe you can get a local vet to ultra-sound it to be sure.
Posted 2005-10-25 7:33 PM (#32313 - in reply to #32237) Subject: RE: locked stiffel
Member
Posts: 6
Location: Olney, Illinois
I had a mare once that had locking stifle constantly. The vet said he could go in and do a simple surgery to cut the ligament. Said she wouldn't be able to "lock" that leg while standing but other than that it would'nt affect anything. You might want to look into something like that with her.
Posted 2005-10-27 5:18 PM (#32424 - in reply to #32237) Subject: RE: locked stiffel
Member
Posts: 17
Location: Vail, Arizona
A horse has the capability to lock their legs so they can sleep standing up and not use any muscle to keep them upright. Occasionally an unfit horse will have its patella in the stifle joint lock. Sometimes it requires physically moving the patella by hand, but often it can be unlocked by causing the horse to back up as you found out.
Most of the time, the situation can be helped by getting the hind end stronger. Hill work is recommended. If you don't have hills to climb, then low cavaletti or stepping over logs are useful. Developing a soft, cadenced back-up is also helpful. I understand that type of exercise is almost always successful in helping the horse. I would work at developing strength in the hind end for at least a year. The horse should show the results of that exercise by the muscles near the stifle being wider than the hips when viewed from the rear. If it was still locking, I might consider the surgery.
Posted 2005-10-28 8:29 AM (#32445 - in reply to #32237) Subject: RE: locked stiffel
Veteran
Posts: 104
It was locked in the extened position. When it would walk the leg would not bend. I did talk to a good vet who said the same thing as you guys are saying. She told me to excercise the horse to build the muscles in the hind end. She suggested trotting up hills. Thanks for the good advise.
Posted 2005-10-28 9:55 AM (#32453 - in reply to #32237) Subject: RE: locked stiffel
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 350 Location: Newton, NJ
I agree with the exercise theory as well. We had a Hackney Pony with stifle problem. Fortunately it never actually locked, but he did have a "hitch" in his movement. As he matured and muscled up, the "hitch" went away completely. We did a lot of hill work to develop the hind end. I understand this is more common in gaited horses, and I knew of it happening with a TWH years ago.
Posted 2005-10-30 5:29 PM (#32513 - in reply to #32445) Subject: RE: locked stiffel
Expert
Posts: 1719 Location: PA
Trot up hills and walk down them. Never do it on a slick surface. Lots of turn out helps. My vet says surgery is not helpful, strengthening excercises are best.
locked stiffel
