Posted 2014-10-05 4:49 PM Subject: Locking Stifle - what can you tell me about it and who has treated successfully?
Night Watchman
Posts: 5516 Location: Central Montana
My sister is interested in an 8 year old money earning reiner that was diagnosed 2 years ago at CSU with a locking stifle. The vet gave her a treatment plan that included hill work, ground poles and long trotting. He told her it would take about 4 weeks of that to get the horse back to where he could start being worked toward reining again. The owner broker her pelvis at about the same time so she kicked him out to the pasture, where he has been for the last 2 years. She says it is only noticible at the trot. Also, he recently started having soreness in his hocks from compensating for the stifle. Different trimming seems to have fixed that.
For those of you that have dealt with stifle issues 1) does this sound like is it treatable just with a good exercise program? 2) if you've had a stifle blistered what was the cost and the rehab time? 3) one of the articles I was reading on stifle injuries was using estrogen as a treatment, has anyone tried this and had luck with it?
Posted 2014-10-05 5:26 PM Subject: RE: Locking Stifle - what can you tell me about it and who has treated successfully?
Exercise can help tremendously to strengthen the stifle ligament to keep it from happening. The problem with that though is you have to be religious to keep them exercised and it's a BIG commitment because they regress so quickly if you aren't able to keep them exercised...long trotting the best exercise above the rest to do.
50/50 chance at best for a blister to work. Not very expensive but I can't say off hand exact cost.
I can't speak to the estrogen treatment from personal experience but I've heard encouraging things.
I can say from personal experience, I would NOT buy a horse that I know has locking stifles. It's one thing to have some looseness in the ligament but not to the point of actually locking...and even that I'd have to think twice about purchasing a horse with the problem.
It's a BIG commitment to say you'll keep a horse exercised that well. Clipping works wonders but sets the horse up for arithritis but it is the best fix in my opinion. I've known many horses with clipped stifles that had many good performance years afterwards. I still wouldn't knowingly purchase one with the problem, though.
EDITED TO ADD: Yes, I have successfully exercised a horse with stifle weakness...not to the point of locking though.
Posted 2014-10-05 7:19 PM Subject: RE: Locking Stifle - what can you tell me about it and who has treated successfully?
Veteran
Posts: 222 Location: Texas
Our kids mini has this. We had success with hill work and acupuncture for a little bit but it's difficult to keep a mini"legged up" our vet recommended surgery. Did it to one leg ( was only locking one leg) two months off and hasn't locked up again. We will probably at some point have issues with the other leg and will go ahead and have that leg done then. I know there is an increased chance with arthritis with the big horses if you decide to cut.
Posted 2014-10-05 7:57 PM Subject: RE: Locking Stifle - what can you tell me about it and who has treated successfully?
Accident Prone
Posts: 22277 Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR
Estrogen therapy is for a too tight ligament. Internal blister is for one that's too loose. The last 2 horses I've had with catching stifles were treated very successfully with PRP. Consistent exercise will be important no matter what you do.
Posted 2014-10-06 9:25 AM Subject: RE: Locking Stifle - what can you tell me about it and who has treated successfully?
Pork Fat is my Favorite
Posts: 3791 Location: The Oklahoma plains.
I have never had success with "strengthening" exercises. It is very painful for the stifle to lock and it can cause inflamation in the joint itself. Its hard to tell if the joint inflames due to the catching or if your joint was inflamed prior to the issue. Either way- we had the most success with agressive treatment- blistering and injection the joint both.
Prior to that we had done/tried it all. Blistered twice, hills hills hills. Time off. Took about a year to figure out we needed more treatment or retirement. Once we got the stifles straight- it was a dramatic improvement.
Locking Stifle - what can you tell me about it and who has treated successfully?
