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 Expert
Posts: 1889
   
Location: Texas | We have a 2-year-old filly diagnosed with weak stifles. My vet put her on Previcox for 10 days and recommended hill work and walking over ground poles. She does have a bit of a long toe in back, we are in between trims as our farrier has been out sick and trying to catch up. Anyone have any experience with this in a young horse? Is this something they out grow or will continue to plague them with a high performance career? She has been hauled and ponied, but not under saddle yet. |
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Meanest Teacher!!!
Posts: 8555
 
Location: sunny california | did you xray? I would do that before i started hill work she could have some nasty ocd. that could be why they are weak as she doesn't use herself enough to build muscle. |
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 Pork Fat is my Favorite
Posts: 3791
Location: The Oklahoma plains. | I would Xray before I wasted any more of your time. We had a colt that couldnt even handle round pen work and when we took him to the vet he had birth defects that would have prevented him from being sound. |
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Meanest Teacher!!!
Posts: 8555
Location: sunny california | if it is ocd then the earlier caught the better. depending on where it is surgery might be in order |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I was told to do flat work extended trot for a month before I did hills, as my vet said hills can stretch the stifle if it is already loose, once it is tightened up hills will make it stronger |
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Expert
Posts: 1889
Location: Texas | My vet didn't even recommend X-rays, just offered to inject them. She's a recent grad. We do have a pasture that slopes to a low point in the middle and she is turned out full time so I was surprised her stifle is weak. I better get X-rays done on her. Has anyone had a successful outcome with OCD in the stifle? |
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 Expert
Posts: 2604
Location: Texas | I would go for a second opinion with a long practicing, reputable, performance horse vet. Someone that has lots of experience diagnosing these types of issues. Not someone just out of vet school. |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | 2 years old seems too young to be having soundness issues.....unless it is some sort of birth defect as mentioned earlier. Just my 2 cents. :). What made you get her looked at? |
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| I would turn her out until next year and let her body mature .. some bloodlines mature much later than others.
Her conformation will tell you a lot ... shoulders and stifles (knee joints) are only held in place by muscles. If you strain a muscle the joints can move and require time to reset into their new position which changes the angle of movement all the way down to their feet .... a year is a good time frame for repairing.
I choose the conformation on my broodmares, choice of stallions to produce a bulk of muscle on the shoulder right above the elbow and right over the stifle (rear knee joint) in order to hold the knee joint and shoulder in place once you start training. To get a young or older horse in condition pasture ride in straight lines to leg them up ... it is easy to tell when one is getting into shape ... just look at the slope of the shoulder muscles and when you can see 3 ripples of muscles along this plane your legging up is working and you can move on to other exercises ...
Here is an example of a mare in racing condition ... and a 3 month old foal with the conformation my breeding program is designed to produce ..
 (7.14.2015 QUICKEM TOOTER 38.jpg)
 (LIQUID HIPS 11.29.09 em.jpg)
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 7.14.2015 QUICKEM TOOTER 38.jpg (82KB - 178 downloads)
LIQUID HIPS 11.29.09 em.jpg (63KB - 178 downloads)
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| I had a tank of a mare whose srifles where tight we just did the estrone shots as first line within ten days she was better. |
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Expert
Posts: 1889
Location: Texas | hammer_time - 2015-07-16 1:09 AM
2 years old seems too young to be having soundness issues.....unless it is some sort of birth defect as mentioned earlier. Just my 2 cents. :). What made you get her looked at?
I heard a pooping that I thought was her hock. It happened at the end of her step/extension of her leg just before she took her next step. I completely agree that 2 years old is way too young to be having issues. From what I have read, OCD is a developmental issue with many different potential causes. This girl is turned out on about 9 acres and has a muscular build. She is fat on grass and gets free choice minerals. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3782
Location: Gainesville, TX | Juvenile OCD is actually quite common, especially in the stifles. If you look at horses doing things in futurities, cutting, reining, barrels, anything really, the joints that the trainers are most concerned with are hocks, stifles, and knees. Just because she's two doesn't mean she can't still be hurting. Think about teenage humans; they too can have 'growing pains.' She may just need to develop more in this area but a set of xrays to make sure she doesn't have a stifle lesion or cyst (which can show up at any age), a growth spur, epiphysitis, or other potential complications is just SMART. $200 in xrays buys you peace of mind and what's better, if there is something that you can do now while she's young to keep her happy and healthy throughout her career, wouldn't you want to do something? You don't have to be riding a young one or even riding them hard for them to be sore. It truly can be growing pains and often with these things, the earlier you are aware of stuff and can at a minimum keep an eye on it and best prevent future problems the better off long term you will be. |
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Expert
Posts: 1889
Location: Texas | oija - 2015-07-16 6:46 AM
Juvenile OCD is actually quite common, especially in the stifles. If you look at horses doing things in futurities, cutting, reining, barrels, anything really, the joints that the trainers are most concerned with are hocks, stifles, and knees. Just because she's two doesn't mean she can't still be hurting. Think about teenage humans; they too can have 'growing pains.' She may just need to develop more in this area but a set of xrays to make sure she doesn't have a stifle lesion or cyst (which can show up at any age), a growth spur, epiphysitis, or other potential complications is just SMART. $200 in xrays buys you peace of mind and what's better, if there is something that you can do now while she's young to keep her happy and healthy throughout her career, wouldn't you want to do something? You don't have to be riding a young one or even riding them hard for them to be sore. It truly can be growing pains and often with these things, the earlier you are aware of stuff and can at a minimum keep an eye on it and best prevent future problems the better off long term you will be.
I agree completely. I like to wait and start them under saddle as 3-year-olds to give them time to mature. I will be taking her in to be seen by a performance vet/surgeon to get his opinion and xrays. I really like this filly, she is very athletic and has a head full of sense. She enjoys learning and picks things up quickly. Sure hope this is nothing that prevents her from having a performance career. |
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