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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 723
 
Location: South TEXAS | i have a 5yr mare that has sticky stifles(more the right than left). she's in great shape now, long trot at least 4 days a week for 30 mins to keep her in shape. she gets a good bit of backing up as well. don't work pattern much. I have tried to keep from doing anything medically but I think they are making her a little sore and I don't want it to cause major mental issues.
she mainly does this when she is standing in stall or at trailer, its a couple second stall for her to engage leg forward. she has never tripped, stumbled, or fell while riding or leading. moves perfectly normal and never taken a lame step.
what are are your experiences with the following:
Blistering
splitting
or any other suggestions
thanks in advance |
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
 
Location: North Dakota | I've got an 8-yr-old right now who has a right "catching" stifle. I always keep him in good shape so I wanted to do more than just exercise to help him. We injected his stifle a few months ago and it seems to be helping. Wanted to try the injections first before we did anything more invasive as far as surgery.
Biggest thing is to keep them legged up. Do lots of hill exercises with lots of transitions from trot to lope. Also do lots of serpentines. If the horse is fit enough, going over ground poles or low caveletti also helps strengthen the stifle.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1092
Location: OK | I've blistered 2 different horses. Both were bothered with it pretty bad. Vet said blistering is very effective. Usually once does it, in bad cases, maybe 2-3 times. You go right back to riding the next day and they don't seem bothered by it at all. I would rather put them through the blister than the bad stifle, because that can just drive a horse nuts.
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 Husband Spoiler
Posts: 4151
Location: North Dakota | I'm dealing with stifle issues on two horses but two different issues. The mare has a loose stifle that catches a little but doesn't seem too bothered by it as long as she is in tip top shape! Which can be difficult in ND. The other is a gelding that has sore stifles that can catch but his seem to be more painful than the mare's. But then again girls are tougher than boys. lol |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 723
Location: South TEXAS | thanks for the replies. anyone else.
I had thought about injecting but I don't want to invade the joint if I don't HAVE TO and wasn't really sure if the injection would do anything for the "catching". I know it would help pain for a short while.
what has it cost to get the blister done?
we have no hills here, just dry flat ground :( |
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 Pork Fat is my Favorite
Posts: 3791
Location: The Oklahoma plains. | I have seen a lot of people in the mindset of not invading the joint but I am not of that camp. I think if you are going to ask your horse to perform at this event then you should be willing to consider treating the painful inflamation.
Consider singers- how many everyday folks do you know that need vocal chord surgery?? But singers use their chords unlike regular folks. Same with performing horses. They use themselves unlike they would trail riding or in the pasture.
As far as stifles- they are the worst issues to have and next to feet- the hardest to maintain. They are high motion joints. And as far as the catching- it can very well cause inflamation in the joint it self. I have not had any success with hills and backing. I have had a better performing horse with injections. I have blistered, done the splitting and injected- all on different horses and at different times. I think the splitting and injecting and using Legend for weekend shows helped me the most. |
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 The Bling Princess
Posts: 3411
Location: North Dakota | TurnLane - 2014-05-20 3:17 PM I have seen a lot of people in the mindset of not invading the joint but I am not of that camp. I think if you are going to ask your horse to perform at this event then you should be willing to consider treating the painful inflamation.
Consider singers- how many everyday folks do you know that need vocal chord surgery?? But singers use their chords unlike regular folks. Same with performing horses. They use themselves unlike they would trail riding or in the pasture.
As far as stifles- they are the worst issues to have and next to feet- the hardest to maintain. They are high motion joints. And as far as the catching- it can very well cause inflamation in the joint it self. I have not had any success with hills and backing. I have had a better performing horse with injections. I have blistered, done the splitting and injected- all on different horses and at different times. I think the splitting and injecting and using Legend for weekend shows helped me the most.
I second this. My gelding has sore stifles and sticks periodically and we inject. I could exercise him til I was blue in the face and not see any results and the inflammation just got worse. I considered the blistering, but decided I wasn't going to run him anymore since he seems to like roping more and hubby doesn't haul as hard. I think we can keep him happy with just injections. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 440
Location: The Frozen North | I am a human physical therapist and Certified Equine Rehabilitation Practitioner. I didn't read everyone's responses, but there is A LOT you can do for this issue with physical therapy non-invasively. Usually it is caused by quadricep muscle imbalances. Look at this website: http://horse-n-hound-pt.com/stifle-dysfunction.htm. There is some good information there. It is very similar to human patellar issues. While splitting or blistering may help, it WILL NOT address the underlying muscle imbalance. |
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 Member
Posts: 43
| I second the response above. I added to another thread about this last week I think. One thing I would suggest you look at is the overall condition of the horse and it's weight. My mare had issues when I bought her and she was "racy" looking and hard as hell to get weight on. When I finally got weight on her, doubled hay and added total equine she looks amazing, and she has improved drastically.
If you don't have hills use ground poles. I would ground poles regardless, actually.
I think it is futile to do all that work if they don't have enough feed to maintain proper weight and muscle tone. Same with injecting. As the above poster mentioned the quadricep is a key ingredient in this equation. check out your horses stifle area. If they are underweight or racy, I guarantee that area is sunken in and under muscled which leads to stifle catching issues.
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 Regular
Posts: 54
Location: Valley City,ND | Read The Atlantic Equine Clinic stifles n estrogen injections article. Anyone have success long term with this treatment?
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I was thinking the estrogen injections did the opposite of blisters, but I could be wrong.
I've had success with blisters and injecting if there was a need. If there is inflammation in the joint, it's very hard to get rid of it without injecting, per vet advice. I've recently had even more success using PRP on horses who had sore, sticky stifles but xrayed clean. But the rehab is as important as the treatment--you have to recondition to get lasting stability, and that takes time. Straight lines, cavaletti, hill work. I put miles on my horse, and then we do an obstacle course with cavalettis, barrels, poles, and cones on a hill. He's not only gained strength from doing all that, but we have started jiving a lot better.  |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 723
Location: South TEXAS | CBGalaxy - 2014-05-20 10:29 PM
I second the response above. I added to another thread about this last week I think. One thing I would suggest you look at is the overall condition of the horse and it's weight. My mare had issues when I bought her and she was "racy" looking and hard as hell to get weight on. When I finally got weight on her, doubled hay and added total equine she looks amazing, and she has improved drastically.
If you don't have hills use ground poles. I would ground poles regardless, actually.
I think it is futile to do all that work if they don't have enough feed to maintain proper weight and muscle tone. Same with injecting. As the above poster mentioned the quadricep is a key ingredient in this equation. check out your horses stifle area. If they are underweight or racy, I guarantee that area is sunken in and under muscled which leads to stifle catching issues.
this is a current pic of her. she is not a big mare maybe 14.3. fed Renew Gold, Alfalfa, Oxy MAx, and some beet pulp. all coastal she can eat. was treated for ulcers in FEB.
im going to check out the other article on the quadriceps.
thanks!!!
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 723
Location: South TEXAS | HurleyGirl - 2014-05-20 8:19 PM
I am a human physical therapist and Certified Equine Rehabilitation Practitioner. I didn't read everyone's responses, but there is A LOT you can do for this issue with physical therapy non-invasively. Usually it is caused by quadricep muscle imbalances. Look at this website: http://horse-n-hound-pt.com/stifle-dysfunction.htm. There is some good information there. It is very similar to human patellar issues. While splitting or blistering may help, it WILL NOT address the underlying muscle imbalance.
thank u. im going to check this out |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | Blister and reblister if its called for. Take the inflammation out with some cortisone as well. I use an incline treadmill or an aquatred to do the resistance work that must be done.
I've also done a few injections of the estrone. I didn't see that it benefitted that much. I however only did it for 4 injections.
I really like the resistence work including pulling a log or heavy tire with the horse. |
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 Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | uno-dos-tres! - 2014-05-21 10:07 AM Blister and reblister if its called for. Take the inflammation out with some cortisone as well. I use an incline treadmill or an aquatred to do the resistance work that must be done.
I've also done a few injections of the estrone. I didn't see that it benefitted that much. I however only did it for 4 injections.
I really like the resistence work including pulling a log or heavy tire with the horse.
Do you pull a log at a walk or trot or both?
We have no hills so pulling something is the next best thing. |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | Good question on the "pull". I ask for a power walk. The reason I don't at the trot is due to the lateral the horse is in. If you do steep hills at the trot you could potentially pull the SI and cause pelvis issues. I either walk or lope a hill, and the same with my pulling. On a young horse your going to go thru several strides of trot to get to lope-just going to happen till you build the horse up.
I have a young gun that's going for rookie this year she's having lots of success with her "backup" pulling the log. |
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Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | Thanks! Good to know about not trotting while pulling.
Do you ever back up while the horse is dragging the log backwards? Would that help or hurt your horse? |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | Barnmom - 2014-05-21 10:41 AM
Thanks! Good to know about not trotting while pulling.
Do you ever back up while the horse is dragging the log backwards? Would that help or hurt your horse?
Yes, I back and pull the RR tie. |
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Husband Spoiler
Posts: 4151
Location: North Dakota | Which side is best to pull from? The bad side or the "not-so-bad" side? I suppose you should switch sides but to start off which side would be best to pull from? |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | My horses have no choice in the pull from side, I've lost my fingers on the left hand I squeeze the reins between the thumb and hand. Be careful with your ropes! |
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