10 month old colts back leg locked

[kylee86]

hi i have a 10 month old colt the past 2 days i have noticed some stranges changes in his back legs. he was tied up eating his feed i could see his muscle on his back leg were the stifles are were twitiching he seemed a little distressed as he kept moving round. usualy he gobbles his feed so this wasnt like him. today i went to get him out the stable to turn him out and he walked forward and his back leg seemed to lock but once he got moving he waas fine again. he bombs round his field playing no sighns of lameness could this be down to cold weather as he isnt rugged at all. could his joint be siezing in the stable because of the cold. i did mention these to my vet yesterday when she came to do vaccination but didnt say anything of it.

 

[muff747]

Surprised your vet didn't comment cos it sounds to me like a common thing that happens with youngsters, a locking stifle. Has he had a growth spurt recently? It's the ligament that slips over the joint and locks it into position which enables them to sleep whilst standing. When they are growing it sometimes gets stuck there temporarily but then, as you found, it does release itself usually when they move off. Sometimes, when they get it stuck, it looks a bit like they are trying to cow kick when they're trying to release it.
As far as I know it's nothing to worry about unless it locks for any length of time and he can't release it himself.
I would be careful how you feed him, get some advice if you're not experienced because you don't want him to grow too quickly as you can end up with problems with tendons etc.
I'm no expert, just passing on what I have picked up over the last forty years around horses, so ask the vet again if this carries on on a regular basis and doesn't get better.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

If you can find him grass livery so he isn't standing in a stable all night, but has room to run and move around, the problem has a good chance of resolving itself.

 

[SophieLouBee]

google upward fixation of the patella, I suspect that's what it is. Common in youngsters, most grow out of it, common in driving breeds, due to the upright conformation of the hind leg. It can be operated on if it doesn't improve with age/correct muscle building around the stifle.