Anyone got a horse with dodgy stifle joints?

TotalMadgeness

TotalMadgeness

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My lovely rising 6 connie gelding has sadly never been quite right since I bought him as a 4yo. Various issues including not going forward, hind toe dragging, random back end stumbles, sore lumbar region etc. After many saddler, vet, physio and chiro visits his hind legs were finally xrayed at which point the vet found his stifle joints weren't normal. Basically the ball & socket should be round/concave but they're kind of flattish instead (sorry for the non medical explanation!). Vet said stifles have probably been like this from birth - i.e. not caused by an injury or other condition. Its not a show stopper according to the vet in that he can still be ridden but it would mean that he would probably never be comfortable working in a school (20 x 40m) which is unfortunately the main exercise option I have. The hacking at mine is limited and mainly roads / gravel tracks plus I refuse to go out alone (way too many horse hating drivers!) so this limits me to the occasional weekend where I can get someone to ride out on my other horse for me.

Has anyone got a horse with a similar issue and how do you manage him/her (exercise, supplements, shoeing, therapy etc)? Were you ever able to do competitions on him/her if so what & at what level?

Keen to get it right for this wee lad who has been nothing less than a star throughout the last few years!
 
Slightly different but not sure this will help - my boy suffers from a sticky stifle. If he's not getting enough exercise over winter when their stabled overnight & they have a few days in due to bad weather he can get it, but we've been fine now *touchwood* for a few years. He comes out of the stable on 3 legs & the stifle clicks out but then goes back again - he can't get it to 'unhook' from where hes been resting his leg. This has always happened on a weekend, bank hol or out of hours resulting in a vet call out & some bute :rolleyes: He's also a lot weaker that side - saddle fitter has to flock his saddle to make up for the imbalance. Chiro, vet etc say he's absolutely fine & just to keep the muscle as strong as possible & have me various things to do:
- Lots of hillwork both up & down - I find walking briskly or a slow trot is best.
- In hand making him step back a few paces daily & also tight circles to get him stepping under.
- Lunging on the pessoa to get him using his back properly & engaging his back legs.
- With both back legs obv one at a time (I hope this makes sense) putting his weight onto his toe as if he's resting it & then wiggling the leg gently by holding the stifle which he actually enjoys.

Hope you can get to the bottom of it all :)
 
Hi, my 4 yr old has had sticky/loose stifles, hes seems to coincide with growth spurts so not the same as your boy Im afraid. She was seen by a fet last year who said not to worry atm as its quite common in young horses, but if shes still the same in 18 mths then we may need to investigate further. He said the key is to build muscle and do the said the same as awelshandwarmblood said. She is now in light work but it happened again a couple of weeks ago and she is slightly short on one hind. She is bum high again so Im hoping thats the reason. Ive had the physio who isnt overly concerned given her age and it not happening very regulary but again said poles, walking backwords a few strides, up a hill being best, hill work and lunging using a band or tail bandage behind her quarters rather than a pessoa as she feels thats a bit more restrictive given her age. So thats where are up to at the mo, physio is due again next week so Im hoping theres some improvement as she was also tight in her lumbar region too. I will obviously get the vet if this continues.
Hope your boy is ok
 
What advice has your vet given you? It sounds as though this isn't something that can be addressed or managed through exercise, and you will be causing him discomfort if you try, so from what you have said, it sounds like you may either need to move yards to somewhere you can hack (and take the hit on your own riding ambitions) or sell or loan to a hacking home.

Some horses just aren't comformationally suited to take on what we ask of them, and I think it's best to acknowledge that for the sake of both horse and owner.
 
My cob I sold also had locking stifles. I had him x rayed twice as a precaution and they were absolutely fine. So this is definitely a completely different issue from locking stifles, which can obviously happen with normal stifle joints.

I'm sorry I don't have any advice, but if he were mine I think I would be looking for a low level hacking only loan home.
 
Thanks all! I've started his rehab with exercises given to me by his physio - stretches/tail pulls to start with then long lining in school with a few walk/halt walk/trot transitions on the long sides. Also I have a sloping driveway which is excellent for muscle development so will be using that. She has advised to back him up the hill too in walk for a few strides each time. I've been told by both vet and physio not to lunge on a circle ever and no raised poles either. Physio thinks schooling once a week in a school may be possible once the muscles around the stifle have developed more. I've organised a hack for Sunday and I will try to organise some hacks elsewhere by taking my boys out in the trailer (I will probably have to get another rider as my confidence isn't great in open spaces but I don't mind taking the boys out somewhere for my braver friends to ride!). Once I've got him to a comfortable stage I will try and find him a loan home where he can be hacked out several times a week because unless I move home he'll be restricted to a road hack once a week if he's lucky!! He's great at showing in hand so I might take him to some local shows over the summer. As I've discovered too over the winter he's fab at Le Trec obstacles (in hand and ridden) so that would keep his mind busy (just have to miss out the jump obstacle!).
 
I took on a horse with a stifle 'issue' as a happy hacker/ companion ... She had other ideas and we've done RC camp two years running now, she show jumps, is a XC machine and hacks for hours. You have to build her fitness and strength up slowly and this summer wasnt great (as it wasnt for most!) because the ground was too hard to really get any fitness regime in place for her. But the difference between us is massive, my horses live out 24/7 and hacking is our main thing, i rarely go in the school. If i was stuck to a school and not willing to hack on my own I think i would stop having horses and I wouldnt have this mare because it wouldnt be fair on her and i dont think she would hold up for very long with a life of circles and serpentine's!
 
My horse had a bit of a random stifle issue as a 5 yr old last year. Before she was diagnosed she just refused to move forward under saddle and pulled faces on the lunge. Turns out she had a bulge in both medial meniscus and the vet thought it was probably due to her having shot up from 15.2 to 16.1 in 5 months.

Stifles were medicated and she was turned away for 4 months. When front end caught up with the back end I started very slow rehab in hand. Lots of poles and hills and long reining. We build up an excellent partnership from it.

She’s now back in ridden work and stronger and better than ever but I am permanently paranoid that something will go wrong but *touch wood* now she seems to have stopped growing upwards and I’ve strengthened her up slowly she’s okay.
 
Antw23uk said:
I took on a horse with a stifle 'issue' as a happy hacker/ companion ... She had other ideas and we've done RC camp two years running now, she show jumps, is a XC machine and hacks for hours. You have to build her fitness and strength up slowly and this summer wasnt great (as it wasnt for most!) because the ground was too hard to really get any fitness regime in place for her. But the difference between us is massive, my horses live out 24/7 and hacking is our main thing, i rarely go in the school. If i was stuck to a school and not willing to hack on my own I think i would stop having horses and I wouldnt have this mare because it wouldnt be fair on her and i dont think she would hold up for very long with a life of circles and serpentine's!
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Wow!! I think I need someone like you to take mine on loan! I find it frustrating not to be able to hack out safely on my own but its just not worth it round here. Even out as a pair a few of the local horse hating farmers think nothing of harassing riders. However I have a field I can ride in (hilly one) if the ground doesn't get too soggy and there are a couple of country parks with bridle paths in a comfortable travelling distance. So I have a few options. I have to say the connie despite his young age has turned out to be superb at hacking. Nothing much phases him and he stands like a rock to be mounted from embankments/gates/random boulders (we have a lot of gates to open/shut once get off the main road onto the gravel tracks!).


ester said:
If the vet/physio think that increasing muscle tone might help, have you a water treadmill near you?
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What a brilliant idea. There is a racing stable in the area I bet if anyone has a water treadmill they do... The physio also suggested an equiband but warned me they're really expensive. However I could also use it on the bone spavin horse as I've struggled to strengthen his core & quarter muscles so I could kill two birds with one stone here!
 
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