Experiences of stifle effusion?

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jt1775

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Young horse bilaterally lame, not significantly, 2 out of 10 maybe, and has effusion on both stifles. But nothing found on x rays and ultrasounds of both stifles.
I was just wondering if anyone had any similar stories and what they did next, thank you.
 
Worrying ? , but maybe just "growing pains", it does happen. Does your vet think cartilage damage would have shown up on the xray or scan? I have had a youngster with effusion at a high site on one stifle caused by a quadrilateral strain, but it's an uncommon injury in UK horses. I have also known a horse with a meniscal tear (bad prognosis) recover with a year rest. I'd be thinking of chucking him out in a big field in a herd for a year. I hope you find an answer.
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This sounds like OCD (osteochondritis). It could be in early stages and not showing on the x-ray yet or might just show as a blurry edge of the joint ,.instead of a clearly defined edge.
I'd ask for a second opinion or maybe referral to a specialist.
Or perhaps the vet would do something like PRP (platelet rich plasma) , thinking that it's early stage OCD?

Mine had stifle effusion and was lame ,x-ray showed a blurry stifle edge. He responded very well to PRP.
 
Sounds similar to my horse who is 5, was very on/off lame. We took him straight to a lameness specialist in the UK (I recommend Peter Schofield based at hird and partners vets in Cheshire) Nerve blocks were done and the horse came sound once the stifles were blocked. Scans were showing some inflammation but couldn’t see what the issue was and X-rays were clear, he then referred him up to the Halifax clinic for surgery, following day he had an arthroscopy under GA which is cameras placed in each stifle, they identified a grade 1 meniscus tear (treated with PRP) and mild chondromalacia in both stifles which is common in big warmbloods. He won’t be back to where he was prior to the injury for a good year and it’s a long process, I definitely wouldn’t just chuck him out in a field as if it is a tear then box rest is the right course of action, the last think you want is your horse running around with a tear, it’s really important you actually find out what the issue is before deciding what to do as different injuries require a different rehab process! Hope you get some answers soon. X
 
Na1998 said:
, I definitely wouldn’t just chuck him out in a field as if it is a tear then box rest is the right course of action
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That's exactly what my friend did with her 4 year old with a meniscal tear with a poor prognosis. He came back sound at 5 and was still sound when I last saw of him at 17.

My personal belief is that we box rest far too much these days, possibly because nobody gets sued for recommending box rest. But people should, of course, listen to their vets and evaluate for themselves.
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ycbm said:
That's exactly what my friend did with her 4 year old with a meniscal tear with a poor prognosis. He came back sound at 5 and was still sound when I last saw of him at 17.

My personal belief is that we box rest far too much these days, possibly because nobody gets sued for recommending box rest. But people should, of course, listen to their vets and evaluate for themselves.
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Sure and I agree to that box rest is thrown around far to much these days, my horse was going absolutely mental so we had to build him a tiny pen in the field. But it’s definitely worth getting a diagnosis before just chucking them out x
 
I totally agree and I expect small paddock rest woud work as well but most yards are just not set up to provide small paddocks with enough grass to keep a horse quiet when they struggle to have enough grass or space for daily all year turnout. With small paddock rest you need to be moving the fencing frequently to ensure you have enough grass. There is a big difference in small paddock rest and turning away in large field.

I think things will change as more owners will be reluctant to do long periods of box rest. It will go out of fashion.

ycbm said:
That's exactly what my friend did with her 4 year old with a meniscal tear with a poor prognosis. He came back sound at 5 and was still sound when I last saw of him at 17.

My personal belief is that we box rest far too much these days, possibly because nobody gets sued for recommending box rest. But people should, of course, listen to their vets and evaluate for themselves.
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SO1 said:
I totally agree and I expect small paddock rest woud work as well but most yards are just not set up to provide small paddocks with enough grass to keep a horse quiet when they struggle to have enough grass or space for daily all year turnout. With small paddock rest you need to be moving the fencing frequently to ensure you have enough grass. There is a big difference in small paddock rest and turning away in large field.

I think things will change as more owners will be reluctant to do long periods of box rest. It will go out of fashion.
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That’s what we did, just got haris fencing up and built a pen and moved it every day for fresh grass, hard work but worth it
 
The horse I'm referring to was turned out in a herd in a very big field.

I don't count small paddock rest as much different from box rest, personally.

The list of times I hear of individuals and rehab yards turning away as a last resort before PTS and finding they have a sound house at the end of a year gets longer and longer. Time heals a lot of things after you've run out of insurance money to spend on expensive diagnostics and cutting edge treatments.

Of course, always listen carefully to your own vet's advice.
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Or even turnout with very gentle, low impact postural groundwork if not completely contra-indicated (seems to be difficult sometimes to get vets and the brilliant rehabbers on the same page).
 
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