UnaB
Well-Known Member
Hi There,
A while ago a few people asked me to get some video/pictures showing Charlie's stifle injury and i've only just got around to doing it (sorry!) so thought i'd share.
The injury happened about 6 months ago-ish. I went to the field to check on him and he had a HUGE lump on (as i thought at the time) his stifle. He had somehow managed to slip the joint apart, I dont know if its a ball and socket type joint or whatever, but basically the bones move against each other instead of being fixed as they should be. Its pretty much the same as luxating patellas in dogs. The only treatment is an operation but unfortunately the surgeon refused to do it due to Charlie's age and size. Apparently it is a very rare injury and most common in miniature horses and with Charlie being a normal sized horse (well, 14.2) he is too big for it to be safe to do it. So, we gave him time to see if the joint would go back together, which it unfortunately hasn't. No long term treatment other than keep an eye and make sure he's not in any discomfort. Of course, he's unable to be ridden now which is a shame but he doesn't seem to concerned. He isn't too lame on it, obviously he's a little unsound as the bone is moving an awful lot, but he doesn't appear to be in any discomfort at all. He's not on any medication, he may well have to go on bute in the future but the longer we put that off, the longer we'll have Charlie around so im not jumping into it while its unneccessary.
Anyway, I managed to get a couple of very short vids but its hard to see the stifle moving in them. I put them both together into one vid, if you want to see it, follow the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du4pmothKnc
And here's a few video stills to show it a bit clearer
I'd be really interested to hear from anyone who's had/seen this injury in a horse Charlie's size before as the three vets who've seen him havent heard of it happening in a large pony in its late teens (usually happens to youngsters) so they weren't really able to give any reliable prognosis.
A while ago a few people asked me to get some video/pictures showing Charlie's stifle injury and i've only just got around to doing it (sorry!) so thought i'd share.
The injury happened about 6 months ago-ish. I went to the field to check on him and he had a HUGE lump on (as i thought at the time) his stifle. He had somehow managed to slip the joint apart, I dont know if its a ball and socket type joint or whatever, but basically the bones move against each other instead of being fixed as they should be. Its pretty much the same as luxating patellas in dogs. The only treatment is an operation but unfortunately the surgeon refused to do it due to Charlie's age and size. Apparently it is a very rare injury and most common in miniature horses and with Charlie being a normal sized horse (well, 14.2) he is too big for it to be safe to do it. So, we gave him time to see if the joint would go back together, which it unfortunately hasn't. No long term treatment other than keep an eye and make sure he's not in any discomfort. Of course, he's unable to be ridden now which is a shame but he doesn't seem to concerned. He isn't too lame on it, obviously he's a little unsound as the bone is moving an awful lot, but he doesn't appear to be in any discomfort at all. He's not on any medication, he may well have to go on bute in the future but the longer we put that off, the longer we'll have Charlie around so im not jumping into it while its unneccessary.
Anyway, I managed to get a couple of very short vids but its hard to see the stifle moving in them. I put them both together into one vid, if you want to see it, follow the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du4pmothKnc
And here's a few video stills to show it a bit clearer
I'd be really interested to hear from anyone who's had/seen this injury in a horse Charlie's size before as the three vets who've seen him havent heard of it happening in a large pony in its late teens (usually happens to youngsters) so they weren't really able to give any reliable prognosis.