Locking Stifle in my 18 month filly ( Also in Vet and Breeding)

nic85

nic85

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Morning all,

My 18 month old filly came out of her stable this morning stiff on her right hind, she wasnt standing on it properly and when I tried to pick her left hind up to pick out her foot she wasnt overly comfortable to balance on her right hind.
Took her rug off and walked her around the school and you could see it was her stifle causing her problems, not that much that she couldnt spook and shoot forward mind, but every so often she would struggle to bring her hind leg forward.

She was out 24/7 over summer and only came in at night end of Oct begining of Nov. She lost a bit of weight towards the end of Oct due to getting cold, she is now rugged and getting 2 small feeds a day of Pasture mix and Apple chaff and 2-3 sections of hay over night with daily turnout...now she has put the weight back on/filled out alot could this be a factor to her locking stifle? I have cut her breakfast down to a handful of each as she gets daily turnout from 6am til about 3-4pm. She stands approx 15.2hh.

What can I do for her? Ive only dealt with locking stifles in 1 pony and that was years ago....all I can remember was she had lots of turnout!! Any help/advice/suggestions welcome!!!

Thanks :)
 
You will probably find that she'll grow out of it as she naturally strengthens up and matures- and lots of turnout as you are doing will help also.
 
The locking stifle will have more to do with the change of being stabled rather than the weight gain. Make sure she is turned out as much as possible and she will eventually grow out of it...
 
Thanks all!! I had a feeling it was just wait it out with turnout. :)

My poor unhorsey OH is very worried about her ( which is hilarious as hes not her greatest fan :D )
 
My mare developed upward fixation of the patella in 2009 - slightly different as she was 8 - one day she was fine and the next I bought her in from the field and her stifle locked out behind her and locked when she walked. This continued and we took the advice of danilon and walking for 5 days and this did the trick, but (very randomly) every 23 days we were back at square one and her stifle locked again! It got worse on each occasion to such an extent she nearly fell over becuase she could not unlock it. We eventually had it operated on to cut the medial ligament!

It is very common in young horses and can be directly linked to weight loss!!

We didn't have a good experience with it at all - probably becuase she was 8 when she developed it - and at the time did a huge amount of research in to it! My horse did not fit the bill for any of the reasons and to this day no one ever managed to establish why it started!

This link might be of interest http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horsecare/article.php?aid=114610
 
upward fixation of the patella is very common...

she will eventually grow out of it as she strengthen..

can you turn her out on a bit of hilly ground?
this will help enormously
 
It is quite common, and there's a genetic predisposition to it, I believe.
Most horses do grow out of it, or can be helped out of it by increased muscle tone.
A few don't though - but there's a relatively simple/successful operation for those.
S :D
 
As everyone else has said - don't panic. As much turn out as possible helps but if you can't do this then try exercising her in hand. If you can you should walk her up lots of hills and if this isn't possible then lead her over raised poles to try and keep everything mobile and get the muscles built up.
 
Thanks again everyone!

Jess1, Ill have a look at that link now. Thats interesting though, at 8 years old!

Um I live in Lincolnshie, its fairly flat and definately no hills. Raised poles may be an idea though.

Shils, never knew it was genetic! Learn something new everyday!
 
Hi, I don't want to sound pessimistic, but my horse is 13 and never grew out of it, however it is easily manageable. I've had him since he was 2 and he also developed it when stabled. He is a big built 16.2hh and would lock up in a 12ft x 12ft stable overnight and would literally pivot on the locked leg in the morning to move round his stable. Change of yard and a bigger stable, problem solved. His stable now is massive, and he can move around it so his stifle doesn't lock. Can you put your filly in a bigger stable?

Also agree, turn out as much as possible so she isn't standing in one position for a long period of time.
 
My Highland as a two year old did this in the stable,standing in front of her and then making her back up unlocked it .She grew out of it in a few weeks.
 
Another one with a filly that did this when stabled. Her stifle would completely lock and take 10 minutes or so of backing up before it freed itself.
YO was great and let me have a field to turn her out with my others for company.
With 24 hour out and lots of room to run and play in, the problem resolved itself. She is now 4yrs and has developed enough muscle to cope with stabling. Although mine are all on grass livery now and I only stable her occasionally as part of her education, but she copes fine and isn't stiff anymore.
 
She was stabled at her previous yard, before I bought her, for a while due to such crap weather. I bought her in Feb this year and she was stabled at night and out during the day at the yard we are at now. She went out 24/7 May time I think it was and has been in and out over the summer for education, if the other 2 horses she is out with are being ridden etc, so being stabled isnt alien to her.

No chance of a bigger stable as its a private yard Im squatting at (;) ) the stables are bigger than 12x12 but I cant remember the sizes. No chance of her being out 24/7 now as she would be on her own and would jump out of the field.

Thanks for the replies, shes in the field now so hopefully having the turnout will do her the world of good!

Thanks! :)
 
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