Locking stifles in young pony

[Jaymarie]

Sorry if I'm resurrecting old threads I've had a quick browse but not many outcomes were listed?

I have a section a gelding who will be 3 next spring. He's been suffering with locking stifles for a few months now. Vet has seen him and I've provided bute. Vet was fairly certain he'd grow out of it.

However the poor fella seems to still suffer occasionally. Just going through the process of moving them all to our new property so looking at what I should do - get the new vet out straight away or give it time?

Advice I've read suggests hill work, plenty of turnout and large paddocks. At present he's turned out 24/7 in large fields and he is obviously not in work yet. Instructor suggested i lightly long rein him to strebgthen muscle round thd joint. Just wanting some feedback from others re growing out of it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[be positive]

My New Forest was the same at 3, I started lightly working him ready to back and he grew stronger, by the following spring when he was 4 it rarely happened and once in proper work being kept regularly exercised it stopped completely, I would start long reining him or even walking out in hand to get the muscles developing, turnout 24/7 will help but being a pony he probably spends most of his time eating and not moving as much as he could, mine tend to have the odd blast but once they get their heads down any movement is fairly slow and lazy.

 

[Jaymarie]

Well that gives me hope! Have only found cases of horses suffering with it due to growth spurts so helpful to know of other ponies.

Time for some very light work methinks.

 

[EQUIDAE]

It's common in young horses and more so in cobs and they usually do grow out of it. Nothing to add except you are doing everything right! Apparently the locking doesn't hurt them, it just feels weird...

 

[Cocorules]

My pony is now 7 and it is the first year since she was 2.5 that she has not locked at all. I found it is work and 24/7 turnout but also keeping in sufficiently good condition i.e. if I let her fluctuate down in weight that was the time she was most likely to have a relapse. I read somewhere that it was good to have a sufficient pad (not in the overweight but in the right weight sense) on the rump.

Stress was also a triggering factor.

 

[Hanson]

I had a cob who developed this when she was about 5 - it appeared when she was on box rest for a splint. Vet told me to put her on 24/7 turnout and when splint settled down to start hill work and trotting to build up the muscles.

It did get much better over time, but had to watch it if she had to stay in for anything longer than overnight. Also if you do start long reining, try to avoid too much on a circle in the school as this didnt help my little mare - straight lines much better until he stops locking up as much.

 

[EQUIDAE]

Just to add - locking stifles in a pony that is still growing is more likely to disappear than one that develops later on (5+).

 

[Jaymarie]

Thanks for positive comments guys! Probably being a worry wart, that's what I get for listening to scaremongering lol.

 

[missyclare]

I got the same diagnosis in my young horse. I left him out 24/7 in a pasture with a hill and a reason to climb it every day. I balanced his diet, making sure that the calcium/phosphorus ratio was a strict 1.5:1. I got his trim balanced and stayed on top of it, to keep him moving properly, heel first. Then let him move and waited. Sometimes I would see him lock up and felt so badly for him. He didn't understand why his legs didn't work and his eyes would go wide. It all faded away eventually. He's all good now.

 

[tallywhacker]

My farrier suggested lots of hill work for my 4yo shetland. If you can take him out in hand he might benefit x

 

[Sandstone1]

Sorry to bring this thread up again but was interested to hear anymore experiences of this ccondition.

 

[Sandstone1]

Anyone have any more experience of this please.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

We had a Shetland that did this so we got the ligament cut. It doesn't affect his movement or ability to be, well be a Shetland! He had it cut at 3yo under standing sedation. A 2inch incision, pull the ligament forward, snip, stitch up with dissolvable stitches and leave him in the field. He was never once sore, had a course of anti biotic as a precaution, 5 years down the line you would never know there had ever been anything wrong with him. Our other options were to get him really fit or to get him fat. It was easier to spend £100 on a long term, easy to deal with solution than constantly worrying about him.

I know of no one else who has had the ligament cut.

 

[kickandshout]

my belgian warmblood was diagnosed with locking patella at 3 1/2 I was told get him fit with lots of hill work and id avoid an operation.
so most days we trotted up a steep road and walked down to trot up again I did this probably 3 or 4 times a week.
he's now 16 showjumps does dressage and xc and only shows any signs of locking in the winter when he's stabled and thats only occasionally.

 

[ycbm]

My vets advise against the operation because they say it's been found to cause problems later in life. I've got a five year old with a mild case. He does it less and less the older and stronger he gets. He's worse when he's kept in over night.

 

[Knockadoon]

I've a yearling 10hh pony with it. She's very young so I won't be doing anything for a few years unless she gets particularly bad.