Locking Stifles- is box rest a good idea?

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matthew

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Was talking to a girl at work who's yearling has had the vet out because of locking stifles- the vet has recommended box rest!
This seems strange to me -as i though excercise (gentle) was best!
He is now mildly colicky to boot!
Anyone with any experience of this?
 
It seems strange to me too. Our pony suffers from a locking stifle and the vet has always told us to exercise her gently. Would suggest your friend double checks with the vet in case she misunderstood.
 
No- defo what he said!
Aparantly the vet is coming out again tonight i think- but that is mainly due to the colicky bouts!
I am thinking now the vet may have advised box vest because of the colic- although again i would of thought he would need to keep moving!
 
yep we used to have a horse with locking stifle and it made it worse just being in a box! gentle exercise is best, to help build up the muscles surrounding the stifle which will help it keep in place xxx
 
When my cob was young, he suffered from this, you would get him out of his box from resting his leg, couldn't unhook it, and he would be badly lame, we called the vet straightaway the first time this happened and he basically said this is a form of growing pains, he was growing too quickly and his muscles were not keeping up, he suggested exercise as much as possible, and after a few more lock ups we haven't had it anymore! To release the lock, either make the boy back up a few steps, or give a quick slap at the back of the ribs to shock it free (don't do it if you think you may get hoofed though!
 
Tilly's stifles used to lock nearly every day, vet advised as much turn out as possible and that she would probably grow out of it. Now she is 4 they only lock very, very occasionally. Our vet (equine orthopaedic surgeon) definitely advised against box rest - said exercise is the best thing.
 
My horse has locking stifles and is loads worse if he is stabled for long periods. Being out in the field and being worked is definitely best for him.
 
Seems an odd thing to recommend. I had a filly with a locking stifle which occasionally happened in the field but it happened almost every time she was stabled. I used to dread bringing her out of a morning as we had the ghastly hopping for a while although she learned to jump forward to make it click back into place. I'd have thought box rest would only make it worse. Apparently they need to build up muscle to stop it happening but it only happened to my filly when she was going through a growth spurt and was really up on her back end.
 
Think in general exercise is recommended, especially hill work to build up the muscles. My youngster has had a few problems with locking stifles - though *touch wood* he has had hardly any instances in the last few months & they are much less severe. Vet recommended exercise BUT I did find that the horse was much happier being kept in the stable for 1 day when the stifle was sticking a lot & then turning out as normal & maybe just walking in hand rather than riding for a day or so after. Perhaps that is just Brooklyn being a wimp though!
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Have heard of many cases where the horse just goes through a phase of having a problem then grows out of it.
 
Our cob had locking stifles, and he was much better with loads of turnout and consistent regular exercise.
 
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