Selling a pony that has a locking stifle

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dottieh

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Just interested to see..

I have a lovely 4yo, 13.2hh pony who has previously shown signs of a locking stifle. It has presented less and less since he has been backed and in work (as would be expected as he strengthens) and he has no problems under saddle. I notice it on occasion when picking his feet out. He lives out so it’s not a problem and when he comes in, it’s only for a couple of hours so doesn’t cause a problem. He loves to work and jump- he’s got a real pop.

He has the most wonderful temperament and would just make the most perfect family/pony club pony.

I was going to keep him due to this and may well do still or would possibly consider loaning him to a family, however he would be a perfect children’s pony so am considering selling him at a very reduced price due to this. The question in my head is, is there a market for him otherwise, he will be kept as my hunting pony!
 
A lot of people and vets confuse locking stifle and stringhalt. So I’d get a full set of videos showing it locking and then showing he is sound in walk/trot/canter.

I had one with locking stifle and the only thing it affected her with was jumping - she was simply more cautious. I would buy another for dressage/all rounder kind of things.
 
Someone local to us was trying to sell a nicely bred 6 yo NF gelding with locking stifles that I enquired about for my next driving pony. Owner and I decided that driving would probably not be in his best interests. Sadly she sold him (unknowingly) to a right scroat bag who re-advertised pony just 2 weeks later. Advert said he was 3" bigger than he is, did not disclose stifles and was asking £5K more than she paid for him :eek: 🤬. She was named and shamed, advert vanished and poor original owner still trying to buy pony back. Sorry for the digression OP.
 
I had an ex racehorse I bought as a 7 year old. He was eventing and went on to show successfully at the highest level. One day talking to someone she said she’d ridden him in training and he had really bad locking stifle. He must have grown out of it as never any signs with me. I know nothing about it but thought this might be interesting for you.
 
maya2008 said:
A lot of people and vets confuse locking stifle and stringhalt. So I’d get a full set of videos showing it locking and then showing he is sound in walk/trot/canter.

I had one with locking stifle and the only thing it affected her with was jumping - she was simply more cautious. I would buy another for dressage/all rounder kind of things.
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Really? They look so incredibly different?!

OP seems you’re willing to adjust the price accordingly which would leave some room for the op if needed (though it can be if they fix one side the other side becomes a problem). The main issue I think is that you have him on good management for it which means it’s a bit of an unknown quantity as to how it would be if pony had to be stabled at night for instance but again someone may likely have the right set up.

He’s certainly not unsaleable.
 
We have an unbacked 4 year old with slight locking stifle & Ive spent the last 4 months building up the surrounding muscles following advice from vet & physio, the majority of work is walking over knee height raised poles, walking up steep hills, walking down hill one step at a time.
We are slowly noticing improvement but its surprised me how long its taking tbh.
 
I have had one as a four year old. He was a very big horse though so outlook was guarded. With careful and consistent work it became very much less noticeable and by the time he was ssix you would be hard pressed to even spot it when it occasionally showed slightly. But I didn't sell him he was kept by me until he was old and retired for other reasons.

Personally I would be inclined to loan him rather than sell to guarantee his future should it become more of an issue as he takes on a heavier workload. And of course New Forest Rocks example of a seemingly decent buyer turning into the dealer from hell would also worry me.
 
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