Sticky stifles

sleepykitten

sleepykitten

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I am trying to sell my horse who, when unfit, can lock up in one of his back legs from time to time. Its never affected him in the sense that he is never stiff/lame/sore and has just passed a 2 stage vetting. The vet mentioned it to the prospective buyer, and although he passed all flexion tests etc and was not lame and everything else was hunky dory, they were out of there like a shot!

Has anyone on here got a horse with sticky stifles? Do you worry about it? Would it put you off a horse?

I have since changed his advert to mention it clearly, and dropped the price, but wondering if I'm going to either end up stuck with him, or giving him away!

Any thoughts/experience gratefully received!
 
I wouldn't have a horse with sticky stiffle even if it did pass a vetting & that is purely because I have one that has a stiffle problem which has now caused arthritus in the leg & we have had many vet bills with him & he is now only suitable for companion/light hack. So through personal experience I wouldn't touch. I do hope you find him a nice home, just don't give him away.
 
Ditto.... I wouldn't buy a horse with sticky stifles either. I sadly lost my 10 year old boy due to stifle issues last year. He could never really do much apart from gentle hacks.
 
I bought a 14.2 6 year old in the autumn from a reputable dealer. He appeared to be exactly what I was looking for - one to bring on, good temperament, fab jump, not a nutter on the hunting field etc etc. He passed a 5 stage vetting, and I bought him.

He started to lock up mildly after about 8 weeks of mild building to medium work - I was appalled when it started to happen. It came on really quickly - but he was never lame with it. The vet wasn't too concerned as it was only very slight.

Things I did to help the problem: I have had to go right back to basics with him to build up his fitness properly - loooaaaads of gentle road work, gentle lunging and schooling to start, building up his fitness really gradually. Then I started on pole work. We don't have any hills round here sadly. He lives out 24/7 too which helps. And he is on a joint supplement.

After 10 weeks of all the above he is already much better and I hope as his fitness continues to improve that his sticky stifle will improve further still. He is only young and fingers crossed will grow out of it. He might not and he might get arthritic but I am hoping that time and patience and effort will pay off.

Would I have bought him if I had known about this problem from the dealer or if the vet had discovered it? There's a tricky one - probably not, as I know it could turn out badly. But of course now I have him, and because he ticks all my other boxes (apart from hacking issues!), I wouldn't part with him. And I like to think that with the correct management and because he's young that it'll right itself eventually.
 
Sorry to hear your story. One of our ponies has the odd issue with his stifle which occurred after we got him. I must say that as private owner (compared with say a competition yard) I would be very unlikely to buy anything with a known issue. There are so many things that can go wrong with horses, why buy something with a problem already? Sorry probably not what you wanted to hear, but just giving a buyer's perspective. I hope you work something out. x
 
Our skinny girl had sticking stifles when we got her in December, but she was in very poor condition, underweight and with very little muscle tone. She is 4 this month.

We put her stifle problems down to her very poor condition and after three months of being out 24/7 on a hillside with mud to wade through at the bottom she seems to be having no problems now. I haven't seen her lock up for a good few weeks now, so we are hoping that she is cured.

Would I buy a pony with this problem? It would depend on the age of the pony when they suffered and the reasons why, if any.
 
Nope, my pony has a slipping stifle and even though she's not ridden it causes her all sorts of problems and makes her difficult to manage :( so no I would never buy a horse with any stifle problems!
 
I wouldn't either. I bought a 6yo last May. Within 3 months she was lame with a stifle injury. She had to have steriod injections into the joint and that has helped. I have been very careful bringing her back into work and she has regular pysio. She passed a 5* vetting too. But the vet has said she may need more injections in the future to stay sound. Which cost me a bomb.
 
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