Stifle Injury experiences please

[StinkiPinki]

Hi there

Could anyone who has had experiences of stifle injurys please write their experiences below?

Eg how it happened, symptoms, treatment and wether the horse has recovered or not?

Thanks so much for your help it really is appreciated

SPx

 

[star]

my 8yr old was diagnosed with bilateral stifle OCD and a cruciate ligament injury in his right hind. He went lame in Mar this yr and was diagnosed by arthroscopy in April. He had 8wks box rest and 6mths paddock rest and this week has been pronounced sound and ready to return to work.

 

[sye777]

My boy wasnt working correctly; dragging hind toes, stumbling on fronts, not happy going down hills, cow kicking etc
This is a very very honest horse who thrives on work. Excellent jumper (1.40m) and up to injury winning dressage leagues.
Following extensive investigations, nerve blocks, xrays etc etc it was pinpointed as bilateral stifle problem and he was operated on in June 2010.
Operation showed extensive cartilage damage which could not be removed as he would never weight bare again. He was therefore started on an IRAP programme.
His recovery went better than I could have hoped for and I was back on board by first week of August (he had not been ridden since the Feb).
We carried on his rehab to the letter with vets and physio when 3/4 weeks ago I was riding him in a lesson in the school when something went ping. Dont know what or why it happened but all the problems returned but worse than before.
He was taken back in and everyone attended when I rode him and he was assessed. We decided to try a bute trial as it was pain related.
The trial was a disaster. He must have been in agony and literally couldnt move forward and was kicking all the fencing down in the schools even if I tried to lunge him. He could potter round but anything more to "push him through it" resulted in an explosion. I came off more in those 2 days than in my 5 yrs of his ownership.
Vet, physio, surgeon instructor and me consultation again and I with their help made the hardest decision for me and the only decision I could to help him.
I had my gorgeous boy pts on 3rd Dec nearly 3 weeks ago. He was only 12 years old and to look at him was the picture of health until he moved.
Sorry if not what you wanted to hear but I do not regret for a second his operation and how lucky I was to have him back for those 3 months.
I miss him. I have owned and still own other horses but none have I ever missed as much as I miss him.
If you are asking as you are unsure whether to go ahead with an op then please do it. We were just unlucky that the damage was there and was so extensive. I never knew his true history just snippets and I do believe he was pushed very hard at a very young age as he was such a talented jumper. Who knows. Best horse I have ever had the privelage to own and worth the heartache to know hes safe and pain free

 

[UnaB]

Mine had a xc injury, misjudged the fence and landed on the back rail of a large parallel. He broke a stifle on the impact. He was hopping lame on it, literally on 3 legs, we had to get him off the showground right away as the show vet was going to put him down!! Got him to our vets and they found that he had also broken a couple of vertebrae in his spine and twisted his pelvis. In all it was about 6 months of complete box rest, he had to have some surgeries but that wasnt related to the stifle. That healed up really well with some time, patience and physio.

Within about 18 months he was being ridden again and he was soon out competing again after that. He recovered well enough to compete to a high level in senior BSJA (he is a 14.2 pony to put it in perspective) and hasnt had a day lame since

 

[StinkiPinki]

My boy wasnt working correctly; dragging hind toes, stumbling on fronts, not happy going down hills, cow kicking etc
This is a very very honest horse who thrives on work. Excellent jumper (1.40m) and up to injury winning dressage leagues.
Following extensive investigations, nerve blocks, xrays etc etc it was pinpointed as bilateral stifle problem and he was operated on in June 2010.
Operation showed extensive cartilage damage which could not be removed as he would never weight bare again. He was therefore started on an IRAP programme.
His recovery went better than I could have hoped for and I was back on board by first week of August (he had not been ridden since the Feb).
We carried on his rehab to the letter with vets and physio when 3/4 weeks ago I was riding him in a lesson in the school when something went ping. Dont know what or why it happened but all the problems returned but worse than before.
He was taken back in and everyone attended when I rode him and he was assessed. We decided to try a bute trial as it was pain related.
The trial was a disaster. He must have been in agony and literally couldnt move forward and was kicking all the fencing down in the schools even if I tried to lunge him. He could potter round but anything more to "push him through it" resulted in an explosion. I came off more in those 2 days than in my 5 yrs of his ownership.
Vet, physio, surgeon instructor and me consultation again and I with their help made the hardest decision for me and the only decision I could to help him.
I had my gorgeous boy pts on 3rd Dec nearly 3 weeks ago. He was only 12 years old and to look at him was the picture of health until he moved.
Sorry if not what you wanted to hear but I do not regret for a second his operation and how lucky I was to have him back for those 3 months.
I miss him. I have owned and still own other horses but none have I ever missed as much as I miss him.
If you are asking as you are unsure whether to go ahead with an op then please do it. We were just unlucky that the damage was there and was so extensive. I never knew his true history just snippets and I do believe he was pushed very hard at a very young age as he was such a talented jumper. Who knows. Best horse I have ever had the privelage to own and worth the heartache to know hes safe and pain free

So sorry to hear this news, you poor thing. Thanks for sharing your experiences though.

SPx

 

[Madcow]

My Welsh D was "a bit short" behind - so little so, vet no. 1 thought there was nothing wrong. Vet no. 2 did a complete work up and thought he had damaged the ligament (she could see some boney bits in the ligament in the scan. She referred him to Horsepital (the first one she tried to refer him to refused to operate as they felt it was a hopeless case) the second one operated and found that he actually had torn the meniscus and had in the past suffered from OCD. They tidied up the meniscus and sent him home. After box rest and then pen rest, the joint was medicated. This was 2.5 years ago....he is still sound and competing at affiliated dressage and has had several wins. He has no drugsand no further medication to the joint, just Cosequin and Feedmark Rosehips in his feed. Thanks to Vet no.2 and Horsepital no. 2, I still have my lovely, sound boy!

 

[_jetset_]

My 9 year old mare had PSD in 2008 but because of how she moved when she had this, she seems to have strained her stifles. She now had injections into the stifle once every 10 months just to keep on top of them and it has made a world of difference.