Stifle Issues/Injury - Positive success stories!

[Stenners]

Has anyone has a horse that's injured it's stifle? Maybe pulled a ligament, chipped it or something and had a positive outcome?
I got my new horse in Feb and he's always had a weak left hind since I've had him (I found out he had it at the vetting as saw videos but it was never picked up by the vet and they passed him) however i got my vet to check and physio and they decided it could possibly be weakness as he'd not done a great deal for a couple of years then gone to sales livery and been worked pretty hard so we gave him a couple weeks off and then a couple weeks of groundwork before getting back on board with regular physio checks etc.
6 weeks back into that my physio came back out and he's got sore on his croup again and still not using that left hind correctly so asked me to get the vet to look again before we go any further. Same vet came back out on Friday and now thinks he may have injured his stifle and not weakness after all. Since I've had him all I've really done is ground work, long reining and hacking no more than hour a couple of times a week as per their instructions to build him up. We've done no jumping or anything.
So I bought a horse that probably shouldn't have sailed through a vetting who I haven't really been able to do a lot with so far. She thinks he's could have damaged a ligament (probably at the sales livery yard in the field as he was on a hill and in a bog) in which case he would need at least 3-6 months rest. If he'd torn it she thinks he'd be much lamer and she said "he's not that lame" - she said 3/10 lame if she had to put a number on it but he's a but uncomfortable on that hind, or there could be arthritic changes which in a just 7 year old (he was 7 in April) is not a great sign which would then be career limiting for him and he wouldn't be able to do what i bought for (having fun as an allrounder and eventing up to 80/90 was the plan)

He's going in for x rays and ultra sound and if she doesn't find anything she will medicate his stifle and then carry on his work and see how he goes but i don't think she's convinced she won't find anything. She can feel fusion in his stifle but there is no heat.

He's the most sensitive horse in the whole world (he will arch his back even if the saddle is slightly out but then fine once adjusted etc!) so i would have thought he'd react much worse if it was that bad and to ride he really hasn't felt that bad at all compared to when i first starting doing hillwork with him when he used to struggle.

I'm just worrying 24/7 and wondered if anyone has been through this with positive outcomes!

 

[vam]

I have one. Back in 2021 I noticed that she was resting one hind more than the other, no lameness and no reduction in performance. Did come up slightly lame on flexions but despite blocks couldnt pin point it. Treated it as muscular and had no issues with her performance but did drop her work load. She had a swelling come up on her check ligament, no lameness again but scan showed some damage so was rested and thats when she came up lame behind. by this point it was she was on restrictive turnout for the check so we carried on with that until winter, she was kept ticking over, still lame behind about 3/10 but you couldnt feel it at all. She had her stifle medicated just in case but no improvement. She was sent for a bone scan in the March of 22, scan showed a tear in the middle patella ligament. Vet had no idea how to treat as its not something anyone had seen, i now think that back in Feb 21 when she went through some electric fencing, she left a leg and injured herself then. By that point it had been a year and we didnt have many options so she was turned away for a year. I bought her back into work March 23 and have been taking in things very slowly since, lot so hacking, groundwork, light schooling and she has been feeling fab.
I have the added issue that she is wonky in the pelvis, always has been which never affected her and was less obvious the more work she did but no amount of physio/chiro would fix so it can be hard to see whats going on.
Stifles are a tricky joint, i plan to get it medicated in winter (she has EMS and is very grass sensitive so winter is less of a lami risk) and get her hocks looked at for any compensatory wear.
Will she return to the same work? No idea, with my trainer we are upping the ask to make sure she works as correctly as she can to support the joint, I'm very much guided by her and so far she has not said no or come up sore. I expect some backwards steps and will deal with them and I dont know if she will hold out jumping let alone compete like she did before.

but i think the main thing has been time. I've not begrudged giving her time off and being so slow in her return to work, 18 months later and her feeling the way she does made it worth it.

 

[Britestar]

Horse had arthroscopy after being lame.

Found to have grade 3 meniscal tear.
Guarded prognosis after surgery. 6-10% chance of returning to work.

6 weeks box rest, 6 months restricted turnout, then reintroduced to the herd.
Indiba therapy given for six months.

At approx 10 months post surgery, physio suggested he looked good enough to start being ridden. 6 months walking on hacks, with gradual reintroduction of trotting.

18 months post surgery, back in full work.

Now 3.5yrs later, in full work with no problems. Regular training and competing.

He does not jump now but uses full range of movements in the field .

Even vet school have expressed suprise at his recovery.

Patience and long slow rehab helped his recovery . There was never any expectation or rush.

 

[Stenners]

Its super hard currently not knowing exactly what is going on but hoping to get some answers on Friday.