Stifle lameness??

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JJtheJetPlane

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Hi there i have been having a lameness issue with my 4 yr old irish draft, after lots of poking and prodding and a lameness work up we have decided that the lameness seems to be associated with her stifle.
Her off side is slightly weaker, and seems to take a rather stiff looking shorter stride with her off hind its been going on for 12 weeks its not terrible and to be fair you proably wouldnt tell unless i pointed it out. I couldnt tell you whats caused it as i have been so carefull to take things slowly and havent really done anything to my knowledge.
What i was wondering is... has anyone had a stifle lameness?? And what were your experiences with treatment. My vet is coming to scan and possibly medicate the joint soon im just wondering what to expect good or bad and long term prognosis...experiences etc?? Many thanks... as you can imagine im feeling pretty down in the dumps
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Hi, I have a gelding with stifle issues, diagnosed in November. He basically has cartilage damage/OCD in both stifles, worse on the offside. He is a 16hh TBxIDxConn and large or fast growing horses, particularly drafts and warmbloods are prone to it.

In my case, he went and had a double arthroscopy at a clinic after nerve blocks pinpointed the stifle and xrays showed slight flattening of the ridge over the joint- they found that there were no chips to remove (bone chips caused either by trauma to the stifle or developmentally as they are growing and cartilage breaks off) or cartilage which could be trimmed (flaps etc), just some damage and inflammation which they could not treat.

Prognosis from the clinic vet for soundness when returned to work was 50/50 but my own vet spoke to the surgeon who seemed a bit more optimistic. We are now on week 5 of box rest following the surgery, with two more weeks to go and a 4th cartrophen injection tomorrow which helps to settle the damage.

A very gradual return to work will follow in the future, with medication the joint (with steroids) as the next option if he is still lame/lame again. He appeared sound in the school when diagnosed, but dragged a little from behind and wouldnt canter on the right leg. On a hard surface, he was 3/10ths lame in a straight line, sound after a course of bute (tried when the lameness was initially diagnosed) although this may have been due to the time off rather than the bute- and absolutely hopping on the lunge on concrete.

I do hope for you that your horse doesnt have this- its really heartbreaking as there will always be a weakness if there os cartilage damage. However, if OCD is diagnosed and they find bone chips which can be easily removed and not much damage then it is a straightforward procedure to sort out with a good prognosis.

Had you started working your mare harder or differently before she went lame? OCD often goes undiagnosed until then although the damage is caused when they are growing as a 1 or 2 year old. My experience also is that she would be more lame on a hard surface than soft if this is the case. What has your vet suggested might be the cause? The front surface of the stifle joint is very exposed and could equally have had a knock, or perhaps the hard ground with the frost or a mad gallop round the field has given her a strain? Best of luck with her and I will keep my fingers crossed for you.
 
Yep. It turned out to be a lesion in the patella ligament. Healed reasonably well with boxrest and shockwaves. Horse now sound. You should def wait for scan results though.
 
Thankyou for you long post, we have x rayed and there are no obvious bone chips etc and there didnt seem to be any change in the bone compared to the other stifle. On the lameness work up she wasnt consistently lame and wasnt any worse on a hard surface. She can canter on both reins but doesnt always strike off with the correct lead on the affected side. She could be a lot worse but hasnt got any better over the past 12 weeks and it will stop me competing her in the future if she remains the same as she would be pulled up lame by an experienced judge. I have been giving her time to try and sort herself out before i start medicating the joing etc. The next step is going to be scan the soft tissue and possibly medicate the joint similar to your horse.
Your right it is heart breaking as i bred the mare and i have waited all this time to finally start doing something. But yes i brought her back into work in August after having the summer of to mature. I started schooling her and we were progressing well but maybe work has strained something. I hope not as i will feel so guilty.
Im guessing its going to be some sort of soft tissue damage which will result in treatment and box rest like yours.
How old is your horse just off interest?? Its pretty unusual i believe and something that i gather from my vet the long term prognosis isnt the best
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Many thanks for your reply and i really hope your horse comes right to . I will send you some positive vibes.. God knows we both need some x
 
taluna, unfortunately xrays don't always show the damage. My mare had xrays, nerve blocks and scintigraphy, and still couldn't see WHAT was causing the lameness, just WHERE it was (L stifle, but some heat showing on scintigraphy on RH too). Vet sent us home with some box rest, hand walking, cartrophen injections and HA injected at the time. Still didn't come sound, so next step was whether to consider turning away or key hole surgery.

So ended up doing arthroscopy to find like LauraWinter's horse, OCD, cartilage damage and also in my mare's case, osteoarthritis. With equipment they repaired the damage to the cartilage, worked on the chips and arthritis damage and gave us a box rest regime with handwalking and a 50/50 chance of soundness, but perhaps only for a few years. My mare is 10 yo welsh cob that is a large girlie (15.1hh - tall for a welshie) but there is some speculation that too fast of growth as a younster has perhaps brought on the OCD.

In my mare's case, I've decided to retire her. She also has laminitis (just this past spring!- 2009 was a baaaaasd year for us) and as I'm at a livery yard where I can't really customise her paddocks etc to exactly what SHE needs, I've got a friend that is going to take her on as a happy hacker if she comes sound, a companion if not. She's goign to be spoiled rotten.

I hope your prognosis is better than ours. Good luck.,
 
My boy fell over in the field and he was lame in the stifle area, we had xrays, scans etc, he had an enlarged lateral colateral ligament in his stifle, the treatment was 6 weeks box rest, 2 weeks turn out (an hour more each day till he was out like normal) then bring back into slow work.
He was only lame on the lunge- not on the straight. He has had the box rest, hes now out like normal, so i am due to lunge him monday to see if he had healed or not.
Fingers crossed, good luck x
 
My boy had arthroscopy and IRAP for his stifles November 2008. They suspected OCD from his xrays. He had similar symptoms to yours and he was walking wonky behind (since found this is a left hind driver and natural crookedness in horse) He still walks the same if I let him amble along but whilst working him and schooling him over past 12 months has improved things and he is straight when I ride him.

The vets only found soft tissue inflammation in his joints which is what the IRAP treatment was for. He had box rest for 6 weeks then a very gradual build up of work. The best treatment he had was physio and correct schooling to strengthen his hind. He also was sore through his back from his change in action through the stifles.

So far all going ok. Hope you get some answers and can get things sorted.
 
OCD or similar condition would be my first guess and if nothing shows on the xrays I'd definately be looking at getting ultrasound scan done. In the mean time she should be managed conservatively with box rest / managed exercise to see if this helps the situation.

Is there any swelling? is she on bute?

She is a prime candidate for such conditions given her breed and size.
 
In answer to your question, my boy is 6. I only got him in May and I saved and borrowed and as I already have another as well (who only really hacks) all my riding dreams and plans have gone out the window. There's no way I could keep another
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Ow dear Laurawinter thats a real shame . Sounds like were all in the same boat really.
In answer to your question CBFAN there is no swelling around the stifle and no sign of injury either she s not on bute or box rest at this stage. She is booked in to see Mark Windsor on friday weather permitting and he is going to have a look at her (Chiro and Physio) as CARMAANDFLIN pointed out she is pretty sore across her back as she is obviously using her self diffrently. Itll be interesting to see what he says. But i will be cracking on with the soft tissue scan straight after i imagine as from reading all your pots i feel this will be very interesting.
Fingers crossed for you all who need it and positive vibes too. It certainly makes you realise nothing should be taken for granted doesnt it
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