Stifle lock - first timer

[walkandtrot]

My 4 year old cob x tb came in on tues afternoon with acute Locked Stifle, every 2nd step, the vet came out yesterday, and said it was probably the worst case he'd seen, although confident of a good recovery, he said it was lateral ligament strain,. He gave him a shot of anti inflam and told me to keep him in till this afternoon, he's had another sachet of anti inflam this avo, and he was turned out this afternoon for a couple of hours, I have not seen him doing it since, now I'm trying not too get too excited, but is this a good sign or just the drugs masking the pain??? any info appreciated!!

 

[minime]

I bought a lovely mare and after about a month i discovered to my horror that she suffers from stifle locking in both legs. It only happens when she is kept in the stable. In 2 years I have never seen it happen in the field. In her case it is hereditary and not much I can do unless I want to operate. I have been told that it can be cured with infiltration but at the moment it isn't a problem. It has happened to both legs at a time which is awful but I can usually sort it out by picking up her leg and rotating it slowly.
As for your horse you need to see if it is hereditary or just a one off thing before you panic. good luck

 

[ImogenBurrows]

My 4 year old cob x tb came in on tues afternoon with acute Locked Stifle, every 2nd step, the vet came out yesterday, and said it was probably the worst case he'd seen, although confident of a good recovery, he said it was lateral ligament strain,. He gave him a shot of anti inflam and told me to keep him in till this afternoon, he's had another sachet of anti inflam this avo, and he was turned out this afternoon for a couple of hours, I have not seen him doing it since, now I'm trying not too get too excited, but is this a good sign or just the drugs masking the pain??? any info appreciated!!

Hi there,
Locking stifles look quite distressing but are generally non-painful for the horse. The medial patella ligament hooks over a lump on the bottom of the femur which allows the horse to stand on this leg and rest the other without expending any energy.

In some cases the ligament doesn't unhook and the stifle is "locked" in the straight position.

Often this is seen in young horses, or those with poorly developed hind quarter muscles...so then first line advice is often to improve the muscling with work etc to try and minimise recurrence. I find that this may work in quite a few cases but if the locking recurs and frequent intervals then a quick standing surgery to cut the ligament causing the issue can be done.

In answer to your query the "lameness" is mechanical which is why it gets better totally when the leg is "unlocked". So unless there is a lat lig strain as well, there shouldn't be a residual lameness.

I bought a lovely mare and after about a month i discovered to my horror that she suffers from stifle locking in both legs. It only happens when she is kept in the stable. In 2 years I have never seen it happen in the field. In her case it is hereditary and not much I can do unless I want to operate. I have been told that it can be cured with infiltration but at the moment it isn't a problem. It has happened to both legs at a time which is awful but I can usually sort it out by picking up her leg and rotating it slowly.
As for your horse you need to see if it is hereditary or just a one off thing before you panic. good luck

What breed is she?
I found this info for you about causes - the hereditary component comes from conformation predisposing towards the locking as far as I'm aware...hence minatures and shetlands are more predisposed.
"What causes upward patellar fixation? There are 3 primary causes of upward patellar fixation in the horse:

• Lack of fitness: Lack of quadriceps and/or biceps femoris muscle tone results in an inability to quickly pull the patella up and off of the medial femoral trochlea.

• Straight or upright pelvic limb conformation: This places the medial femoral trochlea further distad in closer proximity with the patella, facilitating patellar fixation.

• Excessive distal patellar ligament length: This places the patella proximad in closer proximity with the medial femoral trochlea, where it can inadvertently "catch" or "lock".

It should be noted that the factors which cause upward patellar fixation are often interrelated. For example, an unfit horse will generally have increased laxity (and therefore increased length) of the distal patellar ligaments. Furthermore, if unfitness is secondary to another disease process (such as neurologic disease), intermittent upward fixation may also occur secondarily. Therefore, it is important to assess the horse as a whole prior to determining the cause for upward patellar fixation."

As I said above, if the locking is frequent, especially if it occurs in both legs surgery may be the best bet. Cutting the medial patellar ligament is straightforward and cases usually do very well, but get your vets to explain all the pros and cons, risks etc.
There are an increasing number of people splitting the medial patellar ligament rather than cutting it completely with good success too as far as I'm aware. http://www.equinescienceupdate.co.uk/patlig.htm

HTH
Imogen

 

[minime]

Thanks for that, my mare is a miniature so she is obviously not fit or muscular. I will try and break her to pull a trap this spring but she is already 6 years old so it should be fun. This way she can build up some strength. i will talk to my vet about her options.

 

[emmachiro]

It can also be caused from poor sacro-iliac (pelvis) mechanics leading to compensation and a weakening of the quad muscles...

 

[minniemouse]

i'm so glad you brought this subject up as i called the emergency vet early tue morning due to exactly the same thing.

I went to get my 5yr old cob out of the stable to put him in his field and as i brought him out he grunted and his leg was locked behind him, i tried to get him across the yard and this happened 3 times! his leg was stuck behind him and i panicked thinking he had been cast overnight in the stable or something and seriously damaged his leg! He looked really worried and so was i!!i got him back in his stable and called the vet and the young lady at the nearby practice arrived within 10 minutes.

She checked him over in the stable for any heat or swelling and couldn't find anything, brought him out of his stable again so she could assess him and he shot out snorting and looked fine!! I couldn't believe it, i really thought he had fractured his leg or something. Walked him round for 10 mins at first he looked slightly stiff but then ok, trotted him up and vet reckoned he was only 1/10th lame. she said he was ok to go out in the field. She said it was upward fixtation patella, or stringhalt!! but as she hadn't seen him doing it she couldn't be sure? she could only go off what i described.I know it was definatley not stringhalt as i have seen a horse with this condition.

i asked what had caused it and she said it is quite common in young horses but what i couldn't understand is that he has been in work for 7 months, is in good condition and is well muscled on his hind quarters as i do a fair amount of hill work with him? from what i understand ufp does improve with work.

Later that evening from friends on the yard i found out that a new horse that he dosn't like had been in his field and he had been charging round in the mud chasing it most of the day! I rang the vet back and told her this and asked if he could have strained his ligament and she said it was a possiblility but again said she wasn't sure. He stayed in on Wed and i took him for a walk in hand in the field he was fine in walk but when i put him in trot on the lunge circle to check him he was slightly lame behind. I was going to give him a rest anyway for a couple of months so i have decided not to ride him till xmas and his front shoes are coming off tomo as farrier already booked.

I will check him again tomo in trot to see if he looks lame when i take him for a walk, he has been out in the field today but not with the new horse as we are on every other day turnout at the moment and he is in at night anyway, i am convinced he has strained his ligament due to chasing the other horse in the mud, if he is still lame in trot i will probably get the vet back out but can't stand the thought of box rest as he is a nightmare after being in just one day!