Successes with weak stifle stories please ....?.help cheer me up

Sukistokes2

Sukistokes2

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My young horse has a weak stifle on his off hind, this has caused some issues and I am currently working on building the strength in that area and muscle tone, under the direction of my vet. It's been a long road to get as far as we have and there have been some problems. I have found a light weight rider and he is doing ok, but the rider as lovely is she is, at times is like the the tolling bells of doom. At times I feel like giving up and as he is not and never will be good as a companion( little git) and he would be bored out of his head, if I do there is only one option.

So give me some success stories to cheer me up, voices of doom stay away, I am getting plenty of that from my rider!!
 
when you say 'weak' do you mean sticking patella? or even one that locks completely and has to be manipulated back? Orare you talking about weak muscles, dragging toe etc?
 
It locks occasionally and he just clicks it back, no manipulation or backwards walking needed but mainly he is reluctant to use it appropriately and is less toned and muscled on that side. we are encouraging him to use the leg therefore increasing muscle tone. He has been compensating with his other hind causing back strain.
 
I had a Shitland that had a sticking stifle at 18 months old to 3 years. We started lungeing as he would be proper stuck on occasion, and then backed him. Once he was in regular work he was fine, it simply stopped happening.

Of course the problem with that was that he was meant to be a low maintenance companon, and he became a pony who needed to be in work.
 
My TB geldings stifle occasionally locks in his stable,he lifts it up and out to free it, absolutely never affects him when riding, even during jumping rein-back lateral work etc. I dont worry about it.
I also had a young horse who had both patellas lock occasionally, but he grew out of it as he muscled up.
Polework and lots of uphill trotting is helpful, also trot from rein-back, canter from rein back. anything to make him use his hind end properly.
 
We bought a 4 year old pony with a sticky and weak stifle over 15 years ago. We did know, but she had a lot going for her, and was cheap because of it.With regular work it stopped being a problem, and she went on to do all sorts with my daughter - sj (once over 1.40!) xc, hunting and pc games. Once she was outgrown she went out on loan. Her third long term loan didn't ride her for several months (we didn't know) When she moved to another home at 17, she was weak again, and a vet told us she would never regain full strength at her age. We brought her home and she went on to compete again at sj and xc with some success. She is now 20 and having fun with a competent novice, hacking and schooling. So not one but two successful rehabilitations!
 
We too have a mare with weak stifles - nothing sticking or slipping , but she was stiff especially in the mornings if she had been in overnight . Hard to yield hindquarters or do a back-up. Passed vetting when we bought her , and our vets prognosis when he saw her was that work was the best option. Also, she lives at night in a small indoor school ,rather than the 18x20 foot pen we d had her in. A usual sized stable would have been no good - she need to move as much as possible. After a years gentle strengthening work, and learning how to strike off in canter easily, she is doing well in Intro test s and nearly ready for prelim. best of luck with your horse, and I too would like to read success stories!
 
My friends highland had a sticking stifle. She sorted it with more work, poles and hill work. Also a walk wait walk exercise over a pole. Step front legs over pole, then halt, in a way that the weak hind leg is the first to step over the pole as you walk off. Does that make sense. Put the pole on the way out to the field and do it a few times on the way to and from the field. My friend did this and she felt it def helped.
 
My horse Izzy has a weak stifle. It showed up once I had started working him, after getting him on loan from a rescue when he was obese and hadn't been worked for about 4 years. He got a bit hoppy in trot and was generally sore in his ribs and back from trying to compensate. Think it was from some sort of trauma. Had osteo for a while then did lots of trotting poles, walking over shavings bales (to make him really pick his legs up), lots of walking up hills.
Osteo said he will never be a horse you can leave for a few weeks. He needs to be in regular proper work to keep the muscles around his stifle strong and keep it working well. He has a 'mechanical' lameness and will swing his leg out, particularly when coming out of stable in the morning in the winter.
That was about 5 years ago. He is now nearly 18 and is the fittest horse on the yard. He competes in 30 - 40km endurance rides, hunts, cross country, skill at arms, show jumps, adult gymkhana and a bit of polocrosse. We are just going to start playing horseball. Although I have eased his workload recently so is only worked 4-5 days a week.
The only times the problem has resurfaced is when I have been on holidays for 3 weeks and gave him a holiday too. He was a bit hoppy when I got back, but that soon went after a few weeks of regular work.

Don't despair. Unless we were trying to do high level dressage, you wouldn't really notice he is weak. He doesn't bring his hind through quite as much as his good leg but not so it affects anything that we do. So unless you were going to jump 1.50 or do high level dressage, you will probably be able to do whatever you want.
 
Thank you for your stories that really helps.
Wagtail, I am following my vets advice, X-rays might be the next thing, in about two months if he shows no significant improvement.
He will be seven in April, ycbm
 
Sukistokes2 said:
Thank you for your stories that really helps.
Wagtail, I am following my vets advice, X-rays might be the next thing, in about two months if he shows no significant improvement.
He will be seven in April, ycbm
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OK. I've just had my six-this-time x rayed and he is clear, thank goodness. He's noticeably weaker on one side than the other and although his joints are great, and each one is normal, they aren't a completely matching pair. He is much worse if he isn't ridden at least two days in three, but he goes against all the other advice and is much better if he is left without a rug on at night (he is in a barn and can move, I wouldn't do it if he was out or confined to a stable, but I would only use a rain sheet).

I got x rays for peace of mind and now I know I can crack on and ride him through it. I would recommend you do the same, it's made an enormous difference to how I manage him. He was intermittently 1/20 lame (only just possible to spot it) for the last three months of last year and is now completely sound.
 
Sukistokes2 said:
Thank you for your stories that really helps.
Wagtail, I am following my vets advice, X-rays might be the next thing, in about two months if he shows no significant improvement.
He will be seven in April, ycbm
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Okay, so he's seven years old so probably not OCD unless he has been showing symptoms for a long while. However, in your shoes, I would still have him x-rayed. I had an eight year old diagnosed with OCD of the hock a few years ago, so sometimes they do develop symptoms later. On a positive note, he was operated on and came 100% sound in that hock. I also have a youngster here who had OCD of the stifle. He too was operated on and has been 100% sound for three years, now broken and ridden away. So both my experiences have been positive.
 
My horse (TBxWB) had weak/locking stifles on both sides when he was a 5yo. However, he did lots of walking work in straight lines and up moderate hills and it did improve. Then he had problems again with both sides locking so they operated on both stifles and was brought carefully back into work. Almost 20 years later (he's 25 this year), I'm pleased to report he's on fantastic form and judging by the way he wanted to canter/gallop at every opportunity on our hack yesterday, it doesn't appear to be bothering him (fingers crossed!).
 
I have known horses with locking stifles as youngsters and all (probably 5 or 6) have come right as they've got older. It seems that regular good quality work acts to naturally build up the muscle, which in turn acts as a natural physiotherapy which allows the muscle to build up gradually and allowing it to form properly and in turn support the natural action of the joints. It sounds like your vet is on the right track - just go with it, as boring and tedious as it is, but it will be worth it.
 
Thank you again,

As I said before I am following my vets advice and X-rays will be the next step should he not show significant improvement. I am not against going a surgical route should the prognosis be good.
Am very heartened by all of these stories, just need to boy up his rider so we can keep going, so far so good.
 
i would be interested to know the long term results of medial patellar desmotomy, ie. how was the horse after ten years and what was the aftercare and how was the horse bought back into work and the timescale, anyone? thank you.
 
Does it really affect his work, Sukistokes? Could you not just carry on as you are, gradually building up the muscles? Polework is great, on the lunge raise the pole on the bad side -,go both ways but change the raised side when you change rein.
 
tristar said:
i would be interested to know the long term results of medial patellar desmotomy, ie. how was the horse after ten years and what was the aftercare and how was the horse bought back into work and the timescale, anyone? thank you.
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If the desmotomy is the one where the middle ligament is completely severed, my vet now recommends a whole year off work if the horse is a sport house required to be athletic in the future. Research has shown that the additional strain on the other two ligaments can result in them pulling away from the bone, I read.
 
Having tried the turning away , we are currently trying the slow build up method, the vet has given advice on exercise and set a time limit for him to show improvement before other choices have to be made. My vet is very experienced and also a trained Chiro and so far the lad is doing well. He was seen by a second vet at Christmas who concurred with my first vet. I am not looking for a diagonoses on here but wanted to see if anyone had came through and got to the other side, so to speak. If there is no improvement X-rays would be the next step, even though at times with these problems they can be inconclusive. I was feeling down as his rider is a real glass practically empty sort of person ( not even a half empty sort) and I needed some inspiration!
 
Can i ask the difference between sticking stifle and slipping stifle please or are they the same? Mines had locking stifle and occasionally sticky where its not quite locked but he also does this thing where he looks as if its slightly giving way? Hes had scintigraphy, xrays etc, found mild arthritic hocks, medicated those but nothing else to go on, i was advised by a vet/osteopath to walk him daily over a railway sleeper or something substantial for 6 weeks to strengthen the stifles , just wondered if anyone had any experience with the giving way, sacroiliac fine also!
 
shellibob said:
Can i ask the difference between sticking stifle and slipping stifle please or are they the same? Mines had locking stifle and occasionally sticky where its not quite locked but he also does this thing where he looks as if its slightly giving way? Hes had scintigraphy, xrays etc, found mild arthritic hocks, medicated those but nothing else to go on, i was advised by a vet/osteopath to walk him daily over a railway sleeper or something substantial for 6 weeks to strengthen the stifles , just wondered if anyone had any experience with the giving way, sacroiliac fine also!
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Mine does both. Locks and gives way. The vet said it was all the same thing and to keep him fit.
 
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