up forward fixation of the pattella

[Echo Bravo]

Hi, a couple of months ago I said about my young colt Lenny, Clydesdale/welsh had a stifle cramp,well this morning it was both hindlegs, the right as before stiff,left not so bad but picking up leg as in stringhalt. Did watch a video of a horse in one of the Arab states I think doing the same thing,what i have read on the internet it's down either to hereditary/poor feeding.Did ring vet as this hasn't happened before that I know of specially in both hindlegs,but they do say yes it does happen. He's 17 months old and still only dropped the one testicle, will be booking him soon,just trying to get him use to the trailer, as I know it's a big op, just one thought could the fact his other testie be pressing down on a nerve on the lefthand side as that is the one that hasn't dropped.

 

[monikirk]

Prob due to your colt still developing. My friesian occasionally 'catches' but I only notice if he has been standing for a bit. Can be due to lack of condition, growth spurt or even a change in starches in the grass. Try not to worry - there are some scary reports on the net!

 

[lynnandbella]

My 3yr old mare still locks/ catches at times i had her as a 2yr old and it was pretty bad at times i was told going up hills and walking over raised poles helps but obviously no lunging. I walked her in hand round the village for about 30 mins every other day and over poles a few times too this helped no end as it helped build the muscles that support everything in that area not to mention her confidence on the roads, i am now riding her out and shes great. Let us know how your baby gets on. Its horrible to see when they lock up.

 

[mynutmeg]

It's generally a conformation thing however given your horse's age there is every possibility it's a 'stage' he's going through and he will grow out of it.
Keep him turned out as much as possible for the moment as maintaining fitness in his hind legs will hep prevent them from locking.
There is loads of info out there if you spend a while searching

 

[Baluga]

My little pony would lock up, I found that shifting some of her extra weight helped wonders.....

 

[Rollin]

One of my Shagya Arab mares did this not long after I purchased her, she was only 4 years old. My vet manipulated her leg, she has never done it again.
I understand that Arabs can be prone to this and it is more common in young horses, less likely when they have muscled up.

 

[lazybee]

My 3yr old mare still locks/ catches at times i had her as a 2yr old and it was pretty bad at times i was told going up hills and walking over raised poles helps but obviously no lunging. I walked her in hand round the village for about 30 mins every other day and over poles a few times too this helped no end as it helped build the muscles that support everything in that area not to mention her confidence on the roads, i am now riding her out and shes great. Let us know how your baby gets on. Its horrible to see when they lock up.

Agree with this^^ work and more work to build up the muscles/soft tissue to support the joint. It worked for two of my Icelandics. I would avoid downhill work. One of mine would lock up when I took him down steep declines. It seems to be an age thing and they tend to grow out of it. Obviously I'm only talking about my own limited experience with two of mine, but it seems to be the same with other people if spoken to. I broke mine to harness to increase the workload and have had no problems since.

 

[Echo Bravo]

Many many thanks to all replies,had a phone call from my vet and he's said the same thing,I was just surprised to see both his back legs locking up that had me panicing and he's been fine since, but no doubt in the next few months it will happen again