Upward fixation of the patella

Clodagh

Clodagh

Playing chess with pigeons
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I think thats right! A friend has a lovely, well bred 4 year old welsh D who occasionally gets this. They were wanting to sell her but now can't. Their vet said (as they can't afford to keep her) to have her PTS but that seems a bit extreme. Any ideas? It hasn't happened for a long time but she was attacked in the field by another horse and it locked again this week.
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I am sure that is what my Welsh D x Hackney had as a foal and an op sorted it out
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... he is now 27 and has worked very well for his keep
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I am sure others will confirm more on this subject
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why cant they sell her?!
People will buy a horse with upward fixation of the patella. It really isnt the end of the world, just means its a wee bit harder to work em to high levels and the price would have to be dropped to compensate for the condition.
Lou x
 
Also known as a locking stifle - there are a few horses with this - mine did as a 2 year old and it can still be 'sticky' now when he's in more.

Normally lots of hill work to strengthen the muscles and ligaments do the trick but there is an op that can be carried out which I have heard is usually successful but can predispose a horse to arthritis in the area in later life - doesn't sound like its affected Eaglestones horse though!!
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I certainly don't think its a reason to put the poor thing to sleep but I would expect the price to be dropped.
 
The horse is young and the problem should improve with work, esp hill work. The ligament can be cut with success although occasionally the problem occurs on the other leg.

Cant see why you cant sell her as the op is not that expensive and recovery short, although work would be the first way to go. She may not pass a vetting so the price would need to reflect that, but hopefully someone will snap her up and prob get themselves a bargain in the long run!
 
BTW - I have just seen there are some more posts at the bottom of this page related to this and there is some useful information there
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I've just sold my mare who had the most horrendous UFP I have ever seen in my life. When I bought her 3 years ago, she could not take one stride without her stifles locking in both legs. So, every single stride locked.

Over the following 3 years I did some physio exercises with her but mainly I used her as one of my nanny mares for all of the youngsters here. Most of her improvement has been due to her being kept in my big fields where she can travel and have a lot of the correct exercise. Hill work is generally good for them, and has proved very successful for ones I've dealt with in the past, however this was counterproductive for this particular mare. She is far less affected when kept on flat fields.

I did consider having her ligaments cut a couple of times, but the success rate is really not good enough and the future side effects were too concerning to warrant risking doing this to her, so I decided against it. I was quoted a cost of 1,500 to have this surgery done, so not greatly expensive BUT be cautious and do your research before subscribing to this highly invasive surgery.

Anyhow, someone has totally fallen head over heels in love with her, so she will be going onto pastures new soon. I think she has made massive progress over the years she has lived here and I am fairly confident that, if the new owner is committed to continuing with her work plan, the mare will eventually overcome this problem.

There are a fair amount of people who are very familiar with UFP and to be honest it wouldn't put that many knowledgeable people off these horses providing everything else about the horse is favourable .. and the price reflects the problem. To give your friend an idea of this price reflection, I sold my mare for 1,000 when she would easily be a 10,000 mare if she didn't have UFP.
 
I think they need to diagnose why it is happening.

In young horses it can be a sign of muscle weakness and they do recover very well with the right exercise programme.

I had a horse with a locking patella, but this was an incidental symptom of OCD in the stiffles. There are a number of treatment options for this, including surgery and long rehab with an 80% success rate.

I would look into this a bit more to get a clearer diagnosis but I would certainly not have the horse PTS just like that!
 
pts-well over the top, my boy had this when he was 4. by the time he was 6 he never had it again, he grew out of it, no op-just some wedge shoes on the backs and a bit of hill work! he is now 16 and no probs so far! Have done jumping, hunting,dressage, xc, showing and placed in each too!!! I would buy a horse with locking stifles if its what I was looking for! well...I did!!!
 
My hunter suffered with it as a youngster. I asked the vet about the surgery but he said that in his experience, most horses seem to grow out of it. My girl is 12 and I've not seen any sign of it since she was 4
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. Initially a lot of the right work and keeping her fit sorted it out but for years now there has been no sigh at all
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