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  Discussion on Stifle Lameness should I be doing more?
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Member:
Khomagic

Posted on Monday, Dec 1, 2003 - 12:51 pm:

This is long but I want you to have as much background as you can get.

I have a Purebred Arabian Filly who I bred and have raised. She turned three in June 2003. She went thru some clumsy periods when she was a yearling where she would be running and would fall. When we started riding her this spring she did it again, it was quite scarry, I would have rather she wanted to buck, at least you get a warning. I put her with a trainer finally in August trying to fix this problem. She has a long neck, and a huge front end. I'm not kidding when I say you'd think she was a Quarter Horse. She has 10" of space in between her front legs at her chest, and is like sitting on a 50 gallon drum. The trainer decided that she was leaning on the bit to try and leave then she'd raise her head up stick her lower neck and chest forward, (like they do when the want to bully their way thru other horses.) loose her balance and fall. She spent a month working on exercises to get her to carry herself so she wasn't leaning on us. I started riding her again in September, she no longer stumbled and I was really excited. I wouldn't do more than walk and trot as I was nervous that she would fall again and I didn't want to get hurt. After a couple of weeks, I finally got up the nerve to canter, she did good going to the left, and has always been really willing to do things. To the right was a different story. She would not take the right lead for anything. After a couple of sessions like this I decided I'd better have my chiropractor look at her as I've had other horses show back problems like this and since she had fallen a few times I thought she probably had wacked out something.

The chiropractor spent 45 minuets doing an exam. Including me lunging her in both directions etc. He could see some gait problems that I had just thought were stiffness. He then did flexion tests when he picked up her right hind for the flexion test and let it down, she was three legged lame! He could feel a lot of swelling in her stifle. (I have Arabians, they don't get lame I didn't know what to look for.) He felt she needed an x-ray to rule out OCD. I took her to my regular vet at that point as they have a digital x-ray which apparently is better than a regular one. (once again I have Arabians I'm not familiar at all with lame horses and I've had horses for 24 years.) The x-ray didn't show anything but she was still quite lame and this was 8 days after the chiropractor came to see her, but I had her in a stall then turned her out the day before I took her to the vets, (mistake, she ran like a nut and then was really lame!)

My vet didn't feel it was OCD. Nothing to see on the x-ray. He thinks she sprained it or has a pull/small tear in a ligament or meniscus. He put her on 30 days stall rest with hand walking for 10-15 minuets a day if she would stay quite, gave her 2g of bute bid for the first 5 days to help get rid of the swelling. (it was so swollen when he saw her that he couldn't palpate the joint.) He said if it was still swollen after the 30 days he'd inject it but didn't say with what. He saw her after the 30 days, the swelling was gone. He then said I could turn her out in our round pen for 30 days, then in a bigger pen for 30 days then she could go out to pasture for three more months. The bad part of this is I live in a state where we have winter, our round pen is outside. So I could turn her out for a couple of weeks and I did so daily for 10-15 minuets. The first couple of times she came back in sore. I had the vet come check her again. She had a tiny bit of swelling but he said she needed to do something. As the weather has gone bad I have gone to just taking her out in our indoor arena on a lunge line and walking around with her and letting her do what she wants for 10-15 minuets, she trots, bucks, gallops, etc. We are now 30 days from when the vet said to turn her out in the round pen. She gets a little off once in a while for two or three strides. But she will stand with weight on all four legs which at the begining of this 30 days she would not do after her turnout time. She isn't supposed to go out in an area the size of the arena yet so I'm stuck with her on a line for at least another month. The swelling seems to be gone from her stifle, at least it feels like the other leg to me.

I've wondered after reading the stifle injury stories here if I sould have further diagnostic work done since she is improving. I also wonder about giving her corta-flex or something like that but don't want to spend the money if I don't have to or if it is overkill.

Thanks for your help.

Michelle
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Dec 1, 2003 - 7:08 pm:

If the diagnosis/prognosis is uncertain and you want a better idea of what is going on, and the cost consistant with your goals, we recommend a further work up.
DrO
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