This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below:
HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Upper Rear Limb » Stifle Lameness » Stifle Lock: Upward Fixation of the Patella »
  Discussion on Stifle lock in a 2 year old
Author Message
Member:
scrupi1

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 16, 2008 - 9:20 pm:

Hi, I have a 2 year old oldenburg gelding who started having problems with stifle lock about 3 months ago. It has recently become more frequent and he seems off at the walk and trot, can not back without locking and will lock for the first few steps after standing still for any length of time. He is in good weight, actually a bit overweight, we have tried to increase his fitness by hand walking up and down inclines but he seemed more uncomfortable after a few days of hand walking. Our vet has recommended waiting until he is older and under saddle before pursuing any treatment and possibly x-rays to rule out OCD. He is currently in a growth spurt and is very high in the hindquarters compared to the forehand. I am just worried if we don't address the issue for a year that he will develop arthritis and possibly have soundness issues of a long term nature. I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions. Thank you!
Member:
5691

Posted on Thursday, Jul 17, 2008 - 12:49 am:

Hi Susanne,

I alerted when I saw your post as we bought three months ago a just coming 5 yr old Hanavarian who had a history of two leg locks when he was 2 yrs old. The owners took him to a vet that injected into a particular area of the stifle(not the joint) an iodine and almond oil combo. The idea is to plump up the specific stifle muscle that is connected with the mechanism of the medial patellar ligament. The iodine is a bit of an irritant that somehow "tightens" up the ligament. Our boy had two injections and it seems to have held him for a couple of years.

He experienced a leg lock a couple of weeks ago and we are hoping it was just a growing pain blip. It was recommended to us to try a regime of estrogen sulfate injections for the next six months, which we started yesterday.

The research I have done combined with the vets I have spoken with and the people that have horses that have this problem all say the same thing.. The best way to manage this problem is to ride consistently, in a together frame and do lots and lots of trotting to condition the hind stifle area. We incorporate incline trotting as well as arena work. We also take our boy out on trail rides as often as possible.

The other managment suggestion is to allow the horse as much room to move about as possible. A stall with a paddock is better than just a stall. Turn out is better than the stall/paddock. We have the stall/paddock combo, but can turn him out for 2-4 hours a day if needed.

I realize that your boy is young and is not ridable yet.. Our horse was put into a mechanical exercise machine as a youngster to get controlled trotting exercise as well as only lunged with side reins as he was learning to handle a rider on his back.

An ultrasound of the stifle ligaments might help rule out any possible injury that may or may not be present. If anything, the ultrasound can give you a good baseline for future evaluations.

Smiles,
Debra
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jul 17, 2008 - 7:10 am:

I agree with you Susanne, if the stifle lock is a persistent problem, worsening, and potentially creating soreness surgery needs to be considered. I guess in this you will need a second opinion by a orthopedic surgeon if your regular veterinarian will not do the procedure.
DrO
Member:
scrupi1

Posted on Friday, Jul 18, 2008 - 6:01 am:

Thank you Debra and Dr. O for your advice. I will have the local vet come out to x-ray and ultrasound and than set up an appointment with a vet that does orthopedic surgery if needed. I will keep you posted on the outcome. Thank you again, Susanne
Member:
scrupi1

Posted on Friday, Jul 25, 2008 - 12:40 pm:

We had the vet scheduled to come out yesterday and of course the gelding has been acting like his normal self all week, running in the field with no signs of locking. We watched him trot in hand and on the lunge and did flexion tests behind, both were negative so opted not to take x-rays as he was sound. She thought perhaps it was just a growth spurt and change in conformation that may have aggravated the situation. she advised use of surpass to the ligamants surrounding the knee cap if lameness presented again and to keep an eye on it but because he was sound did not advise initiating any other kind of treatment at this time. So, hopefully it was just a growth spurt although he really has had consistent intermittant locking over the past 3 months and why it disapeared as soon as we called the vet I will not understand and I am expecting the situation to arise again but will wait until it does to address, unless you have any other suggestions Dr. O. Thanks! Susanne
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Jul 27, 2008 - 8:46 am:

Well let's hope this is on the way to getting better Susanne.
DrO
Home Page | Top of Page | Join Us!
Horseadvice.com is a BBB Accredited Business. Click for the BBB Business Review of this Horse Training in Stokesdale NC