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HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Upper Rear Limb » Stifle Lameness » Stifle Lock: Upward Fixation of the Patella »
  Discussion on 2 Year Old with Locking Stifle or UFP
Author Message
New Member:
luckygrl

Posted on Friday, Jun 10, 2011 - 2:41 pm:

Hello Dr.O,

I found your site via a search on the internet, and instantly signed up today. So, I am new to your forum, but thrilled to have found such a informative site of valuable information. Now to the issue at hand, I have read every post regarding what I am writing to you about and I am a tad confused, so I hoping that you can clarify or at least offer some guidance to the situation. I have recently purchased a 2 year old filly, and the previous owner did tell me that she had been to the vet for her locking stifle issue. x-rays, blood tests all came back negative and she assured me that this was a result of her rapid growth rate and just needed steady exercise and she should grow out of it. She has been fine up until yesterday, almost falling because her leg was locking so badly. I have been attempting to load myself with as much research and knowledge as I can, and then I came to your forum. You clearly state that corrective shoeing can greatly assist with UFP, but it doesn't seem that anyone here has attempted this. There is story after story of surgeries and injections and all other invasive procedures but nothing regarding corrective trimmings/shoeing. Would this be a permanent situation or does this just position the hoof to eliminate the angle causing the stifle to lock? allowing it to heal and strengthen? Do you know the recovery rate if to try the corrective shoeing? Is there a particular farrier that I would need to find that offers a certain amount of knowledge in this field? I know that this is a not a cure for sure, but I am willing to try this before scheduling a surgery or injections. Does food or supplements help or hurt this condition? Thank you for your time and ready this post. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jun 11, 2011 - 3:14 pm:

Welcome Vikki,
Let's back up a bit, not corrective trimming in the sense of special trimming and shoeing but corrective trimming in the sense that a out of balance foot is properly balanced and trimmed as described in the article in the link. I would hope all who have resorted to surgery have first insured the horse is properly trimmed to see if this helps the condition. The chance that this may benefit your horse depends on how out of balance your horses feet are. Any good farrier should be able to help you. As to nutritional factors this is discussed in the article and other than good overall feedstuffs I do not know of any special food or supplement that might help.
DrO
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