Has anyone had this done to their horse? How long ago? How is the horse doing now? I’m looking at purchasing a new horse and found one that fits my wish list. The owner has told me the horse has had this procedure done 4 or 5 years ago. Is this something that would cause you to walk away? Any concerns I should have?
I just had this done on my 5 yr old gelding 4 weeks ago. He’s doing better, still needs strengthening but he’s been out of work since August so we’re taking it slow.
This procedure is similar to blistering, but is thought to be more permanent in nature. I watched my vet perform the procedure. It was quite non invasive. Vet sedated horse standing while team shaved and scrubbed. Vet inserted needle/razor blade and makes tiny cuts. It took very little time. My vets protocol is stall rest and hand walking twice a day for 3 weeks. Because the ligament is compromised, you rest while it heals, and the scar tissue naturally forms during healing to strengthen and tighten the ligament.
I would not hesitate to purchase a great horse who had undergone this procedure because it had little to no risk with no evidence of any long term secondary problems which can occur such as from the actual cutting of the ligament. Hope this helps in your decision!
It wouldn’t bother me either if he’s been sound doing at least kindasorta the work I wanted to do with him. And that’s really more about whether the procedure “fixed” him, rather than the procedure itself.
This one isn’t like the old severing of the ligament which proved to create a lot of instability and subsequent arthritis down the road. This one just slices vertically into the ligament to help resolve the catching, without compromising the stability.
I had it done on one of mine – oh – about 10 years ago. He’s coming 19 now and has no problems whatsoever with the stifles, except they are still prone to slipping when he’s unfit. I would not hesitate to consider a horse that had the procedure assuming it were sound and the stifles in good shape.
I would really like to know what procedures/tests/evals led up to this point.
I have a fat pony with I think stifle issue that responded to jogging and conditioning but has had a set back again after barn helper forced him to hold his sore canter. But he has hock issues too so I’m not sure how to sort it out. I like to know what to expect in terms of process before I call the vet so we dont take the long road to the airport, if you know what I mean.
[QUOTE=Weluvhaha;8553638]
I would really like to know what procedures/tests/evals led up to this point.
I have a fat pony with I think stifle issue that responded to jogging and conditioning but has had a set back again after barn helper forced him to hold his sore canter. But he has hock issues too so I’m not sure how to sort it out. I like to know what to expect in terms of process before I call the vet so we dont take the long road to the airport, if you know what I mean.[/QUOTE]
It’s going to vary…for me it look a LOT to figure it out. Three vets, several months, lots of tests, EPM treatment, blocks and injections for wrong body parts,.etc. I stuck with it because I’m stubborn, and I really wanted my horse to get better. Start with a vet who really knows lameness. In my case, even UW Veterinary Hospital was a waste of a day and $650. If you do the splitting procedure, it’s easy and I would do it again. Vet came out today and my guy’s doing well!
I know I’m dredging up an old thread here and I don’t see any more recent ones (but it’s possible I missed something because I’m on my phone). Any updates on those that have done this surgery? My vet presented it to me as an option for my 8 year old TB - he has a swapping issue and occasional “stepped in a hole” feeling. Thanks all!
I can’t imagine this being a reasonable option for “a swapping issue and occasional “stepped in a hole” feeling”. That’s a major procedure for a fairly minor issue.
How much work has this horse been in? As in, how many days a week, how long, how are the workouts structured, and for how many weeks/ months?
The swapping is a severe, on-going issue that has never been fully remedied in the years the owner (not me) has been investigating it. She’s tried everything (scans, injections, field work only, etc) and the swapping issue has never fully resolved.
I started working with him in May. His owner doesn’t have the time he needs. He’s ridden 5-6 days a week, 30 min-hour, field work/hills/poles/cavalettis/jumping small fences/basic dressage & flatwork. Vet wants to add one degree wedge to back. And the options are a rigorous “rehab” similar to what we already do really, minus the jumping or the surgery he’s also said is reasonable after all the other things that have been tried.
How do the hind feet look? Can you post a picture? The thought of adding a wedge to them may really mean the trim is not correct, and that can have ramifications in the whole hind end, making it uncomfortable and causing all the issues you describe.
I don’t have a decent pic of his back feet on my phone. I can get one tonight on a level surface. My vet used to be a farrier, so I did not get the impression that he didn’t like how his feet were trimmed. More-so thought the horse was confirmationally challenged in the back end? Too up and down.
(side note: Horse had same farrier for 3 years and just switched to mine last cycle. My farrier said he had strong feet, decent hoof wall. etc. he knows how to shoe a TB and horse does seem to have more stability in the hind-end since he was done.)
We just want to help him any way that we can - he’s a wonderful, talented creature.
As far as a horse that has already had the procedure, I don’t think that would bother me. For a horse that hasn’t had it, I would want to at least consider the estrone injections along with conditioning before jumping to the splitting procedure. Esterone was a lifesaver for my gelding as he is really too old for the procedure (although I may have eventually gotten there if the estrone hadn’t worked so well) and cannot be exercised enough to bring him back into condition due to arthritis in the other stifle.
Well, I will officially retract my prior comments from a few years ago, my stifle horse ended up retired with a chronic hitch in his gait that never fully resolved. He is pasture sound, sound at the walk and even gallops around occasionally but definitely not able to show or do long trail rides. Sigh. These are tough issues to over come.
@TWH Girl ugh, I am really sorry to hear that!
Was it ever determined to be a stifle injury or a conformation defect - the horse just has naturally weak stifles?
Probably a little of everything! He had the hitch/lameness, some slight catching and weak stifles too, which is not at all uncommon in Walkers- but for the extent it affected my guy. We had tried steroid injections, estrone, exercises, pain meds etc. He ended up having the splitting in January, did stall rest and slow rehab and all was looking well until April when vet did a follow up steroid injection to get him over the “hump”. A few days later, horse was worse than ever. We gave him 6 mo off and did PRP. Then some more time off. Two months of walking only. The minute you asked him to gait though, right back to the hitch. It sucked. Luckily my daughter in law to be took him to be retired at her parents farm about 2 hours away. I am glad he is healthy and happy. It’s bittersweet to see him and know that I don’t see him as much as I’d like and can’t do with him what I do with my other horses. He is a sweet horse.
Wow, what a saga to go through. Thank you for sharing with me! It’s certainly not an easy process. Then again- with horses, you just never know what’s going to happen.
