I have a hunch that my young horse has slightly sticky stifles. I have a chiro/sport horse vet coming soon to take a look, but in the meantime I’ve been doing research to get ahead of the game.
Something that came up a few times is wedging the lateral heel/wall on the hinds. She does “tightrope walk” and often will interfere behind.
Does anyone have any first-hand experience with wedging the lateral side of the hinds to help with sticky stifles? Thanks!
Old thread, I know, but I’d be curious to hear the thoughts. My mare is struggling with a sticky stifle after prolonged stall rest for something else and I just had the vet out for rads.
She’s actually high already on the lateral edge on her sticky hind, so he suggested leveling that out and adding wedges to increase her ~1 degree PA. I’ve seen a vet suggest wedging the inside wall; I have no experience with that though.
I’ve rehabbed a few horses with weak stifles or stifle injuries. There is a stifle protocol I got from human and equine PT at my farm.
A couple are tail pulls… very gently just to get the muscles to contract around the stifle. Done standing still. Hold for 5-8 seconds. No more then 2 reps to start then increase to 5 reps.
Backing a few steps unmounted up a slight incline.
Lots of turnout on a small hill if you have the option.
Keep these horses in work, less down time thr better.
Under saddle: hill work, slow walking, poles. Be careful as you won’t know they are sore until the next day.
Obviously don’t do all in one day. Pick one and see how the horse responds and then another every few days, etc.
Access what you did and how much you can push the next day. The horse will be sore if over done. Measure progress in weeks and months not days.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
