Talk to me about Locking Stifles

[Dani]

I’ve got 2 horses with locking stifles right now. They’re on opposite ends of the spectrum. One only has it one leg and the other has it in both.

I’ve been told some conflicting information about the milder case (clear for light riding only vs clear for any sort of riding) and his files have not been transferred to me yet so I can’t talk to the vet who has been working on him. You can only really tell under saddle, there is a slight hitch in his step.

My more severe case will never be sound enough to ride, no matter how much medication we put her on. She’s 3 years old and likely doesn’t have too many good years left. She’s not currently in pain (as of last vet visit), but as she gets to a healthy weight I’ve noticed the locking looks to be getting worse. She’s turned out 24/7 on 10 acres with a small and gentle herd.

I do plan to have MY vet out soon to look at both horses, but I was wondering if anyone could give me any insight on one or both of these cases. I’m still waiting on the previous owner to contact the other vet to change the mild horse’s ownership there, they won’t talk to me until my name is on his file.

[JB]

What’s going on with the 3yo? Surely something more than UFP? What medications are you using?

Why is the milder case only clear for “light riding”?

WORK is what helps these cases, strengthen the quadriceps muscles. It may be slow gradual work, little to no cantering, no circles for a while. But work has to be done. Hills, poles.

[keysfins]

There are also surgical procedures for locking stifles, if that is an option, having exhausted other less invasive treatments.

[x]

Usually locking stifles are improved with work, especially uphill work and jumping/cavelletti work. I had a pony that had been hanging around doing nothing–he was pretty bad about locking his stifles. After spending some time in my lesson program w/t/c and jumping, his locking stifles became a non-issue. He strengthened enough that it wasn’t a problem any more.

[Dani]

@JB

What’s going on with the 3yo? Surely something more than UFP? What medications are you using?

Why is the milder case only clear for “light riding”?

WORK is what helps these cases, strengthen the quadriceps muscles. It may be slow gradual work, little to no cantering, no circles for a while. But work has to be done. Hills, poles.

UFP? She’s not currently on any medications. My vet did not think she was uncomfortable at all last time she was seen. She’s a rescue and has been roped and flipped before. She’s got a handful of issues all seeming to step from poor breeding and previous injury. She’s a sweetheart and is doing better than before, but I’ve been watching her move lately and she doesn’t seem to be moving as easily and her legs look to be locking up. This was a concern of getting her back to full weight and I’m scheduling an appointment with my vet to have her evaluated again.

The milder case is my confusion point mostly. I was told by previous owner that the vet had said light riding only. I didn’t think that sounded right and another boarder pulled me aside when I went to get him and told me that the vet never said that. I am more inclined to believe the other boarder, but I didn’t want to start anything there so I left it alone. I do intend to speak with his previous vet as well as my own. He was put on previcox for days he’s worked, but I haven’t been working him as I want to see what his limitations are before I mess with him. She was riding him with his stifle like this for at least a year, I’m the one who actually pointed out his lameness issue back in November, nobody had noticed it before then. It wasn’t diagnosed until early March.

[Dani]

@keysfins

There are also surgical procedures for locking stifles, if that is an option, having exhausted other less invasive treatments.

I’ve seen that, I was going to talk to the vet about that one as it’s not a costly procedure in this area.

[beowulf]

do you have videos? Are we talking upward fixation of the patella?

UFP by itself is not usually career ending though it can limit certain directions a horse can go - but lots of horses with UFP can enjoy long and lengthy lower level pursuits.

What is a bigger problem is - why are there TWO? UFP is not always caused by incorrect work but IME, it usually is - if horses are routinely lunged in corrals/roundpens, or ridden often in rings, it can and does prop up. It is also, in my opinion, genetic – meaning if a parent had weak stifles, it’s very likely the offspring will too. It can also be caused by horrible feet behind and the horse learning to compensate - it can also be caused by tendon injuries such as suspensories, LCL tears, weakness, etc.

I think the first order of business is addressing the why - why are there two with locking stifles? How/what caused their locking stifles? Is it management? Genetics? From there forward, you can isolate the issues independently and address. It would be a waste of time throwing surgery, treatments, etc at the stifles if you don’t isolate what is causing the issue.

It is not uncommon for young horses to demonstrate occasional UFP or weakness behind particularly if they are still growing or uncoordinated due to growth.

For “fixing”, generally, best thing is a month of robaxin, a month or two of estrone, a month of pole work, limiting circles/round-penning/lunging completely, and a month of conditioning on hills as well as 24/7 TO which you already mentioned the filly has. This usually will cure a mild case of UFP if it is not lesion/OCD related, and if you keep their regime at a healthy balance of hack work & ring work, it shouldn’t crop up again. Sometimes putting shoes on the horse helps, as does supplying vit E, MSM & glucosamine supplements.

For more severe cases there is corrective surgery, but IMHO, that is a last ditch effort for me as it is not something I’ve seen much success from.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

You took in 2 horses with locking stifles? How nice of you.

There are vet procedures than can help some horses with this condition. Find a vet who is experienced with it.

There are farriers who will shoe for the condition. My old farrier was more of an expert than all but one vet around here.
So find a vet and a farrier who can help you maybe get these horses rideable and comfortable.

I think my farrier used to burn or apply heat to help the horses w/o surgery? He told us all about it.

I once had to feed a friend’s horses one weekend and one horse had a locking stifle. I had not been told about it but thanks to what my farrier had taught us all, I backed up the horse and then it unlocked and he walked off normally.

[beowulf]

I wonder now, if the horses perhaps have stringhalt?

[Dani]

https://youtu.be/0E5Kta9gY8A

She’s moving around a lot in this one. It’s been a month or so probably.

[Dani]

https://youtu.be/IYBW-TPnBv0

That’s probably the best video to see her movement.

[JB]

Gaited horses are generally more predisposed to UFP because generally, their stifles are straighter.

Being too thin also increases the risk, and just the act of adding weight and getting fat around the joints helps a lot.

I didn’t see any UFP in the video - was I supposed to?

You might have missed my original post - what’s going on such that the 3yo might not have long, what meds is she on, and the other is only cleared for “light work”?

[keysfins]

Lameness vet specialist might be your best option to determine what gait abnormality is present, the cause, and treatment options.

I saw about one step, maybe two, in your video, at about 0:33-0:35 into the video, that looked “hitchy”.

Is that an example of what you are seeing as locking stifle/upward fixation of the patella (UFP)? I will see if I can find any videos that demonstrate it better.

[JB]

I went back to watch the :30+ section. I see what you’re talking about. I don’t think I’d peg that as UFP - perhaps a slight catch, but I actually think it’s more related to her very camped out conformation, and sheer effort of having to get that leg out from being so strung out behind her.

[beowulf]

are the vets that looked at these horses gaited experts? Gaited horses need their own set of expert eyes IMHO.

I did not see UFD. I did see some severe soreness in both LH and RH stifles, where the filly’s stifle and hock had gait abnormality and a “cant” to the outside, the RH’s tilt was much more extreme than the other leg even though the LH had several very suspicious strides. That is not what I would call UFP - rather, I think that is the horse compensating by twisting her hocks and stifle out to bring that leg forward. Her entire pelvis and hip is canted/dropped – if you slow the video down when she is walking (around the :30s mark) you can really see that rolling movement in the pelvis.

That filly to me, looks like part of her problem is that she is so extremely sickle-hocked, with a very steep croup and it does to me look like her LH hip is higher than the other. Every now and then I see a gaited horse with that conformation, an old friend of mine used to call them “stork legs” - long with extreme angle (good for gaiting) that can make the horse very awkward. You mentioned she was 3, one hopes she would have grown out of it if she was going to grow out of it at all.

[keysfins]

Link to a YouTube video of UFP:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whNYW3cWXfY

And another:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f1cCnmd4YY

Sometimes, simply backing the horse up in hand, straight back, will aid in unlocking the stay mechanism in the stifle.

[keysfins]

@Dani

https://youtu.be/IYBW-TPnBv0

That’s probably the best video to see her movement.

JB and Beowolf, that’s what I see, as well. The conformation in the hind end predisposes the horse to the gait abnormality.

OP, once you have seen a horse with true locking stifle/upward fixation of the patella, you will not mistake it for anything else. The videos I linked to are extreme examples, and there are related videos along the right side of each video, for more examples. Is this what your horse is doing, unable to articulate the joints in the hind legs, and swinging it forward but straight, from the hip?

[JB]

Yeah, I couldn’t decide if she’s extremely sickle-hocked, or camped out. Either way, it’s pretty extreme. Add to the fact that she’s still pretty lean and very unconditioned…

[newhorsemommy]

I agree the videos don’t look like UFP. My gelding has “delayed release” of patella and it was VERY obvious. His hind leg would get stuck behind him momentarily with the toe dragging, and then suddenly release with enough force that he would hit his own stomach. Luckily, it has been resolved with regular estrogen injections (conditioning not being an option due to a meniscus tear on the other leg ).

[Dani]

I can’t get the videos to load, but from the sound of a leg being left behind, that’s not what I’m seeing. It’s more like the joint is stuck and it takes extra effort (in the form of a high step forward) for it to get un-stuck. She doesn’t leave it behind her though. My vet is not a lameness specialist nor a gaited horse expert.