Horse will catch a toe randomly at walk and trot and it feels like a leg falling out. It is mild at times and worse at others. My vet says it is a stifle issue but I’m worried it is something else. Would love if anyone has seen this before exactly to chime in or a vet ideally. Including a picture of what it looks like.
Video will be more useful 
IME, your vet is probably right, very likely a stifle that catches here and there. But whether that’s due to general weakness, or a patellar ligament that needs to be blistered to functionally shorten it, OR it’s about toes that are too long, that’s what needs to be looked into
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How deep is that footing? I can’t see really well in that picture but it looks like the hind feet are sinking in the footing to the top of the hoof. If that is the case then the problem might be the footing and not the horse. The front feet are not so deep so hmmmm.
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My horse has the same issue and the vet also said it’s the stifle. Deep footing makes it worse. Vet said the best thing for it is movement so I try to make sure she’s ridden 5-6 days a week.
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This is SUCH a relief. She is worse with time off and in deep footing. Do you do anything to help? I’ve been cold hosing and poulticing her stifles after a ride.
It happens on grass or in deep footing but does tend to be worse in deep footing. Should probably mention we have had issues with NPAs in the past which my current farrier says is resolved
Yay! I hope he is right. I might be able to share a video. Have you had a horse that has done this? He said if it doesn’t improve the surgery might be an option long term but recommended exhausting exercise first
Hill work and ground poles are quite good for strengthening stifles. Just start slowly and build up gradually.
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If there’s inflammation in the stifle - which there often is if they’re catching - another conservative route to go is to inject with something like IRAP or ProStride or plain HA and then put the horse into a really focused rehab program (backing, isometric exercises like tail pulls, poles and hills). I’ve done this successfully. It really helps to ultrasound and/or X-ray the joint to know what you’re dealing with, though. That can determine what injection, if any, would be most effective, as well as guide the rehab process.
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I’ll echo what everyone is saying and agree it could be stifles. I literally just had the vet out for my gelding who had a lot of other signs pointing to his right stifle but what your horse is doing is something he also does. She put him on 60 days Equiox, gave a shot of HA and we are doing daily stifle PT (poles, hills, backing up hills and around corners, tail pulls, etc).
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I agree w all of the above. That footing looks very deep and soft- what is it?
That is good to know that the recommendation was to work and do the exercises. I was afraid it was something suspensory where work would actually make it worse.
Good to know your vet did and prescribed all that. Did you do x rays or ultrasounds?
Did you make any shoeing changes? My farrier comes out next week and I plan to clue him in.
These 2 things that make it worse are VERY common with weak stifles. It’s not actually the stifle itself that’s weak, that’s like saying a person has weak knees. It’s all the surrounding muscles, and/or a too lax or too tight patellar ligament. IME, the “slipped on a banana peel”, which is essentially catching the toe, as either weaker muscles that don’t properly work to keep the patellar ligament from catching in the first place, or the ligament itself is a bit loose which makes it inadvertently catch sometimes.
The first, and best, and obviously leave invasive thing is to keep her in solid work, and gradually keep increasing the level of fitness. This can take months, so don’t be discouraged if in 4 weeks she still catches here and there. Ground poles, then raised poles, hills if you have them, LOTS of transitions, not as much canter work as trot and walk, keep circles to a minimum. Get the Klimke book on Cavaletti. Increase work slowly. Duration, or intensity, never both at the same time
And, make sure you’re riding her properly, back to front, not letting her go inverted. Your rides may be pretty short once you start dialing in the correct work, even 20 minutes, because the more she’s been allowed to just la-la along, the harder correct work is, and she should only be allowed to work correctly. 45 minutes of half correct, half not because she’s tired, doesn’t help 20 minutes of “ok, I’m doing good and I’m TIRED” will get you farther, faster.
Farrier says? What do xrays say?
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My vet wanted to start somewhat light and then do more if we need to at his recheck in 60 days. Next steps would be to X-ray and maybe injections into the offending stifle. No changes to shoeing for my gelding. He is just shod up front in pretty basic shoes.
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If you’re dealing with NPA I’d definitely get updated x rays to make sure things look better internally. Everything recommended here for stifles is spot on but also be patient. I’ve seen some people go so aggressively after the stifles a weakness becomes an injury because they are doing nothing but poles and hill work.
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This is super helpful!!! Thank you so much! Why do you say limit circles? I just moved but I start with a new trainer next week and I’m sure they will help me out
You’re welcome!
Stifle issues and circles just don’t mix well. I don’t mean don’t work in an arena, just don’t “work on circles”. Once the slipping/catching issue is reduced, then you can start slowly adding circle work in as a new way of helping with fitness, since they ARE valuable because of how the weight the inside hind, and ask the horse to reach more with the outside hind, as long as (as always) you’re asking her to stay vertical and not drop or bulge her shoulder.
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I agree that stifles are your most likely culprit.
Can a horse have more than one problem? You bet.
But you have to start with one thing and work on that to figure out if that’s the only thing.
Did your vet already do imaging? My vet has told me that bony changes in the stifle are actually fairly rare, but it’s still a good idea to do an xray to rule things out. Ultrasound might also be worth while to rule out tears and such in the soft tissue around the stifle.
In my experience, stifle injections just aren’t that effective. It’s such a complicated mobile joint that I just haven’t had a ton of luck with them, but at the same time, injections can and do decrease inflammation.
I have had good success with PEMF therapy for stifle issues.
And as others have mentioned CORRECT exercise. No circles right now. And no deep ground right now. Work really hard on keeping your horse collected at all times. Don’t let them get strung out.
If you can find a very gradual incline (like a very flat ditch), backing your horse up that is a really, really good exercise to strengthen stifles. But introduce slowly and gradually.
Ground poles are another thing you can introduce, to encourage strengthening of the stifles. As they progress, you can start to do very low caveletti.
How is IRAP vs Prostride to combat inflammation? I’ve not been wowed by Prostride but I know IRAP has some pretty strong anti inflammatory components to it which are better than Prostride. I’m considering it for my young guy who is stifle sore but not lame. He catches on occasion.
