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What causes a locked stifle?
The exact cause of locking stifles isn’t known, but it’s thought it could be due to conformation factors such as straight limbs and a weakness of the quadriceps muscles (those found near the top of your horse’s hind legs). It’s most often seen in young horses that are growing rapidly.
What causes stifle problems in horses?
The stifle is considered the most complex joint in the horse’s body with a similar function to the human knee. Stifle injuries can result from repetitive stress, trauma, excessive use, changes in direction and rapid deceleration. Horses engaged in jumping and barrel racing are most at risk of these injuries.
Can a horse with locking stifle be ridden?
Horses that regularly display classic locking stifles and don’t achieve a normal gait after a few strides may not be safe to ride. To detect the problem in a horse being considered for purchase, ride the horse at all gaits and in circles as well as straight lines.
What helps a locking stifle?
For mild locked stifle cases, exercise and a balanced hoof trim may help your horse. Lack of fitness causes weak muscles and ligaments, so simply conditioning your horse can sometimes help solve the stifle problem. 2 For severe locking, ask your farrier to “rocker,” or roll, the toe of the hoof.
Is stifle lock hereditary?
Whilst often the direct cause for stifle lock is not fully understood, many feel it is a hereditary condition. Factors which influence its likelihood include muscular condition (particularly quadriceps), conformation, lack of fitness and immaturity.
Are locked stifles painful?
Locking stifle is a painful, but common horse health condition that can create a lot of problems for your horse’s mobility.
How do you unlock a stifle horse?
When your horse experiences a locked stifle, gently guide it into a position that will unlock it. If you are walking your horse and its hind leg gets stuck in an extended position, signal your horse to rein back. This movement will allow the ligament in its hind leg to slacken, allowing the joint to unlock.
Can stifle injuries heal?
Kaycee Monnens. In the past, an injury to the stifle joint of a horse may have certainly ended his or her career or usefulness. Now, with the ever-evolving science of veterinary medicine, afflictions to the joint have a much higher chance of being treated or even healed.
How do you treat locking stifles in horses?
Treatment
- Injection of counterirritants such as iodine into the middle and medial patella ligaments in order to cause inflammation and scarring reduce elasticity of the ligament.
- Ultrasound guided desmoplasty (ligament splitting) of the medial patellar ligament in order to create localised scarring to reduce elasticity.
How do I strengthen my horses stifles?
Riding over raised poles (cavaletti) is helpful for developing strength in the horse that has weak stifles or hocks. The slow action of lifting the hind legs up and over the pole will strengthen the Tensor muscle as well as the Long Digital Extensor. Both muscle groups are responsible for the stability of the stifle.
How do I know if my horse has sore stifles?
Horses with stifle problems are going to be lame in the hind end. The lameness can be on one or both sides, depending on if one or both stifles are affected. Usually the stifle joint will be swollen and possibly painful but not always.
How do I know if my horse needs stifle injections?
In addition, the stifle-sore horse may exhibit common performance issues, such as stiffness, resistance to bending or picking up a particular lead, discomfort or unwillingness to go up or down hills, and drifting to one side when jumping. “You’ll typically see the problem appear on the outside of the circle,” Dr.
Can horses recover from stifle injuries?
How do you strengthen weak stifles in horses?
How long do stifle injections last?
Hock injections can be effective anywhere from 6-12 months. If your hock injections are only lasting 8-10 weeks, your horse may be a candidate for laser arthrodesis (surgical fusion).
What causes locking stifles in horses?
The lowdown on locking stifles. The exact cause of locking stifles isn’t known, but it’s thought it could be due to conformation factors such as straight limbs and a weakness of the quadriceps muscles (those found near the top of your horse’s hind legs). It’s most often seen in young horses that are growing rapidly.
What is a stifle locking?
This is commonly known as a locking or sticking stifle. While veterinarians term the condition “upward fixation of the patella,” old-time horsemen have a simpler descriptive phrase: “That horse is stifled.”
What causes stifle lock and is it hereditary?
Whilst often the direct cause for stifle lock is not fully understood, many feel it is a hereditary condition. Factors which influence its likelihood include muscular condition (particularly quadriceps), conformation, lack of fitness and immaturity.
What does a locked stifle look like in a horse?
In less severe cases the horse’s stifle locks intermittently when the horse is moving. The hind leg will appear to collapse briefly, the stifle often unlocking itself with a loud click. In its most mild form stifle lock can be quite difficult to diagnose.