Hi folks. One of the drafts I am thinking about buying has a condition in both hind legs called String Halt. Basically, there is a tendon that goes from above the hock to the cannon bone that is too tight and causes the horse to pick his hind feet up higher than normal. My vet says surgery can correct the problem, and would cost around $500. They only want $1000 for this horse, a big 18 hand chestnut stallion. Beautiful animal, and the owners say that it really doesn't bother him. I will ride the horse sooner or later to see for myself. Just wondering if anyone had any experience with this and your results. Thanks. Happy Trails
Does anyone have any experience with Sting Halt?
- Thread starter Outrider
- Start date
Stringhalt
Outrider, I have no pesonal experience of Stringhalt but I go this info from another site and thought it might be of interest/help, just in case it is not stringhalt but shivers.
t is often easy to confuse shivers with stringhalt, as most veterinarians are taught about
stringhalt but not about shivers. A stringhalt
horse lifts the affected hind legs up and forward under the belly, almost hitting the bottom of
the belly with the top of the pastern.
Stringhalt occurs at every walk stride
and becomes less obvious or disappears
at the trot or canter. Shivers horses
lift the affected hind legs out to the side more than under the belly.
Shivers is a progressive problem, whereas
stringhalt generally is not (although this will
depend a bit on the cause).
The progression of shivers can be very slow
or can be faster, with no way to predict. In my experience,odd hind limb gaits in draft and Warmblood-related breeds are more often shivers than stringhalt. I know of several
shivers horses doing very high level dressage, although the rein back may be a problem for them.
Outrider, I have no pesonal experience of Stringhalt but I go this info from another site and thought it might be of interest/help, just in case it is not stringhalt but shivers.
t is often easy to confuse shivers with stringhalt, as most veterinarians are taught about
stringhalt but not about shivers. A stringhalt
horse lifts the affected hind legs up and forward under the belly, almost hitting the bottom of
the belly with the top of the pastern.
Stringhalt occurs at every walk stride
and becomes less obvious or disappears
at the trot or canter. Shivers horses
lift the affected hind legs out to the side more than under the belly.
Shivers is a progressive problem, whereas
stringhalt generally is not (although this will
depend a bit on the cause).
The progression of shivers can be very slow
or can be faster, with no way to predict. In my experience,odd hind limb gaits in draft and Warmblood-related breeds are more often shivers than stringhalt. I know of several
shivers horses doing very high level dressage, although the rein back may be a problem for them.
Stringhalt is an involuntary flexion of the hock which can affect one or both hind legs. In Australia and New Zealand there is a form of stringhalt which is related to poisonous plants, but in the UK and America the disease seems random. The cause of stringhalt is unknown but is thought to be neurological.
Signs are actually quite variable, I have recently seen a case in which the stringhalt is NOT seen at walk, but at Trot, and the horse panics whenever she starts. Horses with stringhalt do not always pick up at every stride, but often for 5 or 6 strides in a row, and then be fine. Most cases are at walk, and will improve at faster paces. Some may be so severe that it is unsafe to ride them. In all cases the signs are worse when the horse turns sharply or backs up.
The surgery you have been suggested involves removal of PART (but not all) of the lateral digital extensor tendon, which can be done under a general aneaesthetic, or in some cases under standing sedation (depends on the horse). The horse will need to be box rested for 10 days, with lots of bandages, then gently brought back into work. Some horses respond very well to this treatment but others do not.
I have heard of medical treatment being used, and some centres are using muscle relaxants at very low doses. I have no idea if it works yet.
I don't think that there would be much problem with competitive ability in a horse that has stringhalt, unless you want to do dressage, If you merely want to jump him, or do cross country then there is no point putting him through the surgery. However, I don't see any reason why he won't be able to compete in dressage events if he has the surgery and it is successful. If you have ever been to the races, or watch on TV you will notice that a lot of the horses there have stringhalt, and do very well.
My advice as a vet would be that if you like him, buy him (as long as there is nothing else wrong) but remember that if you do, and he has surgery and it doesn't get better, you took him on knowing the risks, and it's your own responsibility.
Alexa:
I think the website you used must be american, because vets in this country are definitely taught about stringhalt. It's more common here than there, and our UK vet schools teach more equine medecine than in the USA I think. Anyway, it isn't easy to confuse a stringhalt with a shiverer, as shiverers do not do their action only when exercising, they will also do it after their feet are picked up (e.g. farriery) and they have difficulty putting their feet down ....... i.e. they shake the leg as it goes down, like shivering. The tail often will shake too.
I have seen one case which was an atypical shiverer, that is once you picked her foot up she wouldn't put it down for ages, and would hop around. Eventually when she did replace her foot, she shivered. I think though she was distressed about shivering and prefered to hop than put her foot down! There is nothing you can do about a shiverer, and like a stringhalt you'll never see one in a grand prix dressage competition!
Signs are actually quite variable, I have recently seen a case in which the stringhalt is NOT seen at walk, but at Trot, and the horse panics whenever she starts. Horses with stringhalt do not always pick up at every stride, but often for 5 or 6 strides in a row, and then be fine. Most cases are at walk, and will improve at faster paces. Some may be so severe that it is unsafe to ride them. In all cases the signs are worse when the horse turns sharply or backs up.
The surgery you have been suggested involves removal of PART (but not all) of the lateral digital extensor tendon, which can be done under a general aneaesthetic, or in some cases under standing sedation (depends on the horse). The horse will need to be box rested for 10 days, with lots of bandages, then gently brought back into work. Some horses respond very well to this treatment but others do not.
I have heard of medical treatment being used, and some centres are using muscle relaxants at very low doses. I have no idea if it works yet.
I don't think that there would be much problem with competitive ability in a horse that has stringhalt, unless you want to do dressage, If you merely want to jump him, or do cross country then there is no point putting him through the surgery. However, I don't see any reason why he won't be able to compete in dressage events if he has the surgery and it is successful. If you have ever been to the races, or watch on TV you will notice that a lot of the horses there have stringhalt, and do very well.
My advice as a vet would be that if you like him, buy him (as long as there is nothing else wrong) but remember that if you do, and he has surgery and it doesn't get better, you took him on knowing the risks, and it's your own responsibility.
Alexa:
I think the website you used must be american, because vets in this country are definitely taught about stringhalt. It's more common here than there, and our UK vet schools teach more equine medecine than in the USA I think. Anyway, it isn't easy to confuse a stringhalt with a shiverer, as shiverers do not do their action only when exercising, they will also do it after their feet are picked up (e.g. farriery) and they have difficulty putting their feet down ....... i.e. they shake the leg as it goes down, like shivering. The tail often will shake too.
I have seen one case which was an atypical shiverer, that is once you picked her foot up she wouldn't put it down for ages, and would hop around. Eventually when she did replace her foot, she shivered. I think though she was distressed about shivering and prefered to hop than put her foot down! There is nothing you can do about a shiverer, and like a stringhalt you'll never see one in a grand prix dressage competition!
take a look at this website, very informative:
http://www.drafthorsejournal.com/vetcolumns/autumn99/autumn99.htm
remember there are things to consider about the operation, and it sometimes causes more harm than good.
http://www.drafthorsejournal.com/vetcolumns/autumn99/autumn99.htm
remember there are things to consider about the operation, and it sometimes causes more harm than good.
Like ponyvet said, a lot depends on what you want to do with the horse and how severe the stringhalt is. I've known several horses who have had it in varying degrees and it doesn't seem to stop them being worked. If you're thinking of using it for reining competions you might have a problem though, particulary with the sliding stops, I think that might put too much strain on the tendon.
This big Belgian has it in both hind legs. All I am planning on doing with this stallion is trail riding and pleasure riding. I would guess that at 18 hands and around 1900 pounds he wouldn't make a good jumper. But I don't know anything about jumping, though I wouldlike to. I have asked the owners to make a video of him for me and my vet to see and evaluate. Ponyvet, do you say that for what I want to do with him, the surgery presents more of a risk than necessary? I appreciate your advice. My vet said he would remove ALL of the lateral digital extensor tendon, not just part, because in his words, "a horse doesn't need it anyway". He also said the recovery time was 4-6 weeks. He is suppose to be an equine lameness specialist, so his conflicting information with yours is a concern. I have read that it is more prevalent in Australia and NZ than the US. Perhaps he isn't as informed on it. Thanks for the advice. I will let you know what I see in the video if the owners agree to make one to send me. Happy Trails!
stringhalt
I used to ride a an ex-point-to-pointer with stringhghalt. He did fine with it. He looked odd in walk but could gallop with the best. I suppose it depends on the horse.
I used to ride a an ex-point-to-pointer with stringhghalt. He did fine with it. He looked odd in walk but could gallop with the best. I suppose it depends on the horse.
Your vet is right, the horse doesn't need it's extensor tendon, and if he feels happier removing the whole tendon then that's fine. Different people use different techniques so one way is not necessarily better than another. Also 4-6 weeks is a good estimate for how long it will be before you can expect to start normal work, what I said before was how long it would need to be box rested for, then you would need to start walking in hand for a week, then build up the exercise slowly.
I don't think the surgery is more of a risk, but it just depends on whether you think it really makes that much difference to you and what you want the horse for. The price you are paying for it is not much, and you only want to use it for pleasure, but if it is affected in both legs, the surgery is more likely to be beneficial. If you had said only one leg I'd say it could get on ok without.
PS. Trust your vet. If he thinks it's worth going ahead go with it.
I don't think the surgery is more of a risk, but it just depends on whether you think it really makes that much difference to you and what you want the horse for. The price you are paying for it is not much, and you only want to use it for pleasure, but if it is affected in both legs, the surgery is more likely to be beneficial. If you had said only one leg I'd say it could get on ok without.
PS. Trust your vet. If he thinks it's worth going ahead go with it.
Thanks ponyvet. I appreciate your advice. I am hoping the owners will send me a veidio so my vet and I can evaluate it. Then I will go see the horse in person if he thinks it is worth it. I will let you know how it turns out. Happy Trails.
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