Locking stifle - treatment, prognosis?

Em 1

Em 1

Well-Known Member
Aug 18, 2001
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We've got a pony on loan with suspected locking stifle which has recently got worse. I'm trying to find out as much as possible about treatment and prognosis before the vet comes so we can talk about all the options.

If you have had a pony/horse with locking stifle how did you treat it? Has anyone had the ligaments cut and if so was this a success, were there any side-effects? Have you tried any other treatments/supplements/approaches that were successful?

Any experiences or advice would be great :).

(Btw the pony is 8).
 
Many years ago my old pony had severely locking stifles so he was operated on & the ligaments cut. It was done under a sedation plus local anaesthetic, we followed the vet's orders for recovery & he never had any problems with it for the rest of his life.

If the locking isn't severe (William's would lock completely in mid stride & he couldn't move the leg forward) then vet's often recommend keeping them fairly fit with regular work as this strengthens the ligaments & stops them slipping & locking the joint.
 
sarahandbronson said:
Sometimes pushing them backwards can unlock the stifle - doesn't stop it happening again though, and doesn't always work.
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Yes, that's what we had to do before the op. Like you say it doesn't stop it happening again though & his needed operating on because fittening didn't work & it was making him unsafe to ride.
 
Mine suffers with it, with fitness she is almost 100% fine and you may notice only the slightest lock on a cold day. My vet advised against the op as it can cause early onset arthritis and so should only be used in severe cases or ones where the fitness regime has been tried and failed.
 
How old is the horse? Young horses with locking stifles normally grow out of it. When a horse is in full work and has the correct muscle to support the stifle area the condition tends to lessen. My vet didn't recommend the operation unless full work and fitness regime had been really tried and tested and failed as it can cause juvenille arthritis in young horses and the early onset of arthritis in older horses.
 
Re the arthritis that shandy84 & Ace87 mention, I can only say it wasn't something we had a problem with. William was operated on at, I think, 12 & he lived to 29. He never showed any arthritis, or even stiffness, in his stifles to the day he died. I'd say that if it can't be managed any other way then this is maybe a risk you have to take, it's a "maybe" problem versus an "actual" problem.
 
Our thoroughbred had this, vet advised 24 hour turnout and lots of hill work, the fitter the better, It worked for Jack as it only seemed to happen when he was stabled or inactive.
 
Echo whats been said... depends on how old the horse is and how frequently it occurs.... hill work and get him fit and muscled and see how they get on.
 
Hill work and raised pole work (lunged to start with) to help build up the hindquarters and to encourage the pick up of the hind feet. Equine massage with correct stretching and releasing can help as well. Proper warm ups and cool downs as well :)
 
Sometimes the fitness doesn't work because the horse cannot use their quarters enough due to the locking to build the required muscle. The current op isn't a cut of the ligaments completely, they split the ligaments in a specific place to make them scar and thicken sufficiently that they don't lock any more. When I enquired at the Royal vet college they said the op itself is a couple of hundred £ and is routine (they do loads).
 
Joy previous fieldmate had locking stiffles. It was realised when she was 4.

She never needed the op but the vet advised that she sould be kept in work and kept out 24/7 so she could keep it moving. That did the trick.
 
Ace87 said:
How old is the horse? Young horses with locking stifles normally grow out of it.
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Unfortunately he is (only) 8 - too old for it to be a youngster problem and too young to be showing arthritis which is another problem we've encountered :(

Bronya said:
Sometimes the fitness doesn't work because the horse cannot use their quarters enough due to the locking to build the required muscle.
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This is the problem we are having. He was pretty well completely out of work when he got to us, he's responded well to light work so far but is now hopping lame with his stifle when asked for anything more than a saunter. His hindquarters are underdeveloped but he doesn't understand the concept of trotting poles or lunging. We are slowly building him up to the point where he will trot rather than bunny hop a single pole on the ground but this isn't much use for building up muscle! Also this has to be done on the end of a lead rope as his lunging is terrible - he falls in at any opportunity, which unbalances him, affects the stifle and prevents you pushing him out again:rolleyes: We've tried freeschooling down a jumping chanel (with just a pole on the ground) but he just saunters or flies along it in a lopsided canter, bunny hopping the pole. We have no chance at building the hindquarters up as the situation stands although if anyone has any suggestions I'd be really grateful to hear them :).

Bronya said:
The current op isn't a cut of the ligaments completely, they split the ligaments in a specific place to make them scar and thicken sufficiently that they don't lock any more. When I enquired at the Royal vet college they said the op itself is a couple of hundred £ and is routine (they do loads).
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That's really interesting, thank you. Doing it this way presumably reduces the chance of arthritis as the joint is held a little bit more stable than completely cutting the ligaments? It's also much cheaper and more common than I thought which is good!

I think I'll talk to the vet about the possibility of operating as it seems the only way forwards at the moment. Does anyone know the current recovery time/regime for this operation (he'd never tolerate being on box rest so please tell me he can be turned out!)?

Thanks again:)
 
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For a horse of 8yrs of age to not know about lunging or polework is probably where your problem arose... he may not be 4, but he sounds like he hasn't done enough work... physically he is probably like a 4yr old?

Lunging is a no-no for stifle problems especially in the beginning, long-rein instead, in straight lines, uphill if possible.

What about his hind feet, how are they shod, whats his foot conformation like? Ask your farrier if theres anything he can do to help him in the short-term while you build him up.

The recovery from surgery does not take long at all, even as little as 2weeks depending on how it goes but you will have the same problem afterwards, you will still need to build him up before he is suitable for riding... I personally would avoid the surgery if at all possible...you won't need to have him on boxrest though, just restricted turnout in a small flat paddock.
 
Our vet said that the operation to help the ligament is generally very successful. In milder cases keeping them fit and working is beneficial to them.
 
I have a friesian x warmblood who gets a locking stifle never when he is being ridden he is pretty fit and loves to jump. I have thought about surgery but since reading all these posts his stifle isnt that bad and improves when he is ridden regularly does a locking stifle get worse or cause problems in later life as my boy is only 5 and he was in terrible shape when i bought him in january?
 
Snap, friend of mine has a lovely Selle Francais ex eventer with a locking stifle. She lives out 24/7 and is worked daily (but only hacks these days).

It doesn't cause her major problems and she has never had treatment but she had to retire her from competing at 12 because it would randomly go when she was jumping, like on tight turns. So they stick to mostly straight lines for galloping etc now. Her owner was happy to hack though, I suppose if she had wanted to do more they may have tried treatment.

She is never lame though :)

Joyscarer said:
Joy previous fieldmate had locking stiffles. It was realised when she was 4.

She never needed the op but the vet advised that she sould be kept in work and kept out 24/7 so she could keep it moving. That did the trick.
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