Yearling with stifle issue

[Ainsley]

Oinions needed please:

I have a generally very correct yearling filly who is in the midst of a small growth spurt. When I went out to feed yesterday morning, I thought I saw her stifle move rather oddly, but she walked and turned no problem, so I chalked it up to a rather active imagination on my part.

This morning, I actually stood at the gate to watch her for a while and sure enough her stifle is locking on her! It takes her a moment to unlock it and then she walks just fine. However, it appears that every time she stops and turns to the left (it is the left stifle) it locks on her again. If she tries to back up, the leg just ended up under her farther until she went forward. Then there is a small pop of the joint and she is fine.

She doesn't seem to be upset or uncomfortable in any way, but I am rather worried. I have never seen any indication of this in this pony before and although she is growing, she is pretty even front and behind (no ski-slope top line right now). Manually palpating the stifle area yields no heat, lumps or bumps or anything else out of the ordinary and it does not bother her at all to have me messing with her.

Should I be worried at all about this? Unfortunately, my vet is away for a while, but I will be sure to ask her about it as soon as she returns. So, in the meantime, I am looking for other people's experiences with this sort of thing.

Would it help if I was to put her on MSM or a joint supplement? Would it hurt? She is 13 months, lives out 24/7 with a small herd, gets free choice hay, grass is not too plentiful in her field but there is some, she gets a bit of oats twice daily.

Thank you everyone!

Jennifer

[showjumpers66]

I would suggest having a vet check her, but it sounds like she may need a bit of stall rest and a change of diet. I would get her on a balancer such as Buckeye Grow N Win. Cut her oats back until the problem resolves. It wouldn't hurt to get her on Adequan. Keep an eye on her. Sometimes they will lay down and then can't get back up while their stifles are locked up.

[FriesianX]

If she is catching through the patella tendon, stall rest is probably the last thing she needs - it isn't unusual for young, fast growing horses to develop patella tendon fixation - it can be a temporary thing or a permenant thing - either way, the best solution is exercise, excercise, and more exercise. But yes, it is worth having a vet look at it, because a stifle injury is a serious issue!

[JB]

Agree - stall rest is the worst thing for a locking stifle issue.

if ALL you see is it locking, and she's not lame, there's no heat or swelling, then IMVHO leave her out.

I WOULD do something more for her nutrition though. Grass and a bit of oats likely isn't enough for her. The easiest thing is a ration balancer, as that takes care of some growing requirements that a vit/min supplement cannot do alone.

Definitely talk to your vet about it though as soon as you can. The sooner your vet is aware, the better, so that you don't suddenly spring it on her when the filly is 3 ;)

[Daventry]

I would suggest having a vet check her, but it sounds like she may need a bit of stall rest and a change of diet.


:no::no::no: I agree with everyone else! Stall rest is the last thing you want if she has Upward Fixation of the Patella. It definitely can happen to youngsters. Some outgrow it, some don't. Keeping her outside and active is best. Make sure you call your vet and discuss it with them! ;)

[Ainsley]

Thanks everyone. I tend to agree with the "outside is best" theory at this point. There is no heat or swelling at all and definitely no lameness. She is absloutely sound at all 3 gaits.

Regarding her diet, my vet and I were actually speaking about this the other day and she is very happy with what my youngsters are getting at the moment. They are round without being fat (you can feel the ribs if you run your fingers across her, but nothing protrudes), hoof and hair condition are excellent. This filly has been cut back on her grain ration since about March as she was growing too quickly. Hence the oats only with lots of hay and access to a reasonable amount of grass. I forgot to add that she is on a vit/min supplement specifically for youngsters, so I think we are ok in that department.

I really do appreciate all the input. I have had experience with a locking stifle on another pony we had when we were younger...an old shetland type girl who was worth her weight in gold :) . However, I have never had to deal with it in 1)such a youngster or 2)something I bred or 3)without any apparent injury, heat or discomfort.

I would still like to hear if you think it would be beneficial to put this filly on an MSM or Glucosamine supplement? As I said, I will absolutely discuss this with my vet, but she is away so I am on my own just for the moment. Hopefully Roxy will out-grow this very quickly and I will have worried for nothing ;) .

Thank you everyone.
Jennifer

[JB]

Regarding her diet, my vet and I were actually speaking about this the other day and she is very happy with what my youngsters are getting at the moment. They are round without being fat (you can feel the ribs if you run your fingers across her, but nothing protrudes), hoof and hair condition are excellent. This filly has been cut back on her grain ration since about March as she was growing too quickly. Hence the oats only with lots of hay and access to a reasonable amount of grass. I forgot to add that she is on a vit/min supplement specifically for youngsters, so I think we are ok in that department.
Glad she's at least on a vit/min supp :)

Make VERY sure when feeding the kidlet that you do not sacrifice nutrition for the sake of reducing calories. You can reduce calories to reduce weight, or slow growth down a bit, but you cannot compromise nutrition because that just leads to other problems.

I would still like to hear if you think it would be beneficial to put this filly on an MSM or Glucosamine supplement?
Yes, absolutely - MSM has known anti-inflammatory properties, so is something I'd really do.

The glucosamine/joint supplement is entirely up to you. The stifle there isn't a joint like the hock, so you aren't likely to see improvement there. However, a stifle issue does not exist without affecting other structures, even minimally, so nota bad idea.