# Stifle Lock



## minimom1 (Sep 25, 2010)

I went to take my 11 week old colt and his mom out this morning and he was dragging his left hind foot.






I lifted his foot and his stifle popped back in to place but kept going out every step or 2. Now that he is out it is staying unlocked for a longer period but I want to do anything I can to help him.

I know this is a common problem in miniatures, I have even had a filly years ago that had this problem but I still have some questions about information I have heard.

*Does a long toe on a foal cause the stifle to lock ?*

(his have been trimmed once but are getting long again and the farrier does not come til Oct 4- he is only 11 weeks old)

*Does feeding too much protien in the diet cause stifle lock ?*

(he eats about a cup of mare and foal pellets a day as well as nursing, eating grass hay and drinking water)

*Is it caused from being stalled at night ?*

(he does spend the night in a large stall with his dam but is out in a large run area during the day where he gets plenty of excersize and plays with a mini donkey and the other mini's)

Any other information anyone can give me to help him would be much appreciated.

Sorry I did not see the previous stifle post but this is a different case.

He is a foal and is not a show or breeding horse.

Thanks


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## rabbitsfizz (Sep 25, 2010)

I am one who believes that this condition is both hereditary and caused by conformation (which is obviously hereditary!)

In a foal this young it is never good news, but there are still loads of things you can do to help. To start you do need to get a qualified farrier or a Vet who is a farrier, to look at it and to trim the feet for you as a bad trim will really not help.

I could tell you all sorts of things to try but, really, you do need a professional who has actually seen the foal to do that, I cannot see or feel it, and I may give incorrect advice.

It is not a good thing to happen, your Vet will, almost certainly;y, tell you to allow free exercise and to exercise the foal in hand once it is weaned, to build up muscle. This cannot do any harm at all but, IME, does not actually solve the problem and can leave the horse in some pain in the interim. If he is still locking out by the time he is a yearling, even just now and again, I would really look into having him operated on, you may need to press your Vet to get this done, as they really seem reluctant for some reason, but it would prevent so much damage caused to the back and neck that using all the wrong muscles will cause, that I do feel it is justified.

Get a professional opinion first, then you can look at the problem more calmly and rationally.


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## JMS Miniatures (Sep 25, 2010)

Just so you are aware that this is genetic and with a 11 week old cold already having as severe stifle lock up as this you are more then likely going to have to do surgery.

Yes a long toe can certaintly cause stifle to lock up. If they can't naturally move their back feet and are dragging instead it could cause issues. Trim up his feet, keep him regularly trimmed it may help.

Protien is not the cause of it. So don't worry about it. We were told at Nationals that it was genetic and also a mineral diffiecency. I can't remember what its called off hand tho.

The more room he has to run the better.

I had a yearling that locked up and she did not get better with regular trims and room to run. She is with someone else now but she would need the surgery for a chance to get better. Hope your guy can pull thru, but be sure to geld him IMO.


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## bevann (Sep 25, 2010)

JMS Miniatures said:


> Just so you are aware that this is genetic and with a 11 week old cold already having as severe stifle lock up as this you are more then likely going to have to do surgery.
> 
> Yes a long toe can certaintly cause stifle to lock up. If they can't naturally move their back feet and are dragging instead it could cause issues. Trim up his feet, keep him regularly trimmed it may help.
> 
> ...


I REALLY agree with Rabbit I have dealth with man y such cases over my 20+years in Minis.Exercise helps and I was told that going uphill helps, but where I live it is flat as a pancake.I have had many surgeries done to repaior the problem and I was NEVER sorry.The youngest was a weanling and she was so bad her foot knuckled over and she was dragging on her fetlock.I had to convince the vet to do the surgery but the filly was running and jumping within a few weeks.I was not sorry about that 1 either.Stall confinement aggrivates the problem but IMO foal will need surgery.It is simple-1 very small incision-snip that ligament-not usually even any stitches.good luck whatever you decide.


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## minimom1 (Sep 25, 2010)

Thank you all for your advice. No worries he for sure will be gelded. I am not a breeder, I purchased his dam already in foal and he will be gelded by 6 months of age as all my horses are.

I will how ever let the lady know who did breed his dam about the problem as last year was the first year she bred this stallion. I believe she bought him as a 3yr old so I don't know if she knows if he ever had a problem but my colt's dam does not seem to have any issues with her stifle but I don't know her history either.

He was absolutely fine yesterday, was galloping around before he came in and this morning it was locking really bad. It has been off and on through out the day so far.

*The weather here in Alberta can get down to the -40's in the winter so I prefer to keep them stalled in the heated barn at night but should I just keep him and his dam out so he is not confined ?*


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## hobbyhorse23 (Sep 25, 2010)

minimom1 said:


> *Does a long toe on a foal cause the stifle to lock ?*(his have been trimmed once but are getting long again and the farrier does not come til Oct 4- he is only 11 weeks old)


No. Bad conformation or a deformity of the bony surface causes this. A long toe does make it much WORSE, however, or can cause it to show up when the horse might otherwise have been fine. His hind feet should be trimmed regularly and the toe squared off to facilitate breakover as soon as possible.



minimom1 said:


> *Does feeding too much protien in the diet cause stifle lock ?*(he eats about a cup of mare and foal pellets a day as well as nursing, eating grass hay and drinking water)


WAY too much protein can definitely cause problems, especially in some breeds, but it is unlikely that's the cause in this case. It takes a massive overdose and you'd be seeing other symptoms besides the stifles. They would be almost a side effect is my understanding.



minimom1 said:


> *Is it caused from being stalled at night ?*(he does spend the night in a large stall with his dam but is out in a large run area during the day where he gets plenty of excersize and plays with a mini donkey and the other mini's)


Being stalled at night makes it much worse as the soft tissues in that area will become lax with disuse. To put it another way, the more the horse is out and exercising the more his muscles warm up and contract with exertion and the shorter ligament is less likely to get hooked over the bony prominence by accident.



minimom1 said:


> Any other information anyone can give me to help him would be much appreciated.


I'd keep this foal on turnout 24/7 with a big area and plenty of incentive to move like toys and having feed on one end and water on the other. Hills are good, deep footing that makes him pick up his legs with each step (assuming he's not actively locking when you put him in there) is good, stepping over little logs and bushes and such is good. We don't want to work a foal this young but the more you can get him to exercise those hind legs with big steps, the less trouble he will have. We want to strengthen the tissues that lift the leg straight up towards his belly as those are the ones related to the stifle problem according to my surgeon. For an older horse cavaletti work is the best thing in the world- it stopped my yearling's locking up, cold.



minimom1 said:


> The weather here in Alberta can get down to the -40's in the winter so I prefer to keep them stalled in the heated barn at night but should I just keep him and his dam out so he is not confined?


Brr, that's cold!! Snow would certainly count as work for his stifles but I can see why you might not want to leave him out.



Do you have an indoor arena or large barn aisle you could leave him in overnight?



JMS Miniatures said:


> Protien is not the cause of it. So don't worry about it. We were told at Nationals that it was genetic and also a mineral diffiecency. I can't remember what its called off hand tho.


With respect, protein can cause stifle problems but only in a few cases and it's not typically what we see with the minis. A selenium deficiency is another potential cause of UPF (upward fixation of the patella) but again is more often seen in large horse breeds, neglect cases and areas that are really strongly deficient in that mineral. For an otherwise healthy, normal foal to be doing this it is far more likely to be conformational. A simple blood panel from her vet can rule out those other potential causes and a set of xrays can help her see if there's anything else going on with the joint. My horse had all of those done before the vet was willing to do the surgery as she wanted to be sure he didn't have any abnormalities on the hook-and-groove area of the stifle that might be causing the problem before she cut the ligament.

Leia


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## Minimor (Sep 25, 2010)

The others have already answered your questions well; I just wanted to comment on the -40s weather. Since confinement does contribute to the problem of locking stifle, I would leave this fellow out through the winter, assuming that you have shelter available for horses when they are outside. He will be much better off if he is left outside where he has room to move around more, even if it is very cold outside. He may still be bothered if he spends some of the cold, windy days hiding in a shed, because standing around in a shed will be little different from standing in a stall--but most days he will likely be out moving around more and he will be able to cope just fine with the cold weather.

Manitoba winters are the same, with lots (TOO MUCH) extremely cold weather--our horses live outside 24/7 with run-in sheds for shelter, and all do fine with that lifestyle.


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