Need to rethink driving on hard surfaces?

[Marsha Cassada]

Dapper Dan has a stifle injury. Vet is pretty sure he will be driving again in a few months but it is making me rethink driving on pavement.

The injury probably was caused by horseplay, but I am wondering if harness work on pavement can contribute to stress on the stifle. We don't do a ton of driving on pavement, but we do travel on pavement sometimes.

The joint seems fine and there was no calcification on the tendons, according to the xray, so he is confident Dapper Dan can recover. (I can tell what treatment he is having if anyone is interested.)

Is driving on pavement something I need to think about, as far as stifle problems? If so, what are some options? I would hate to think that anything I did contributed to his problem.

Dapper Dan is 15 and has always been sound. Vet said his weight of 256# for 32.5" was good.

 

[brasstackminis]

Marsha,

I am not sure about pavement, but when we had horses (half draught TB) with a locking stifle, the vet's perscription was trot, trot, trot. At least 30 min a day. I always figured driving at a trot would help too. Apprantly there is a little piece of bone in that joint area, that when the tendon gets a little slack from weight loss or lack of muscle tone, etc it can catch. Beefing up the muscle takes up the slack and then the tendon doesn't get hooked. It seems to work on the older horses I have had that were never lame and then get a stuck stifle. My shetland was super thin when I got him and his stifles stuck. They told me they never had in the past...he was a halter horse so maybe that was the truth. Anyways after me feeding him and lots of caveletti, no more stifle problems. I am not sure what your horses diagnosis was, but it sounds like you don't put nearly the road miles I do on my guys so you SHOULD be ok. At 4-8 miles 2-3 times a week on the asphalt/caliche I have not had any problems. I wish I had better footing for driving on my property, but I live it beach sand! My guys get irritated when I ask them to take me from the cross ties to the driveway with my cart because the sand is so deep. It makes some crazy deep trenchs..like trying to ride your bike in the sand.

It makes for a nice roundpen though!

Hmmm not even sure if I answered your question or made any sense...it's bedtime

 

[Minimor]

I have never heard anything about hard surfaces causing problems for stifles--I don't think that the stifle is something that would be affected by concussion. Hard surfaces would cause concussion injuries to other joints--fetlocks, knees, hocks and could contribute to things like ringbone--but not likely the stifle.

Hopefully your guy will recover fully from his stifle injury and he'll be back to driving--just don't try to start him back too soon; with stifle injury I would rather wait an extra length of time to be sure he's 100% than to start work too soon & cause re-injury. From what you describe I don't think you need to worry about the pavement driving you do.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

The stifle is not locking. It had fluid. He compared it to an acl injury in a human knee.

He took fluid off the area and began a series of injections.

He also looked at the fluid under the microscope, but I haven't had a chance to ask what he saw there.

DD gets another injection today in the muscle (we will do that) and on Tuesday he goes back to the vet for an injection into the stifle.

I need to write down my questions.

I am wondering if working on pavement is harder on that joint than working on a dirt road. Human runners wear fancy shoes. Building up the hind end is important for stifle support, I know. I have been so busy working with my other horse, training, I think I have neglected DD's excercises.

I must add that Dapper Dan spent 2 hours in the vet office during all this and had perfect manners. It is a small animal clinic in an urban area and "farm animals" are not allowed. So we had to be inside where neighbors would not see a great big horrible farm animal on the premises. DD was so good. When the vet took me back into the little room to look at the xrays, DD navigated around all the equipemtn, then backed out perfectly without touching a single thing.

They said he was better behaved than some dogs they have.