A nice person sent me a video showing horse knee buckling.
That’s when the knee just doesn’t seem to lock, and it buckles forward, usually causing the horse to stumble. (see video below)
What does horse knee buckling indicate?
Knee buckling shows the horse’s inability to correctly lock its knee.
The knee should “lock” in order to load the horse’s full weight.
This can happen when standing still or moving.
It looks like the horse’s knee gives way, so let’s talk about reasons why it does this.
What causes horse knee buckling?
Most people start with this question: “the knee is buckling, so what’s wrong with the knee?”
But, the symptom (what we see) is almost always the compensation for the real problem.
Therefore, the real question is: “what could be cause of the knee not locking?”
Knees don’t lock when the stay apparatus isn’t working.
The stay apparatus goes up and down the entire leg. Therefore, what could affect the stay apparatus?
Knee buckling is most commonly one of these three items:
- knee arthritis
- hoof trimming issues (imbalance or too high heel)
- misalignment anywhere in the leg and/or sternum
How to correct horse knee buckling
- Check for misalignments. You can find a TBT practitioner to help you with that HERE
- Check your hoof trim. The hoof should be trimmed to the hard sole plane.
Chat with your hoof care professional to see how they trim. If your trimmer doesn’t mention the “hard sole plane”, check out The Phoenix Way on facebook. - Have veterinarian xray the knee for arthritis. Don’t panic if you see something on xrays.
In my opinion, arthritis can be reversed. Please see my arthritis video here:
In summary, knee buckling is definitely a problem, but can always be fixed.
