Horse Problems Database – Rear End -Locking Stifles

What are symptoms of locking stifles in horses?

• Inability to flex the leg, which can cause the horse to be unable to move.
• May have a sudden release, with or without a pop or snap or click.
• May see stiff gait, with a short stabbing stride.  Often worse after standing still.

 

Here is Angel’s story, a horse that had locking stifles.

“Poor Angel! Nothing is stopping his stifle from locking up!” Angel is a six year old TB gelding. He’s so sweet and behaves so well, his mom calls him Angel.

He keeps getting agonizing stifle-locking episodes (left stifle only), for almost eight months.

He’s been stalled at times.

Other times hand-walked.

Tried groundpole work…and none of it helps.

Angel will just be standing there quietly. Then he tries to move and bam!

It’s locked and he can’t bend his left stifle at all.

He’s so good about it, but you can see he’s trying to control his panic.

Multiple vets have done all the usual things. Radiographs (xrays), ultrasounds, injections, medications. Nothing is working.

What’s the solution?

 

How to fix equine locking stifle

1)  Stop focusing on the locking leg

If one stops staring at the left leg (which is the one that locks), and just take look at Angle’s entire hind end, you can see hind end muscle asymmetry.

There’s much less muscle in the right hind. (photo below)

Wait, what? Yes, the opposite leg.

Stifle locking is only happening in the left hind, but significant muscle weakness (atrophy) is seen in the right hind.

What is going on?

Angel’s right hind had the primary problem. It turned out to be hip and pelvic symphysis misaligment.

These issues made the right hind painful for him. So he used it less.  Thus, muscle atrophy.

The left hind was used more to compensate for the painful right hind.

In Angel’s case, this overused his stifle. Yes, the stifle was misaligned and needed help. But the cause was the right leg.

As a vet, I can tell you that vets are taught to treat the painful part. Which is fine, that’s what we do.

But for you, the owner or therapist, may I suggest you look at the entire horse?

Vets will focus on the symptom (In Angel’s case, the left stifle), but may neglect to look at the entire horse from all perspectives.

Not every vet, of course. And to be fair, it’s hard to step back and look elsewhere when there’s a stuck, swollen, painful area right in front of you.

But you can do it.  You’re looking for symmetry everywhere. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but reasonably matched.

 

 

 

 

2) Locking stifle is due mostly to low selenium and/or misalignments

As talked about in #1, misalignments can cause locking stifles.  And those misalignments can be anywhere in the hind end, including both legs and/or the pelvis.

Once those are corrected, the most common cause is low selenium.

Selenium helps muscles stretch.  Muscles are attached to tendons.  With locking stifle, the tendons cannot stretch due to low selenium.  So, they lock in place.

Horses cannot get enough selenium from a salt-mineral block or even a vitamin-mineral mix.

I recommend this Premium E-Selenium from Dynamite brand.   It has the right balance.  You want to give 2 mg per day, which is the enclosed scoop.

 

3) If you think you’re giving enough selenium, check these two things:

A.  Many bagged feeds have selenium.  They list it as mg or ppm.   Regardless, that amount is per bag.   This is nowhere near enough selenium for horses.

B.  MSM competes with selenium.   Many supplements and bagged feeds have MSM added.   If you’re not seeing improvement with the Premium E-Selenium, check how much MSM you’re giving.   If you must use the supplements with the MSM, then increase the selenium.  Many working horses get two scoops (scoop in the Dynamite selenium bag) per day.

 

If you’re looking for someone to help you with alignment issues, please check our TBT practitioner page.