At 13:23:54 on 12.07.09, squidgetmidget wrote:
hi, i was wondering if you could help, we had a welsh section C with 2 locking stifles, with work he was much better and by having both stifles affected, it meant he was very balanced when ridden and not noticable. however one of our other C's has now started showing signs of having one locking stifle. firstly, is there anything we could be doing that has caused this or are we just plain unlucky to have 2 ponies suffering from this??!! also what treatment do you recommend? he was really painful today when he couldnt click it back into place, spent ages dragging his leg behind him until he snapped it up again. we have looked in to the surgical route but obviously that carries its risks and consequences afterwards. are there any other options you could suggest?? any help would be much appreciated. thank you, Michelle

At 17:27:56 on 12.07.09, NMH wrote:
2 of my Connemaras (that I had from youngsters & kept throughout their lives) have had locking stifles; one grew out of it totally by the time he was 4 and more muscled. He had a long & extremely active performance life. The other didn't - but it only bothered him when, say, being backed up in the stable. Tho' his stifles seemed to "give" sometimes when walking on a long rein after exercise. Not to cause a problem, but you could feel it. He too had an active performance career. I never felt like taking the route of operation, I did know a Section A that did have the op, it was a qualified success I think but he moved oddly behind thereafter; he was a first pony & never did anything very demanding tho'. Don't know if this helps at all!

At 21:09:46 on 12.07.09, squidgetmidget wrote:
yes thanks, we found our last one was fine when in work, was a very bad day with our current suffering one! took him ages to get it right this morning but was fine after about half hour. was the first time it seemed a painful condition, he was thrashing his tail around when he was trying to move, was very sad as he is only 4 and very genuine. think he is staying for life so should be able to keep him in work to minimise the problem. how active were yours to keep the problem at bay?

At 21:30:13 on 12.07.09, NMH wrote:
Mine lived out 100% when young, & I never saw them have the problem in the field...it was in stable or when tied up. Don't really recall thinking they were in pain, more just awkward. They were both in regular-ish (ie not daily but say 4x a week) work right thro'.I suspect you are right that work is a help, with the first one I obviously tried to find out all I could about it & muscular development did seem all-important to give them the best chance to work thro' it- tho' it may be that some can't work thro' it & need a vet opinion. Very best of luck with it, I love section C's - it might be worth asking people within the breed? tho' when I did that with my first Conn I got blank denial!! It's meant to be associated with rather upright hind leg conformation, dunno about that, not that one can change it! If you've had 2 with it,& so have I (& I haven't had very many! only those 2 that I had right thro' their lives,a few for shorter periods) it suggests it's pretty common in bigger natives?

At 21:37:39 on 12.07.09, squidgetmidget wrote:
this second one is put together really well so surprised he has the same problem, the other one was a good sort but nowhere near as correct as this one. dad is starting to moan that it is mum doing something wrong but i cant see it could be influenced by anything we do. they were both fine when out 24/7, and this one only has a problem when he is stabled overnight. when someone came to buy the last one we had to work him for an hour before they came to try and cover it, felt awful but she was a producer and we really needed to cut down and she had him for a good price. feel awful now as he is on horsequest for nearly £6000 so it is obvious they have just hammered him and now are selling him on.will be good when he goes to a nice home and we can get back in contact. we got told that jumping them helps? have you heard of that? its very hard with this second one as he struggles so much learning to canter on the right lead on one rein where it affects him, at least with the other one he was balanced out what with having both affected!

At 21:51:46 on 14.07.09, HorseVet wrote:
Hi. Locking stifles are usually related to youth and fitness. To prevent it you need to build up the muscles and muscle-tone of the upper hind legs - hill work is best! Also best to work them from the field as they keep moving during the day and build those muscles faster. There are historical surgical options best avoided as it inevitably leads to arthritis in a couple of years time. Best wishes HorseVet
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