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[RC] stifle problem... vets? - KarenI would really appreciate hearing from anyone, especially vets, with experience with a horse lame due to stifle soreness. I suspect her patella may have been slipping around =is sore as a= result. Are there any tests or things to look for to determine= the exact nature of the problem? There was no improvement after= 5 days on bute & stall rest. What next? Xrays? Ultra sound? It sounds like you need to find a vet that specializes in sport horse/working horse type lamenesses. Depending upon what exactly is going on with your horses stifle, will determine what you need to do to fix it. I have had a horse that pulled the ligaments in his stifle out, causing the patella to slip around. I went to multiple vets for months and months and none of them, especially none of the endurance vets were able to properly diagnose the problem. In fact, the advice given was completely wrong for fixing the problem. Finally I found the right vet to properly diagnose the problem, and fix it -- completely! Stifle problems are now something that I can spot a mile away and I've seen them in several endurance horses; most ride vets have no clue that is what is causing the lameness. For my horse, all it took as having the stifle ligaments blistered with almond oil. Then, I had to work him at a trot for a minimum of a half an hour a day for a few weeks (which actually equated to about an hour and a half to two hours a day if I rode him in order to actually get a full 30 minutes of trotting, by the time I tacked up, rode to the trail, and then home and untacked). As my vet said, you can't ride this horse too much. We did a lot of hillwork too. I have had a few friends fix their horses the same way, but until it is properly diagnosed and then treated you'll get nowhere and back to start over again and again. The frustrating part is that it took so long (and at the horses expense) for something that turned out to be so easily and completely fixable. The total cost was around $130 for the exams and blistering -- never had to have xrays or ultrasound done. The vet could feel the patella move when I walked the horse. Karen in NV (who only has problems with horses that require lots and lots of riding, they never have anything wrong that requires time off!) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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