Often, mild knee pain can be treated with rest and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). More severe cases may require further intervention, but horses with knee pain generally have a good prognosis for recovery. How do you treat a horse with a knee injury? For direct trauma to the soft tissues Read more…
The stifle joint (often simply stifle) is a complex joint in the hind limbs of quadruped mammals such as the sheep, horse or dog. It is the equivalent of the human knee and is often the largest synovial joint in the animal’s body. The stifle joint joins three bones: the Read more…
Knee (or carpal) lameness is characterized by a shuffling gait, shortened foreleg strides, tripping in front due to not being able to lift the hoof fully off the ground, and swelling or heat on the knee. How do you treat a horse with a knee injury? For direct trauma to Read more…
Surgical stripping Your veterinarian will make a small incision on your horse’s leg above the growth plate. This procedure works by lifting the membrane from the bone; this releases the tension on the growth plates and encourages growth. In successful cases, this allows the growth of the leg to catch Read more…
Riding over raised poles (cavaletti) is helpful for developing strength in the horse that has weak stifles or hocks. The slow action of lifting the hind legs up and over the pole will strengthen the Tensor muscle as well as the Long Digital Extensor. Both muscle groups are responsible for Read more…
Also known as calf knee, a conformation fault where, when viewed from the side, the horse’s knee is behind an imaginary vertical line dropped down from the front and top of the foreleg. What are horse’s knees called? The horse’s carpus, or knee, consists of a number of small bones Read more…
Backing the horse will often remove the tension from the ligament and cause the patella to release. In severe cases the leg can remain stuck in extension, however the condition is often more mild and will appear as intermittent hopping as the patella catches and then unlocks during the stride. Read more…
Not every equine with a serious leg injury is a candidate for this option, but for horses with the right type of amputation, an artificial limb can allow many pain-free years in the pasture. Limb prosthetics for horses are usually constructed of carbon graphite with a titanium post. Why can’t Read more…
Digitigrade species walk with most of the length of their digits, but not the soles of their feet, in contact with the ground. Dogs and cats are examples. Unguligrade species walk on their tiptoes, often on hooves. Deer and horses are examples. What animals have digitigrade legs? A digitigrade animal Read more…
Thanks to specialized legs, however, a horse can lock its knees and fall asleep standing up — without falling over! A horse’s fear of predators also leads it to do most of its sleeping during the day. Do horses lock their legs to sleep? To protect themselves, horses instead doze Read more…