By Dr Luke Poore. “Horses who jump a lot can also have stifle injuries because of the forces involved in pushing up and over a large fence, particularly on footing that might be slick. In less severe cases the horse’s stifle locks intermittently when the horse is moving. Clicking stifle From: Barbara Dear Jessica, my four year old Tennessee Walking Horse mare (barefoot, don't worry, she's not even plain shod) makes a weird clicking noise, almost like a popping sound but more like a clicking sound with her hindquarters when she moves. It is roughly equivalent to a human knee. When going downhill, riders on these growing youngsters may experience a general unwillingness and inability to maintain a straight line (the horse will try to proceed downhill at an angle) and even intermittent near-collapse in severe cases. The hind leg will appear to collapse briefly, the stifle often unlocking itself with a loud click. Well what you do would likely depend on why the stifle is clicking. My horse had her stifle ligament repaired last year and she is in work now. horses hind leg clicking, stifle ligament? For example, the stifle “joint” is actually made up of three separate joints. Equine joints can snap and click even when there is nothing wrong with the horse. The patella is one of three bones that make up the equine stifle … Hind Legs Engagement and Stifle Problem Equine Biomechanics “The thought that the horse's gait could actually be changed to rehab or prevent injuries is almost completely foreign to veterinarians as well as trainers.” (Betsy Uhl, DVM, PhD. Try putting your hand on his stifle area, and see if you can feel a popping in and out. I read many different posts discussing: what the clicking noise meant; what the possible causes are and; how to help it; There were many different answers and solutions on forums concerning clicking joints. Clicking stifle From: Barbara Dear Jessica, my four year old Tennessee Walking Horse mare (barefoot, don't worry, she's not even plain shod) makes a weird clicking noise, almost like a popping sound but more like a clicking sound with her hindquarters when she moves.
I have a 7 or 8 year old Arabian X Quarter horse mare and on one of her hind legs, she has a clicking stifle joint.
The stifle is also an element of the stay apparatus, which allows horses to maintain a weight-bearing, for extended periods while relaxing the other hind limb. The stifle joint in a horse’s hind leg corresponds anatomically to the knee joint in the human leg. Locked stifle can also be caused by injury to the kneecap and ligaments, degenerative arthritis, or stifle joint swelling.
These horses may stumble more frequently; they may fall out behind; and their stifle joints may even make popping or clicking noises. If the veterinarian believes that the horse has been confined to a stable for prolonged periods of time, he will recommend that the horse be exercised on a regular basis. She gets it mostly when she is being ridden but I have heard it when she isn't being ridden as well. Horses with straight stifle joints are more prone to this condition than other horses. Can anybody tell me what this is, and why she has it? A horse’s job description greatly influences his risk of stifle injury. Horses may also present with milder forms of the condition and not have the obvious extension. It’s analogous to the human knee joint. These sounds are more common in older horses (and older people too).
Prevention A locking stifle is caused by upward fixation of the patella in the stifle joint of the horse. Sometimes a poped stifle makes that noise. Sticky or Locking Stifle in a Horse - Cause and Treatment 'Sticky Stifle' is a result of a slight problem with the locking mechanism which fixes the stifle joint and allows the horse to stand sleeping - as a result, the rest of the horse's hind leg is affected. Clicking stifle joint? However, instead of appearing halfway down the limb like the human knee, the horse’s stifle doesn’t even look like a joint because it is hidden within the structure of the horse’s upper hind leg.