Possible Stifle Problems

Question
Hi,

I have recently purchased a horse 12yo gelding (not sure of the breed) at auction and after getting to know the horse a little i believe that he may have a problems with his stifle. The stifle joint looks a little swollen and the horse hates you touching that area (he tries to kick you) also he hates being saddled, you can put the saddle on him but he constantly moves away and flicks his tail etc. When you can eventually get on him and ride him he flicks his tail around and sticks his head up in the air, he also appears to be stiff in the back end and does not appear to stride out as he should. He does not kick or buck and the joints do not lock.
Basically i would like to know if this horse may have a medical problem or is he testing me. If it is a stifle problem is the only way to cure the problem surgery?

Thanks for your time

Averil
Australia

Answer
Hi Averil - thanks for your question!  Yes, I do think that your horse has a medical issue going on.  The behaviors you describe are textbook signs of pain and discomfort. Something has happened to your new gelding - either as a developing fetus (in eutero) or sometime since he was foaled.  It's really hard to say where to start exactly but I would be tempted to try a good equine chiropractor ... that's just me.  Without knowing the exact extent of this guy's injury, I can't say that he can be fixed non-surgically for sure but I do know that there are many non-surgical treatments that can be tried successfully.  The first thing to think about is trying to find the root cause and then go from there.  He's very lucky that he was purchased by someone like you who really cares about him :)

Good luck Averil!

Judi