Cracking stifles

From: Kristine

Hi Jessica

My 12 year old OTT TB gelding started making very loud "cracking" sounds about a month ago. The sound comes from his hind quarters. I have heard these sounds in the past when I would first get on and ride him, but the "cracking" is now there everytime he just moves around, and he also seems to be in mild pain, and almost weak in his hind quarters. I have had the vet out to look at him, and he had to admit he did not know what the problem was. He prescribed Bute for 10 days, and a wait and see approach. Punky is on pasture 24/7 with my three other horses. He has been retired from riding for over a year now, due to arthritis in his front feet. Prior to me getting him 4 years ago, he was used as an eventing horse. Would you have any thought as to what might be the cause of these cracking, or clicking sounds ? Thank you so much for your time !

Kristine

Hi Kristine! I'm so sorry to hear about Punky's condition. If it were just a matter of a cracking sound, I would suggest that it might be loose stifles - a problem very common with young horses and also with horses that are out of shape and under-muscled. But weakness in the hindquarters is another matter, and so is pain. These things may be connected to the noise, or they may be completely unrelated.

I do know that horses with sore front feet often, over time, develop soreness in their hind legs, not from any mysterious cause but simply because they tend to try to carry more weight behind so as to lessen the load on the sore front feet. This puts stress on the hindquarters. Many navicular horses, for instance, will eventually show soreness in the hind limbs as well. That's something you might want to take into account.

What did your vet hope to find out by putting Punky on Bute for ten days? Does he suspect some inflammation somewhere? Bute isn't a substance to be administered casually. I hope you are being careful with it also - wear gloves and a mask when you handle it, and instead of crushing the tablets, try dissolving them in a small amount of water. That's safer, because it doesn't create dust that you might breathe.

If the pain that you've noticed disappears whilst Punky is on Bute, it's probably fair to assume that the cause of pain was an inflammation somewhere. But as to where that will leave Punky - and as for what it will mean if the pain does NOT disappear - I'm out of my depth here. You need a vet - a lameness specialist, for preference - and some good diagnostic work.

If your vet suggests taking Punky to an equine clinic for diagnostics, I think you should go. Whatever is wrong with him may require more sophisticated diagnostic tools than your vet is likely to carry with him.

Good luck!

Jessica

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