What Does Stifled Mean in a Horse?

The stifle has a locking joint that allows the horse to stand while sleeping. That is a normal process. A sticky stifle means that this mechanism is keeping the leg in a locked position.

What does it mean when a horse is stifled?

Similar to the human knee, a horse's stifle joints are like hinges—some of the largest in a horse's skeletal system. Occasionally, a stifle joint becomes locked due to overstraining or genetic joint problems. When this happens, its back leg appears to be stuck in extension, often causing alarm.

Can horses recover stifle injury?

Kaycee Monnens. In the past, an injury to the stifle joint of a horse may have certainly ended his or her career or usefulness. Now, with the ever-evolving science of veterinary medicine, afflictions to the joint have a much higher chance of being treated or even healed.