stifle injury

my 12 year old arabian swings her lef back leg out to the side and almost hits her other back leg when she walks. i am taking her to the vet on saterday. i am worryed that i wont even get to ride her anymore becasue i heard that when they get a stifle injury it never fully heals. i also heard if it does heal you can only ride them for short periods of time. i love this horse i have owned for three years and she my barrel pony. now she is doing this so i am hoping its fixable. does anyone have any suggestions what i can do or if i can ride her? thanks it would be a big help. oh and i noticed this about a week and a half ago.

I would just waite to see what the vet says. I am going through this exact thing right now. My horse has a torn meniscus in his stifle. I don't know if he will ever stand up to regular work again. I am waiting through the winter, giving him the winter off and doing light walk work once and a while. He is getting regular IV injections for his joints. However, sometimes they do surprise you. Maybe your vet will tell you it is not as bad as you think. You just have to wait and see. Good luck! I hope it turns out well.

just wondering if your vet or ferrier have recomended putting a stiffle shoe?

Yes, my vet recommended putting on back shoes. More for his hocks than the stifle, but still to help the stifle. However, for quality of life reasons, I am debating if I am going to do it or not. He can't be out with the other horses if he has shoes on. Because he is number 1 in the field, the BO is afraid of the others getting hurt if he kicks. So, he would have to be in one of the smaller paddocks. This leads to several problems. 1) he will want to be with his friends, who he will see over the fenceline and will most likely walk the fence- not good for the hock or stifle. 2) the smaller paddocks get more muddy- not good for the hocks or stifle. and 3) He is very social and I hate to put him by himself, just so he can have back shoes on. So, I am going to talk to the ferrier (he is out this friday) about if he can get the angle that the vet wants without shoes at this time.