Patellar luxation & stifle ligaments: My strategy for stability
Let's be honest: is there a more silent, yet simultaneously terrifying feeling than when your horse's hind leg suddenly "catches"? I still remember exactly the day it happened to my gelding for the first time. I was about to lead him out of his stable, he stepped forward, and suddenly his hind leg remained stiffly stretched out behind him. A quick stumble, a jerk, and it was back in place.
My heart sank. The diagnosis of "habitual patellar luxation" – a catching kneecap caused by stifle ligaments that are too long or weak – is often a shock for us riders. You feel helpless. The vet calmly explained to me that it is often a combination of growth, a lack of muscle, and weak connective tissue. The plan: targeted training (pole work, hill work) and urgently optimising his nutrient supply to support his tendons and ligaments.
The daily battle at the feed bowl
Highly motivated, I immediately bought the recommended individual ingredients: MSM, glucosamine, and collagen. All in powder form. And that is exactly where my second problem began. When it comes to feed, my horse is an absolute connoisseur – or in other words: incredibly fussy.
I really tried everything. First, I mixed the powder into his muesli. The result? He neatly picked out the muesli, and the white powder stuck to the bottom of the bowl as a dusty residue. Then came the trick with the mash. He actually loves mash. But as soon as he noticed the "strange" smell of the powder, he turned his nose up and completely ignored the bucket. I even tried hiding it inside hollowed-out apples – he bit into the apple and simply spat out the tampered part. It was driving me to despair. I knew he needed these nutrients for his stifle ligaments, but if he doesn't eat them, they can't work.
The discovery: nuvallo move Snacks
After weeks of experimenting and a lot of wasted powder, a friend on the yard introduced me to nuvallo move Snacks. At first, I was sceptical. "Snacks" sounded to me like treats with a lot of sugar and very little substance. But a look at the ingredients made me sit up and take notice.
These snacks contain exactly the active ingredients I was struggling to feed as a powder, but in high doses: glucosamine for the cartilage, collagen for the elasticity of the connective tissue (exactly what my stifle ligament work-in-progress needed!), MSM for regeneration, and hyaluronic acid. And the best part: the base consists of linseed cake and rice bran, meaning they are free from wheat and corn, and contain no unnecessary sugar.
Why I will never buy powder again
But the real "game changer" was the feeding itself. The nuvallo move Snacks smell pleasantly nutty and natural. I simply give him his daily dose of 6 snacks (he weighs approx. 550 kg) straight from the hand before we start our training.
No dampening, no mixing in, no hoping and praying at the feed bowl. He takes them like a reward. For the first three weeks, I doubled the dose to replenish his reserves – he happily crunched away even on the 12 pieces. For me, this is a huge relief because I can finally be sure that the active ingredients are actually ending up in the horse. On top of that, the whole thing is ADMR-compliant, which is important to me as we occasionally go to competitions.
The result: more stability and joy in movement
I have now been feeding the nuvallo move Snacks consistently for a good three months. Of course, patellar luxation is not a problem you can simply "feed away" – the training is essential. But my subjective impression is clear: the combination of training and nuvallo has paid off.
I have the feeling that he has become significantly more stable behind. That unpleasant "giving way" or catching when he comes out of his stable in the morning has almost disappeared. In training, he steps under his centre of gravity more confidently again and seems stronger and more elastic in his hindquarters. Previously, he often seemed stiff and needed long warm-up phases; today I get the impression he loosens up much faster and is ready to work. It feels as if his ligaments have finally regained the necessary resilience.
My conclusion
If you also have a horse with "wobbly" stifle ligaments or simply notice that your partner lacks stability in the hindquarters, I can highly recommend the nuvallo move Snacks to you. They completely take away the stress of feeding and deliver exactly the nutrients that tendons and ligaments need. For us, they have become the key to more sure-footedness and a happier horse.