THE stifle joint is a large hinge joint found in the horse’s upper limb and is the equivalent to the human knee. It is formed with the articulation of the lower part of the femur, the upper tibia and the patella.

Although we loosely refer to the stifle as one joint, it is actually split into three smaller joints – the medial femero-tibial joint, the lateral femero-tibial joint and the femero-patella joint. Recognising these individual joints is important when localising specific lesions which affect the specific joints.