Any Advise or Suggestions Welcome - Back/Neck/Head Issues

[jennyy]

Hello,

My horse has been having on-going unresolved issues.

It started late last summer where she started resisting the bit, hollowing and freaking out if contact was applied. We tried to ride her though it for a week or so but it got worse and worse which lead us to believe it was not behavioural but in fact pain related. Confused about what was causing this (was not like her) we called the vet to take some Xrays to rule out Kissing Spine. He examined the XRays and confirmed that there was enough space between each vertebrae so this was not the cause.

We tried to ride her through it as thought it could be due to a loss in muscle tone and after 30 minutes of working at 100% effort, you could get an okay result. However, as soon as the contact was dropped and re-picked up again, it was back to square one.

We called the vet again to conduct a full body inspection, he found stiffness/resistance whilst bending to the left and noticed she was sore at the wither. So he gave us an ultrasound machine to treat her for 2 weeks - 5 minutes per side of wither each day. She was to be kept ridden but only on the buckle to keep her fit without any contact. After the ultrasound, she had 3 weeks on bute and still only ridden on buckle.

After this treatment, we tried to apply a light amount of pressure, she seemed a little better - resisting for a few seconds but then working quite nicely. We concluded that she had, had pain so was remembering the feeling but no longer feeling it. This was a relief as we finally felt progress coming along. During this time we were also taking her to see a cranial osteopath.

We kept work short and sweet for about a month following treatment and things seemed to be getting gradually better. We kept her jumping as this is what she loves the most, we would never have a bad session jumping.

So we decided now to start fittening her up and start increasing the workload, initially she responded very well and even was taken into her first dressage comp post treatment and got a respectable score of 64.75%, however in the last week or so she has started reverting back and becoming resistant and extremely difficult on the flat. She entered in a dressage comp this week and freaked out when asked for left canter.

We are now unsure of what action to take with her, it seems there is something underlying there but it is very inconclusive at the moment. She is 100% sound and fit.

Things to note:

She has a slight muscle imbalance on left side.
It is the left rein which she resists on.
She has had saddles, teeth and vet checks, and massages & osteo

It seems like something is not right on that left side, but we are at wits ends as to what is actually causing the problem.

If anyone has any advise it will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jenny

 

[be positive]

Although you have tried to cover everything and to rule out some the vet has not actually really got the the bottom of what is going on, showing soreness at the withers was likely to be a symptom not the root cause, by treating her, riding carefully you have got her back to work but still no nearer finding the true reason for her initial behaviour, I do think it being behavioural can be ruled out completely.

Was her neck and wither area xrayed originally, is the vet experienced in dealing with KS?, I ask this as a friends horse was sent to specialists with suspected KS but the "experts" decided they were not the issue, they found a few other minor problems which they treated at great expense and sent it home with sedation recommended to be used while they were backing him!!! the poor horse was still in pain, he has now had the slight KS operated on and has changed completely, they are now planning on backing him, so even the so called experts can get it very wrong.

I think you probably need to go for a bone scan, there is obviously something underlying that is not obvious but if the neck was not xrayed originally then I think would want that and the withers done first as it may well be in that area and possibly getting the original xrays sent somewhere for a second opinion may be a good idea, what is no problem for one horse may be a major one for another, I think at times vets forget they are individuals that do not always fit with the textbook when dealing with unusual or fairly newly recognised conditions.

Just to add I did have a horse that was sore in his neck that had a problem with his feet, it was far from obvious, xrays showed slight counter rotation, he was bracing and becoming sore although still jumping and going ok most of the time KS were considered as he was also cold backed at times, once feet were better that stopped.

 

[Squishee]

Without seeing the horse and palpating, it's incredibly difficult to give advice.
My first questions would be what are:
Age of the horse
Any previous injuries
Was the horse raced
Any injuries in the float, flipping over, falling, slipping, etc
What are the heel heights/balances like on the fronts
What is the hind like - any atrophy in the muscle, pelvis reasonably straight, etc
What is the movement like (do you have a video)
Any curve in the spine
Have you had a second opinion (for all: saddle, massage/osteo, vet, etc)?

Personally I would be seeking second opinions just to get a fresh set of eyes and experiences onto it

 

[jennyy]

Thank you for the advise 'Be Positive' and 'Squishee'.

Since posting this forum we have had a very experienced Chiropractor treat her.
She found that her pelvis was slightly crooked and had lots of soreness and tension in that area and in her neck area.

The plan for now is to not ride her for a couple of weeks and have the Chiro every week to continue to work on her.
They are confident that they can treat the crookedness and stiffness. Hopefully, after this she will improve dramatically. We have also bought a joint supplement to relieve any stiffness.

In regards to the vet treating her, he is very experienced and has seen many KS cases before. If she doesn't improve after her next treatments then we will delve further into Scans etc.

Squishee answers to your questions:

Age:10
Injuries: Slipped over as a 4 year old (no major injury caused)
Not raced, but is an eventer
Slightly crooked pelvis (being worked on by chiro & then re schooling)
No curve in spine to current knowledge.

Thanks for your help, it is very much appreciated.

 

[Fun Times]

Hopefully the chiro treatment will get to the bottom of it but if not have you done a full lameness work up? I know it sounds odd as she isn't lame as such, but my horse started tilting his head a little on the right rein leading me to think neck or shoulder issue. He wasn't lame on straight line nor on a circle on a surface. But when the vets worked him on a circle on a harder surface it ws clear he had pain in his hoof. The head tilting was his way of adjusting the weight. Sometimes lower limb or hoof pain presents in rather confusing ways.

 

[jennyy]

Thanks 'Fun Times' for the insight, if the Chiro treatment doesn't improve things I will definitely check this out. I hope that your horse recovered

 

[jennyy]

Hey all,

Just an update since this post started..

The vet came out to do a full body MOT to try and rule everything out.

The findings are as follows:
Trot up - Completely Sound
Flexion Tests - Completely Sound
Lunging small circle - Completely Sound
Slight crooked pelvis/lack of muscle on left hindquarters
Discomfort when pressure applied to both sides of Sacroiliac Joint.

She has been referred for scans at Newmarket as this is still fairly in-conclusional as it is on both sides.

Hopefully we will get to the bottom of it!

 

[Podgelover]

Could it be the TMJ joint? It wouldn't show up in a teeth exam and often goes un noticed, my gelding was misdiagnosed with a teeth issue, turns out its that joint and I had a similar problem when ridden.... in fact very similar on the when ridden on the left rein, he could not bend and was finding work difficult when you collect him he was stiff and when you pick up contact he would buck and run almost until you came off.