Asymetrical pelvis

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bushbaby28

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Hiya,

As above really.... my 10yr old ex racer has an asymetrical pelvis... has anybody had experience of this, what did you do etc? His muscles look symetrical so vet thinks its an old injury he has learnt to compensate for. However he failed hind leg flexion, is shuffly behind and finds it hard to work across his back.

Spoke to his old owner and apparently when he came out of racing this was a problem (2.5 years ago) but they had couple of sessions with chiropractor and he was fine... can they be reoccuring????

Many thanks for any info!!
xx
 
very very common esp in racehorses, horses tend to live with it, may be worth getting a vet physio out to have a look and advise you on a suitable exercise programme.
 
i've been advised to have physio done under sedation. soooo expensive so hope it works.

vet also said build top line up very very slowly to reduce pressure on pelvis

will keep you updated
 
My insurance company excluded sacroiliac injuries because of my ex-racer boy's asymmetrical pelvis. Unfortunately (for my finances) he has since given himself an SI injury, which has leveled up his pelvis - it's his tuber sacrales that were about 0.1cm different. Even muscling so vet wasn't too concerned. Apart from the insurance issue they don't seem to have impeded him or stopped him from working correctly.

It could be due to a fractured pelvis, an old SI injury, or it could be the way he was born.
 
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My insurance company excluded sacroiliac injuries because of my ex-racer boy's asymmetrical pelvis. Unfortunately (for my finances) he has since given himself an SI injury, which has leveled up his pelvis - it's his tuber sacrales that were about 0.1cm different. Even muscling so vet wasn't too concerned. Apart from the insurance issue they don't seem to have impeded him or stopped him from working correctly.

It could be due to a fractured pelvis, an old SI injury, or it could be the way he was born.

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so they can't really be corrected as such? but doesnt necassarily need to be a problem?
 
and yeh most things have been excluded from his insurance because he's got so many old racing injuries
frown.gif
 
The boy i have currently has this (An old injury as a 3yo)

Isnt shuffly behind though like you say yours is, but does find it hard to 'use' his backend.
He's had quite a few physio sessions over the past 6 months and they have been quite intensive but the results are clear to see.

he has to have continuation phyio every 3 months as a routine thing to keep him all ok and he loves it now.

So far it hasnt caused any problems with doing things but hes only 6 so only time will tell!
 
Sounds like a sacroiliac ligament strain - very common in ex-racers. There is no "cure" only management of the condition.

the best thing to do is to try and build the topline as much as possible, but because they cant work correctly behind they will never build the perfect topline.

Good chiro and physio - i have mine on a 3 month rotation.

Make sure saddle fits perfectly - I am a saddle fitter and mine have saddle company saddles which I can adjust as they lose topline very quickly.

Work wise, lunging a couple of times a week over poles, riding a couple of times a week and hacking. Avoid hills - they are very hard work and your horse may be lame the next day.

I have 2 horses and both of them have SI strain. One is acute (very recently flared up so we are still trying with steroid injections) the other is chronic from his days as a showjumper and being overjumped. Injections wont work with him, only management. Your horse sounds as though it has a chronic strain - if they are able to work they learn to cope and adjust their way of going. Mine is no longer jumped.

With my acute case, he has been retired at age 6 because he just cannot cope with the strain sufficiently to be ridden - I am just trying to get him field sound at the moment.
 
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Sounds like a sacroiliac ligament strain - very common in ex-racers. There is no "cure" only management of the condition.

the best thing to do is to try and build the topline as much as possible, but because they cant work correctly behind they will never build the perfect topline.

Good chiro and physio - i have mine on a 3 month rotation.

Make sure saddle fits perfectly - I am a saddle fitter and mine have saddle company saddles which I can adjust as they lose topline very quickly.

Work wise, lunging a couple of times a week over poles, riding a couple of times a week and hacking. Avoid hills - they are very hard work and your horse may be lame the next day.

I have 2 horses and both of them have SI strain. One is acute (very recently flared up so we are still trying with steroid injections) the other is chronic from his days as a showjumper and being overjumped. Injections wont work with him, only management. Your horse sounds as though it has a chronic strain - if they are able to work they learn to cope and adjust their way of going. Mine is no longer jumped.

With my acute case, he has been retired at age 6 because he just cannot cope with the strain sufficiently to be ridden - I am just trying to get him field sound at the moment.

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thanks so much for the advice on how to work them, really really helpful. I'm currently without a saddle so am looking for one that really fits... the last thing i want is to break him even more
smile.gif


best of luck with your 2
 
Don't know if this helps but below is picture of him from behind. You can see the tilt but his muscles look fairly even although hard to tell as there's a bit of shadow.

089.jpg
 
I would get a someone out to check. my mare had the same problems and i had a mc timomey lady out who sorted her hips then a muscle lady who relaxed them all and i started work from there she is fine now though
 
Yes - looks like a sacroiliac strain.

Get a good chiro - they will be able to release the tension in his hips and his poll (does his neck crack and click a lot?)

also do you hear a click in his stifle/hock when turning?

Does he roll his back toes? Does he hold his tail to one side?

What is he like to show behind?

He looks more muscled on the offside from that pic.
 
thanks,

no he doesn't seem to click... or at least not that i've heard.

It looks like his feet are making injury worse as he had flat pedal bones and no heel support. farrier is trying to remedy this.

he's intemitently lame on his left back leg... although this could be due to foot soreness from flat pedal bones.

Vet says he's quite evenly muscled but yeh with a very slight difference in his offside.

his feet should be better so will start getting physio out. Thinking of doing it under sedation as then they can at least have a good pull and feel around. From experience of other horses on my yard physio without sedation doesn't seem to work as well... anybody else find this?

thanks for all your help
 
The horse I compete has an A P.

He passed a 5 * vetting with it. He was 100% sound, so vet wasn't concerned. Just had a comment.

Have thoroughly chatted to a vet and physio about it and they said it is fine, unless they are lame through it and then wouldn't touch with barge pole.

He had very little muscle with we got him nearly 18 months ago. Now looks great and the physio actually thinks that it is improving. Certainly feels better riding wise!

One other thing physio and vet said is never let anyone "manipulate" it. Destablises the joint and although there might be sort term improvement there will be serious problems long term (maybe interestingly, I have a tweisted pelvic and my chiro said exactly the same thing)

Don't know if that was any help.
 
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his feet should be better so will start getting physio out. Thinking of doing it under sedation as then they can at least have a good pull and feel around. From experience of other horses on my yard physio without sedation doesn't seem to work as well... anybody else find this?

thanks for all your help

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No. I wouldnt let a physio pull and push my boys about. I would be more inclined to go with a chiro first. A good one will help relieve the poll tension created by an uneven pelvis.

Toes should be kept short - especially as when they are lame they tend to drag the toes. I find mine is better barefoot behind and only put shoes on when we are doing a lot of work.
 
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his feet should be better so will start getting physio out. Thinking of doing it under sedation as then they can at least have a good pull and feel around. From experience of other horses on my yard physio without sedation doesn't seem to work as well... anybody else find this?

thanks for all your help

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No. I wouldnt let a physio pull and push my boys about. I would be more inclined to go with a chiro first. A good one will help relieve the poll tension created by an uneven pelvis.


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I think your confused? Physios dont do very much pushing and pulling whereas a chiro does.
 
If you read the previous post correctly, the OP was querying whether her horse should be sedated to be pushed and pulled by the physio. I said that was NOT normal, and suggested she see a good chiro first.
 
-She never mentioned any pushing and pulling if you read it correctly yourself.

She mentioned pulling and having a good feel around.

Personally i always use Phyios over Chrios anyway, much more qualified hence my reply.
 
<font color="red"> Personally i always use Phyios over Chrios anyway, much more qualified hence my reply.

</font> .

Not always true. My Chiropractor is a vet so is better qualified than a physio and can sedate the horse himself which a physio can not do.
 
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-She never mentioned any pushing and pulling if you read it correctly yourself.

She mentioned pulling and having a good feel around.

Personally i always use Phyios over Chrios anyway, much more qualified hence my reply.

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I think it is reasonable to infer that if the physio is pulling something, then they are also pushing against something.

Ridiculous statement to say that physios are more qualified than chiros - each have to fulfil several years of training and work on humans before they are allowed to work on horses.

I think you misunderstand exactly what each of them are qualified to do. Chiros will look at the skeletal frame, whereas physios concentrate on the musculature. For a horse with a pelvis injury, the first port of call is a chiro and then the physio.
 
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