Back Problems - very worried!!

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rachier

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Ive poted on here before about my geldings problem - bucking when leg applied on one side only behind the girth. Heres me thinking it is a problem local to side..... then gets the vet out to be told it could be a serious back problem.

He was only bucking very occassional and the three days after the vet has been he has been back to normal after 12 weeks of no improvement!!!!! Vet said to get physio out (who is coming wednesday) and i am hoping that it is just a muscular problem.

I am hoping for his sake this is the case, and that the continued discomfort as the problem started as a kick to the ribs that it was anticiaption of pain causing him to buck.

Has anyone had a behavioural aspect to bucking behaviour before - just the vet said that bucking etc when doing certain things will always point to some kind of back pain, be it primary or secondary causes.

I need some reassurance that he will probably be ok.... sorry for teh long post!!

PS Vet said if physio visit inconclusive then he needs to go to surgery for scans, nerve blocks, xrays and other tests over 3 days.... and with this sudden improvement i dont know what to think!!!!!!!! Especially when vet came he couldnt tell me anything!!!!!!
 
Get a McTimoney Chiro out to have a look. My horse was napping, going disunited behind, bombing off across the school, ears back when saddle put on, refusing to go forward - loads of symptoms. His pelvis was out and after a couple of sessions he was going beautifully - like a different horse. I can always tell now if he is out of line somewhere.

Don't worry too much about it - I'm sure once you get someone to look at him they'll put him right in no time. It's surprising how a small misaligment somewhere can have a big impact on the horses way of going. Chin up
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Poor u - I really hope it isn't serious
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Sometimes horses learn a behaviour because of pain and when the pain isn't there anymore they still carry the behaviour on.
 
He has already got a sacroliac subluxation which happened when he was racing and it cannot put back in as it is such an old injury. However had my physio (does chiro as well) out before to it only 3 months ago and said he was fine, even though its about 7mm out visibly.

I think the vets havin me on a bit cos he couldnt find anything visibly wrong. Hes such a one in a million i dont think i could take it if there was anything really wrong, I trust him 100% and dont think i could ever replace him!
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He was only doin it when putting your leg behind the girth when turning and basic lateral movements. Didnt canter him as we didnt get far into the 'bringing back into work routine' after his kick. The kick to his ribs was the start of the problem and things didnt improve with bute - the vet said on friday that there was no chance this could be cause 12 weeks down the line.
 
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He has already got a sacroliac subluxation which happened when he was racing and it cannot put back in as it is such an old injury. However had my physio (does chiro as well) out before to it only 3 months ago and said he was fine, even though its about 7mm out visibly.

I think the vets havin me on a bit cos he couldnt find anything visibly wrong. Hes such a one in a million i dont think i could take it if there was anything really wrong, I trust him 100% and dont think i could ever replace him!
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I see. Maybe a sports massage would help, then? Have you changed his feed or anything similar? Sometimes feed intolerances can cause sensitive skin and such like. It does sound as though there is something upsetting him slightly, maybe you need to have more of a think about things that might have changed in his routine, or get a second opinion on his back.

I wouldn't worry too much about the vet - it sounds like he just didn't know what was wrong and was trying to prepare you for the worst. I hope you sort him out
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Hi Xmas Rach
As in a previous post can you tell me what a sacroliac subluxation is please?

You may have seen my post from ages ago re "what the heck is wrong" as my cob is bucking in canter only and is due to go to Leahurst Equine Hospital on Sunday this week for further tests (which I am dreading !!!!).

One thing my vet did - to ascertain if her bucking was a pain issue or a "learned" issue from when her hip was "out" a few months before and "put back" by a McTimoney practioner, was to put her on Danilon for a month. Theory being, if she continued to buck when dosed with Danilon and when ridden than it was a "learned" / behavioural issue. If she stopped - it was a "Pain" issue.

She stopped bucking when on Danilon and started again when she came off it - which means it is a pain issue and as my vet has tried everything else to no avail .... she is now going to Leahurst for Gamma Scintigraphy and tests.

So ..... it may be an idea to go down the Danilon route to ascertain if it is pain or learned first?

Hope this may help.

MaverickMD
 
MaverickMD - I am studying Mctimoney and will try mt best to answer that question! The sacroiliac joint is the joint between the spine and the plevis, in the horse it just just under the crop area. Many problems originate here. A subluxation (in simple terms) is a slight mis-alignment of a vertebrae, this can cause pressure on spinal nerves resulting in problems just about anywhere in the body.


I would be VERY interested in who told the original poster that this was not treatable.
 
I will certainly ask the vet about about Danilon!!

Physio/chiro out on wednesday who ive had before and is very good so he may be able to give me some ideas.

Sacrioliac Subluxation is where the horse falls/ rears and falls over etc and tears the ligaments that hold the pelvis in place causing the pelvis to rotate. It is very obvious by looking from the tail end at the croup to see the assymetry. As a result the spine has a slight twist due to the unlevel pelvis. It is sometimes possible to correct by chiro but my geldings happened a couple of years ago and now has healed that way.

He is fully sound.
 
Fee_Fee bet that course is soooo interesting.

Has any1 else got info on Sacrioliac subluxation??? Ive did bits of reasearch but struggle to find much on it!!
 
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Sacrioliac Subluxation is where the horse falls/ rears and falls over etc and tears the ligaments that hold the pelvis in place causing the pelvis to rotate.

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This is not what i understand vertebral subluxation to be. For a start if the injury you are describing here (tearing of ligaments and so on) is severe, i would be astounded that the horse as walking, let alone being ridden. Out of interest, who has seen to the horse? (Pm me if your prefer).

Perhaps it is worth getting a second opinion? If your horse is unlevel behind there is definitly work that can be done to help, although McTimoney and the like are never going to be a mircle cure.

I am -really- enjoying my course, although it is hard work. Interesting to hear about cases like this.
 
Its SACRIOLIAC SUBLUXATION - nothing 2 do with the back. At the time my physio said that he would have been quite ill, but obviously about 5-6 months box rest and the like has sorted it. Bearing in mind this happened a good 2 yrs before I bought him, however i have been told if he was to damage it again that would be the end of his ridden career (I dont jump or intensively school him thou).
 
The sacroiliac joint is part of the back!
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Either way there is definitely something going on in your horse that needs further investigation.

I wish you all the luck in the world! Problems like this are often hard to diagnose, but once you find the answer it gets alot easier to treat and see the way forward. Good luck, keep us updated.

N xx
 
Thanks for the links, the first is very interesting, the second wont load for me
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As i said, if the horse had torn the ligaments it would of been a considerable injury. The Merck Veterinary Manual talks of strain of the sacroiliac ligaments, which is different to vertebral subluxation, i have never heard the term used to describe ligament strain.

Either way there is all the chance that this is what is causing you problems, or perhaps there is something else going on entirely. Good luck with it all...

N xx
 
Fee Fee dont get too bogged down. I have knwon a number of horses displaying the same signs as yours and ALL of them have been diagnosed with rib problems NOT back problems. Its very common for horses to be tender on the near side by the girth and there is debate as to whether the way they lie in the womb affects them prior to birth and that over enthusiastic girthing can lead to a chronic problem.

Get the physio out and make sure they are the best you can find, I would also invest in a wide stubben trevira cord girth.
 
We had a big chestnut horse that developed a back problem. Our own - very good - equine vets were not making any progress and we were referred to Avonvale. The treatment was long and expensive - insurance paid - but the horse is 100% and has been sold. Be careful, it is easy to waste lots of money on various back 'experts' but going to Avaonvale saved me money in the long run. Good luck.
 
Did you say your horse had been kicked in the ribs?

I have heard of a couple of horses that were given up as unridable
(one put its owner in hospital never to ride again), and both had rib injuries. The first one, it was a new horse that got kicked by its field companions. After its owner was hurt - and several people had tried to ride it, and it had been seen by a vet - it was turned out for about 6 months, sold on and was OK after that. (This story got pieced together becuase someone who had ridden it as a newly broken 4 year old had had no trouble).

The second one had been a "project horse" by a very experienced person, who wasn't getting on at all well. Its previous owner had tried EVERYTHING, loved the horse, but it just wouldn't improve. Nappy, buking, spinning round, etc. etc.
Even the new owner was about to give up. Came across a retired vet who watched it for 48 hours. It was rather thin and he reckoned that when it lay down it bruised its sides, which made being ridden uncomfortable.

I don't know what she did, but it came right in the end - winning showing, jumping, hunting, etc. Usually she sold on the success stories, but is keeping this one as it went through so much.
 
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