Chiro, Physio or both? Help.

NewParkFarm

NewParkFarm

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Hi everyone,

Newbie poster and long time lurker needs your advice!

I am currently having a tricky time with my 5 y/o (Hanoverian X Welsh D) - since December he has been fairly unruly mostly under saddle but also in-hand; constantly spooking in the school, just throwing himself about generally, not settling to any work.

I haven't had a the most time the last couple of months due to working monday-friday in London (this is about to change as I'm moving jobs this Thursday to one much closer to home and the yard in Oxfordshire) which has made it difficult to work with him consistently and therefore I think hampered my ability to work through this current phase.

My first thought is he is just having a phase, challenging authority, seeing if he can evade work etc. Before I assume this though and get some consistent help from my instructor I want to give him a physical MOT to see if there could be any pain cause for this behaviour change (he has mostly been sweet as a lamb and I've had him since a 3.5 y/o).

So, I'm stuck where to start, do I get a chiro or physio? Then a saddle fitter? Or is it a vet job? He seems in good health, isn't showing any signs of discomfort generally. He does however seem very tense when ridden, and when watching him walk up the field from behind he seemed quite stiff in his quarters and had very tight steps.

Thanks for reading if you got this far, coffee and cake if you did, any advice on the best way to go about this would be most appreciated!
 
The first thing I would do is to call out a saddle fitter to make sure that there are no problems with the fit of your saddle. We have found from past horses at our yard thatk a good fitter can offer lots of advise and they can tell you what the best course of action to take regarding your horse, that is if there is a problem. Ater this you will be able to know what the next steps are you should take. Welcome to the forum, look forward to hearing more from you.
 
Thanks for the reply :)

I've often been advised chiro then saddle fitter, but I think in his case either should be able to pick up on a problem, we currently use the Saddle Doctors in Oxford and they are brill so I'd be happy to get their opinion for sure.

I think now I've broken my habit of lurking I'll be happy to post a bit more now!
 
I have had exactly the same problem with my 6 yr old over the past 6 months. I had her teeth done, saddle fitted again, saddler said it fitted perfectly and tried an equine sports massage lady. She was slightly better but returned to being tense, jumpy and generally naughty. I kept feeling her back and one day she had a tiny flinch when I pressed pretty hard on her sacroilliac. I tried an osteopath who agreed where the pain was, pulled her legs all over the place and said she would be a lot better.
So far she is a changed horse in the last 3 weeks, will school nicely with the occasional leap and is much better to hack out and even seems a lot more relaxed in hand.
I just kept putting everything down to naughtiness as she is a bit of a character but I really think the osteopath has mended something that was causing trouble.
I was starting to dread riding her as nearly every ride included some kind of tantrum/stamping/snorting at some point and it was becoming very tedious.
 
I would have your saddle checked first, if no change then get his back looked at, you wont need to to both either physio or chiro, as it could be the saddle causing pain or stiffness so rule this out first, otherwise the work done on his back will be pointless if the saddle is wrong.
 
We had a sudden change in behaviour. We called vet who scanned hindlegs , no problem but advised. Graduated heartbar shoes for awhile, physio who is also qual chiro, saddle refit. It worked and her behaviour has improved but dont know which did the trick or maybe all worked together.
 
Personally I would have the chiro come first, then have a saddle fitter come out before you ride again as if the saddle is wrong then riding in it will just undo the chiro's work.
 
I would not use a chiro .
I would have an equine vet , then depended what the vet say,I would have a ACPAT physio one who works regularily with your equine vet .
Then the saddler if the physio thinks its necessary.
The physio will be able to tell if the horse has saddle related discomfort.
Only a vet is qualified to diagnose .
 
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