Do spavin & sacroiliac issues show same symptoms?

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Christmas Crumpet

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May be a strange question but from what I can gather they do.

Are there are any differences?

My horse has spavin but also a pulled muscle in his lumbar region and I'm quite interested to know about sacroiliac pain. The vet did mention it when I described symptoms but was then happy to accept physio's opinion of pulled muscle in lumbar region.

Horse shows all the normal signs of spavin - reluctance to step under, doesn't use hind end very well at the moment, can be funny to pick up hind legs, drags toes slightly when trotting etc etc. He was trotted up for vet last week and vet declared him in good form.

What other signs are there of sacroiliac pain?

As far as I am aware, horse hasn't had an accident at all. The only thing he has done since being brought back into work was go loopy after being stung by stinging nettles and gallop madly round the estate. Could this have strained his SI?

Sorry for slightly disjointed post but trying to get all questions in as I think of them!!
 
Yes, although spavins aren't necessarily bilateral. But vague hind end "off-ness" can also be pelvis, other areas on the back etc. Have you done flexion tests? They're not definitive but it's a place to start.
 
I would be interested to know the answer to this because my boy has the same symptoms you mention. He has arthritis/bone spavins in his hocks but we are not sure whether he also has something wrong with his sacrilliac as well. Last night he had cortozone injections into the worse hock joint to see if this helps. If these don't improve it you can get an injection into the sacrilliac joint however I gather this is quite a hard procedure because it is so far in and more expensive. My boy had the cortozone injections because his injuries are old from racing. There is a more expensive injection you can have every 6 weeks or so that is better if the injury is new I think - I think it is called cartrophen? Not sure though. Hopefully some more people will reply to this thread.
 
My vet is talking about using Cartrophen on the old boy once we've started trotting and cantering again.

My horse is also an ex racehorse - SI injuries seem to be fairly common with them!!

Horse having a few days off before starting walking again. Got check up in 5 weeks time to decide what we do next to keep him most comfortable. I will report back then.

I was just curious re: SI & spavin because having read up on them both, they both seem to present same symptoms.
 
Long term SI problems often manifest as "jumpers bump". If you put the tips of your fingers on the highest point of the quarters and reach your thumbs downwards, you should find a groove in the muscles. Press gently with your thumbs, increasing the pressure until it is quite firm. If there is SI pain, the horse will usually yield quite sharply. But pain in one area can lead to pain in a supporting area, so they can be interrelated. Can I suggest a body worker like Bowen, Equine Touch?
 
Hi

I would say yes as my cob was first diagnosed with spavin. A different vet then suggested that it could be his back. We took him to Liphook where the first thoughts were sacroilliac issues. However a bone scan showed articular facet arthropaphy (osteo arthritis in some verbetrae) and no spavin! After tildren, rest, physio and a careful rehab programme he is now back in full work and is winning Prelim and Novice dressage at Riding Club level. We hope to get him going well at Novice and are jumping him too but only when the ground is good (so not a lot this summer!)

I would really recommend Liphook as we had been investigating the problem for months without a definate answer. It was so good to know what we are dealing with even if it is not great news.

Hope this helps
Tegan
 
My horse had Sacroiliac issue in the end he couldn't get up. When he used to lie down he would sit a little like a dog and struggled to get his back leg under him properly to get up. Short choppy trot. After a flexion test took longer than should to get to an even trot. His back legs actually collapsed under him once that's when the vet decided to have him scanned it showed up there. He was then retired. Vet seemed to think it was from previous hunting days. Although he had been in a stable fire apparently. Odd really he loved his stable you think he'd be afraid of going in one after roof coming in on them. This was with the breeder not me I hasten to add.
 
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