Dropped hip

[Spartu]

I have a 8 year old TB. I got him as an OTTB. He was in training for dressage, but turned up lame on the right hind, after we asked for some serious collection. He hit a stall door terribly when he was 4, he's 8 now. After hip injury he managed to race in many, many races, so they said the injury healed well and I bought him as a 'healthy' horse. It doesn't make a problem for him unless he has to work off his hind and collect. He accepts some low collection and stuff. I'm asking you to tell me, if you see a dropped hip here. It is a picture when he came, he now has more muscles and a big round back end. It is his right hip. Do you think Adequan may help, or not? Any information, suggestions, advice are helpful and greatly appreciated. Thank you. :3

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/1185042_10201807947589843_467545960_n.jpg

 

[soulfull]

Sorry I can't get link to work

 

[Spartu]

It is visible now. At least for me. Is it for you guys?

 

[Calcyle]

Yes, he does look uneven.

However, I wouldn't rely on a photo in this instance, only palpation will tell you if the hip has dropped. I've seen horses that looked uneven one way, but were actually uneven the other way, due to the way the muscles developed.

 

[NaeNae87]

He doesn't look to be standing even. He is square but seems to be leaning to one side. In saying that, the shape of his right point of hip does look to be a slightly different shape to his left.

IME there are quite a few horses going around that have had bangs, slips and falls which have changed their skeleton before the growth plates have fully formed. As your boy hurt himself when he was 4, I would say that it is entirely possible that this is what has happened. Lots of horses have varying degrees of deformity. Some are barely noticeable, some are more severe...

This is one of the more mild changes... This is the pelvis of a 20 yr old ex racer mare called Ginger. This picture was taken by me at an Equine Biomechanics lecture by a lady called Sharon May Davis. You can clearly see the difference in shape to the left and right side of her pelvis. It was cause by the barrier when she was a 3yr old.

Here is my friends horse. He is a 15yr old TB who raced and had a bad fall when he was between 2 and 3 yrs old. He is qualified to run at 4* level and has not had any problems due to his old injury. I took these pictures with my friends permission to share with the girls at the Biomechanics lecture as we were discussing injuries prior to the growth plates fully forming and how it affects Equine Biomechanics.

All pictures are taken with him standing square, on level ground.

You can see that his deformity is much more severe then Ginger's. But is a similar thing that has happened to his skeleton.

As it is more than likely the way his bones have fused, there won't be much you can do. There will be muscle attachments and ligaments in play here too. I would suggest using a combination of stretching to improve flexibility and body work to improve blood flow to the area. It should help improve collection, but he may always struggle.

Hope it helps, if you have any questions feel free to contact me.

 

[Spartu]

Thank you so much for your replies everyone. And NaeNae87 - your pictures have really helped. And everything you said. I'll gladly contact you for more info. <3 I don't wanna lose hope, and still hope as he has got amazing movement, and he has a best personality and looks you could wish for. Like a best friend, a dream come true. :/ Picture I posted is really old, but I will take some new pictures today and try to post them on tonight. He was always a bit weird behind, until he warms up - and first we thought about bone spavin, but he was not better during the summer and we put something in his food for joints, very little to no improvement. Then finally realized it is his hip. Even after working off his hind end completely for like 15 minutes for 3 days, his gaskin/croup muscle was in spasm, hard as a rock. And in heat. Took a few days to get it relaxed again, and after it happened - he became on and off lame until we got him out of work. I hope new pictures will help more. But this is an old injury - like a few years and it worries me the most. Previous owners made him race again - and for them he is healthy. So I cannot blame them. :/ I'm afraid there is no cure to this and having to retire him would be painful. What kind of flexing/stretching exercises can I do off the ground and massage? I'm ready to do anything to save him, and first thing will be trying Adequan. I hope he got some arthritis there or something with muscles - cause veterinarians say Adequan does wonders. I'm not sure. Anyway, two more pictures of him. One during a ride, and one of his hind end - but not so good. Thank you all again and your help really does mean a lot to me. <3

Last picture is after he he got out of work and when we started vet checks. It was like 6 months ago? We went from the navicular, splint bone fracture, bone spavin and God knows what to this. And I feel like it is our last stop. Thank you all. ;3

 

[Meowy Catkin]

The heels are very contracted on the off fore (bandaged leg), is the NF similar? I really would not be happy with this and I'm not surprised from looking at that photo that he has navicular.

 

[Spartu]

The heels are very contracted on the off fore (bandaged leg), is the NF similar? I really would not be happy with this and I'm not surprised from looking at that photo that he has navicular.

He does not have navicular. He is sound on both front legs and never had an issue with them. He had bandage because he had a small wound, and picture was taken over 1 year ago, never lame on any front leg.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Last picture is after he he got out of work and when we started vet checks. It was like 6 months ago? We went from the navicular, splint bone fracture, bone spavin and God knows what to this. And I feel like it is our last stop. Thank you all. ;3

Did I misunderstand the above quote?

Sorry if I did, however the fact remains that the heels are contracted and this is really, really not good.

 

[Spartu]

Did I misunderstand the above quote?

Sorry if I did, however the fact remains that the heels are contracted and this is really, really not good.

Well, I don't know about his heels. It is a very old picture, and last time he had shoeing, farrier said his hooves are alright. And yeah, you kinda did, sorry if I messed it up a bit. We had no clue what was wrong with his hind leg, and there was a period when we thought it is a navicular, then it was bone spavin for a couple of months, and finally we ended at the dropped hip. :/

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Whoops! Thanks for clearing it up.

'Alright' isn't that positive really IMO. Don't forget that it is not uncommon for diagonal legs to be linked lameness wise, so a problem with the NF (for example) can manifest as lameness on the OH, especially in trot where legs move as diagonal pairs.

If he was mine, I'd want to improve his hooves, get the heels decontracted, get his caudal hooves healthier, as it will do him good even if the lameness is totally unconnected. 'No foot, no horse' after all.

 

[Spartu]

Well, we are sure that lameness comes from the hind leg. But anyway, I will try to get some new shots soon, so you can see his hooves now. Maybe they are not contracted anymore, to be honest I don't know. I just believe in my farrier. Thank you anyway, and will post pictures later.