Fractured pelvis - chance of full recovery?

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Twiglet

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Posting for a friend.

Without going into too much detail, has bought a young WB mare, with a view to event and dressage. Within a few weeks of arrival was showing reluctance and discomfort under saddle. Extensive investigation has revealed an old pelvic fracture - the tubor coxae. Vet has recommended initial rehab of intensive physio and Pessoa lunging to strengthen, before trying steroid injections, but with still no indication that she'll ever come right.

Does anyone have experience with this kind of fracture, and/or success with rehabbing horse to competition work? She's rising 6, very sweet and in all other ways my friend's dream horse.
 
I'm not sure if it's the same as we never had a real investigation done, but my old pony had some sort of pelvic fracture as a foal. He has an uneven pelvis (one side sits higher than the other). And to this day (he is now 28) never had a lame day and scored really well at dressage. May be different as he is a native.
 
I don't have personal experience, but went to a talk by a vet who said that sometimes a hunter will have a fall and maybe seems "a bit stiff" so is turned out for a few weeks to recover and then becomes sound but you will see them trotting along the road slightly lopsided, but they are OK to be ridden. He said that was a typical pelvis injury, so the horse isn't a write-off.

However, if you are looking for a dressage horse or an eventer or show horse where paces are important then although it might be sound it might not be equal. Of course, it all depends on the extent of the injury in the first place.

I did have a horse that had been hit from behind by a car when it escaped from its field in a thunderstorm when it was a yearling, and I think one vet did think that it was hip down which suggested a fracture at some stage but it didn't affect what I wanted to do. I did show it a bit too.
 
I had a pony, she was only a 12hh welsh. She did recover well considering the lay off and severity. She could still do 3 foot where before she'd be managing 3'6 opens. She's still sound 13 years or so later. Not sure how this'd translate to a 'real' horse!
 
My friend had a 6 year old connie who fractured his pelvis while in the field. He was on box rest for 6 months and then hacked out in a straight line. He is now 10 and competes in BD and events. He is fine and is completely sound. x
 
I have done some work at a Thoroughbred stud where one of the stallions had an accident fracturing his pelvis.

He was cross tied for a long time and his recovery was slow (from what I can remember it was about 8 years ago!) but he is still standing at stud now.
 
My 15hh Shp fractured his right ilium, it was a very significant fracture. 6 months box rest some of it cross tied and then a 6 month rehab and he came back into full work and won a lot in the showring
 
Aussie, my big warmblood, had a tuber coxae fracture as a foal. he looked odd from behind, as he had no point of hip, but he was sound, and worked up to PSG level with no issues. Of all the places to fracture, that's probably one of the least impactful. It bothers me a bit that this mare is uncomfortable with an "old" fracture. Did they look for other damage/floating bone chips?
 
Personally would avoid a Pessoa

Tell them to have a look at the Klaus Shoneich book (also the Forage Plus website and their new Forage Plus Talk for clinics and straightness articles). There are a lot of videos on YouTube by Dr Kerry Ridgeway re straightness too.

If the fracture heals then it's the after effects caused by compensating that have to be addressed.
 
Thanks for the replies all. By the sounds of it it's an old fracture, and the effects have come to light once the workload increased (she hasn't been backed long).
 
My lad was the same, old fracture never had time to heal. Time off then lots of rehab helped him.
Work in the Pessoa and swimming I can't rate enough!
Within a year you couldn't tell he had ever been injured
 
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