Help Any ideas on Back problems

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helen1978

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My 16.2 warmblood cross gelding has a strange problem a bit like shivers but im assured its not shivers by the farrier he struggles to lift his legs for a period of time eg to have shoes on and sometimes struggles to stand its progressive as has got noticeably worse over the last 12 months two back specialists have been out and they are unsure one practised the bowen technique any ideas anyone please....... oh hes 6 years old and is currently not being ridden as we cant get shoes on and he feels every stone although he shows no symtoms when ridden also I was advised by the back people not to lunge as the constant bend would not help him
 
Has your vet looked at him? My horse has shivers and what you're describing sounds like his symptoms, though thankfully mine doesn't struggle to stand up. He has trouble lifting one particular back leg and will only lift it for the farrier, and then only if he's wedged up against a wall to support himself. He occasionally gets a sort of twitch in it too. On a bad day, he does tremble a bit over his backend and will have trouble picking up the other back leg. Also has trouble with his SI because of the shivers and tends to need either physio or osteo about every 4 months to keep on top of it. Mine doesn't show symptoms when ridden either and has a perfectly normal ridden career (bit of dressage, bit of SJ, XC, hunting, hacking).

Shivers does get worse and you really do need to get the vet out if you have a horse who can't stand up properly. I really don't think it's one for the farrier or a Bowen therapist
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Hi, The vet will be on his way out to him he doesnt seem to struggle to stand as much as when he has laid down he occasionally struggles to get his back end under to stand up my friend has a horse with shivers that my farrier also shoes and he said that he thinks it is a very different problem.

When your horse eats and puts his head down to his bucket does that effect his back end? occasionally as my horse stretches through his neck to get his feed from the bucket he will pick each back leg up as if it is cramping does this sound familiar to you?
 
Not really though mine only has v mild shivers; farrier says it's one of the mildest cases he's seen. However... he has been having trouble stretching in his work and doing a particular forwards & down stretch flexion that my instructor gave me to do, which is caused by his SI getting sore, which in turn is caused by the shivers. Once he'd had the osteo again who worked on that area to free the muscles up, he was much better.

I think most on here will tell you that back problems are nearly always the symptom rather than the cause. My horse had a bad back for ages and it wasn't until I found out he had spavins in both hocks that it went away, once the spavins were medicated. Again, he gets sore across his SI area but it's caused by the shivers, not just him having a bad back.
 
Thank you I will be getting the vet soon but I like to hear what others think too and its good to hear your horse is doing well now too
 
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Thank you I will be getting the vet soon but I like to hear what others think too and its good to hear your horse is doing well now too

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Have a look at the symptoms described for EPSM and see if this rings any bells for you. Worth a look at Beth Valentines site.
 
My boy, a 16.2, 7 year old, fell on the yard and hurt his back to the point he would hunch his back and his hind legs would quiver when I tried a saddle on him and sat on him. He doesn't like to pick his front near side foot up for picking out, whereas before he was perfect for picking feet up, so I am relating it to the fall. He is fine with all his other feet to pick up and will hold them there all day!

The vet and physio have been out and other than being sore in his back muscles on the near side there is nothing obvious so he has been on field rest since.

He did improve on picking his foot up after his physio treatment but is back to being funny about picking the foot up. His back end quivers and he looks like he'd sit down if I don't let him pull his foot away. Physio says to bring him back into work and see if improves by strengthening him up again or if it gets bad enough for the vet to investigate. When this snow goes I will be starting his work again.

Going to have a look at the EPSM symptoms though .... just in case!!

Hope you get to the bottom of your boys problems.
 
Hi,

He is a bit like that but its his back end with his back legs Mainly his near hind) he tries to snatch them back but not to kick you can see his muscle twinging and if you dont let him have it back he does start to collapse and you have to shove him back up sounds very similar how long has your horse been like this
 
Hi Helen1978 my boy has been like this since he fell beginning of November 2009.

I had the physio out as soon as I realised something wasn't right on 7 November. She treated him and he was really sore in his back. She did her treatments and I had him on bute for a week then 2 weeks after first treatment she came back out and my vet came too to see what he was like.

He had improved and wasn't as sore through his back but was using his left hind less than the right on a circle but nothing obvious so he had further treatment from physio and rest out in field, to keep him moving rather than standing in stable, now to bring him back into work which will either strengthen him back up and improve or make what ever is going on worse so the vet has something to try and diagnose.

Hope you can get to the bottom of his problem. I feel with mine a very long drawn out diagnosis!!
 
Sounds a bit like our big ginger boy. Came on suddenly. Used to be very light to pick feet out then a few months back would snatch back right hind. Vet thought possible shivers but not classic symptoms. Got our usual chiro out to look at him and she tweaked him and he stopped doing it straight away. Chiro thought that something was "catching" around his SI as he lifted that leg. If you're in the South East I can PM you her number. She does loads on our yard and works miracles.
 
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