need to pick your brains re pony unlevel in hips

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lizzypeg

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.its long but please try to read it all, it'd really help me out.

in oct 2007 my pony who was rising 5 and recently backed, came in from field short on right hind.
vets came out and agreed he was lame on right hind.not badly lame just stepping shorter with that leg.he also seemed worse walking down hill.
advised rest and see.
rest didnt improve it so then had a bute trial.... he was on 1 twice daily bute for 7 days...again no difference.

advised longer rest.still no difference and his hip bones(false hips) then started to become unlevel.he developed more muscle over one side and one hip moved up and back and other moved more down and forwards....he was still resting in field 24/7 at this point.

so he went into vets for work up and xrays.xrayed hind legs up to hocks and all normal....

vets still stumped....then had a joint physio/vet consult where they both agreed he was unlevel in hips.one was futher forward and higher than other.Also he had slight axatia and wasnt 100 clear percent on the tail pull test as took a while to regain his balance.
between them they came to the conclusion that he prob had damaged his pelvis as a foal before i brought him(iv had him since he was a recently gelded 3 year old) and when he was backed it had set off an old injury to pelvis which had resulted in unstable pelvis.
Agreed that also had mild neurological signs but didnt specify what may be causing them.

i had the option to retire him and see how he was after a long period of rest or go for full scanning of back/pelvis etc but he'd need to be brought into work and be very fit for those.as i didnt want to ride him whilst lame and was very busy with my work i decided to retire him.

he since been a field pet for the last 3 years and is fit as a fiddle.charges around field bucking and leaping, very sound etc.still unlevel on hips from behind but a lot less noticable.

a different vet came to do his vacc a few weeks back and said he'd have a quick look at his pelvis etc whilst there.he said he was 1/10th to 2/10th lame on right hind(i didnt tell him any history as he wanted to see what leg it was for himself). flexion tests didnt make a difference.

he thinks i should bring him back into slow straight line work on bute and see how he goes.that he'l either go very lame or not.
i think il get a chiro's opinion first and then possibly try this.vet also remarked that he was surprised original vet didnt nerve block him.

i wanted anyone whos horse may have suffered similar to please reply and tell me what it was/thought to be etc as id love to get to bottom of it but hes not insured on back end now so i cant really afford lots of expensive tests.
 
I think you should get a chap called Jose (Hes not cheap but very very good).

Jose is a vet and a Chiropractor who I have seen change a totally lame horse sound.

His number is 07825789740

If you get Jose to see your pony I can then show you a way of lunging that will help him to work his quarters and back correctly.

Will PM you my mobile number.


Pauline
 
My thoughts would be, if he is happy being a field ornament and you can keep him as such, then I would just leave him. I think if you were to bring him back into work, then it would have to be without bute to mask the pain so you could make a fair assessment of whether he was just coping with the work or if truly enjoyed it.

The problem with an unlevel pelvis is that they cause reciprocal poll tension and the horse needs to be worked in a consistent manner to try to alleviate it, coupled with frequent chiropractic treatment. My horse is unlevel - 1/10th lame premanently due to a sacroiliac ligament strain and there are days when he is up to 4/10ths lame. he has been off work for long periods of time (up to 9 months at one point) and I would love to retire him, but the vet has convinced me that keeping some form of topline helps him to carry himself without relying on the backend which doesnt work so well.
 
he does get a sore polland seems to not like it being touched.hes only rising 8 and loved hacking plus hes my only riding pony so if he'd be able to come back into work just to hack id be happy.i can keep him as a pet but hes getting a bit bored being a field ornament and it seems a waste of a lovely pony.Especially as i cant afford a 2nd one to ride so havent ridden for 3 years now because of it.
 
The most common reason for unilateral muscular over the pelvis is due to a long standing lameness. Does not necessary mean problems in the pelvis. Did the vets ever xray stifles (possible OCD or cyst) can cause long standing problems.
 
no vet only xrayed up to hock area...other vet who saw him a few weeks ago did comment he had thick hocks, but that was equal on both legs and he does have very short chunky legs.
 
It's a difficult choice to make! If there was a query about neurological defecit then this can become very dangerous if it gets worse. You don't want the back end to collapse when you are out riding! But that doesn't mean that is the problem. It can often be the case that a horse that is weak behind or 'unlevel' can improve with work as the muscles are more able to hold the horse in a good posture and help him to move and balance better. I would suggest you get him checked neurologically (with vet/physio) before you think about riding though.
Vel xx
 
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