ongoing issues with lumbar/gluteals/sacroiliac..!?

[throwawayaccount]

hi all!

sorry this is a very vague post (i'm not the most wised up on these issues) ..

ever since I bought my mare (re; other thread-- she had done her suspensory ligament, had 8 months of box rest or so and is going through rehabilitation very slowly) , the vet commented on how her lumbar seemed tight. the vet attributed this to my mare's conformation, the ligament injury, pain memory, how she now holds/braces herself etc. as a result my mare has had near enough monthly physio, especially now she's back in work (walk only and now a couple of minutes trot every other session). my mare's right rein is terrible, she leans and braces herself which i've been told is also pain memory? she has also gone terrible again with the mounting block (another issue on previous thread!)

the physio came on friday just gone and said that my mare is unlevel in the right hind (edit: spelling!), sore into her sacroiliac, gluteals and lumbar; which is new and ties in with reluctance on right rein/mounting.

i've rang vets this morning and waiting for a call back- but what is the treatment for this? is she going to need back xrays, or surgery..?!? physio said she /could/ have arthritis perhaps and would need hock injections but couldn't really say. ultimately i'm just terrifying myself. i'm stressed as since i bought her last april we've had non stop problems, and thank god for insurance shelling out thousands- but is this going to be another massive thing?

she is 9, has loads of issues, and ultimately i'm starting to think the more shes bothered with the more she breaks? if she could ultimately stay as a happy hacker that'd be my dream, but on the other hand, if she is sound enough to be retired in a field that's an option too.

am i looking ahead too much?

thanks xx

EDIT TO SAY - she has very strange movement, which i believe to be linked to:
1. ligament - she flicks out a lot more to compensate,
2. conformation - it's not the best, to say it politely,
3. she is crossed with a french trotter, so has pacing movement/big strided.

she is also up to date with dentist and saddler fitter, farrier is due this thur (she currently has fronts on). generally all OK, altho saddler said may time onwards she will probably need a new saddle. (hers fits fine for now)

 

[Griffin]

I am no expert either but my mare managed to hurt herself in the field last year which caused her to find the left rein impossible for turning and she had SI problems and suspected arthritis. However, mine is not as severe as yours, she is ridable and very happy, I just have to make sure that I warm her up thoroughly and use a heat pad on her SI joint. What worked for my mare was getting a good osteopath out and putting her on a good joint supplement. She has seen a vet and physio but the osteopath made the most amount of improvement.

In your situation, I would see what the vet says and I would be very tempted to stop riding her until you get her sorted. You could still exercise her in hand. I think if you just want her to be a happy hacker, I would hope you could manage that with her.

Hopefully, someone more experienced will have better advice than me.

 

[throwawayaccount]

thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it. i'm glad to hear its manageable for your mare and I like the idea of a heat pad! she is on a basic joint supplement atm but nothing fancy. i'll bare in mind about an osteo too in the future.

still waiting for vet to phone back - i've stopped riding so she's just in the field and in at night as usual now x

 

[Tiddlypom]

Hmm. She does sound fairly broken, I'm sorry to say. There is a saying 'lameness leads to lameness' and if she has been in pain somewhere, as she compensates she puts extra strain elswhere.

My call would be a chiro vet next, then a vet check, and see where you are up. to.

I've had a wonky mare come sound after nearly 3 years of vet work, joint medications (hocks, SI, front coffins) and rehab, but she's a homebred, and I owed to her to get her right if at all possible. It was not cheap, and she may yet not stand up to ridden work.

Good luck.

 

[Brownmare]

You could be describing my mare! What has worked for us so far (touching wood!!) is LOTS of regular massage to loosen the tight lumbar/glute/hamstrings, doing 15 mins of carrot stretches religiously every day before riding and using an Equiband core trainer at the beginning of every ridden session. I have also started using a Total Contact Saddle which is the only thing she appears happy to be ridden in, I think because it doesn't restrict her movement in any way (and I had already spent 2k on a Solution treeless saddle for her ?) but either way, she used to be a nightmare to mount but she will stand like a rock for me to get on with this.
My girl has some hoof issues going on too but the key really does seem to be keeping her comfortable enough to move straight and break the vicious circle of incorrect movement stressing other bits of her body.

 

[throwawayaccount]

thank you both for your replies!

tiddlypom- sadly i agree with that saying too. when you say wonky, was her conformation attributed to her way of going?

brownmare- our situations do sound very similar! what a nightmare having already spent so much on a saddle D:

update- finally got through to vet after 5 calls, they want her to go into clinic next wednesday rather than assess on site.

 

[LEC]

Poor conformation usually leads to asymmetry which then places pressure elsewhere. I have one at the moment, I have spent thousands on trying to get her right but I think I am just about to admit defeat with suspensorys, but even if we solved that I am not convinced we will be able to keep her sound longer term as we will fix something but another thing crops up to cause an issue and there is a lot of compensation going on. Some of my horses is conformation as developed cow hocks after a field accident which then causes poor posture, which causes issues and further asymmetry.

 

[throwawayaccount]

Poor conformation usually leads to asymmetry which then places pressure elsewhere. I have one at the moment, I have spent thousands on trying to get her right but I think I am just about to admit defeat with suspensorys, but even if we solved that I am not convinced we will be able to keep her sound longer term as we will fix something but another thing crops up to cause an issue and there is a lot of compensation going on. Some of my horses is conformation as developed cow hocks after a field accident which then causes poor posture, which causes issues and further asymmetry.

it's so frustrating isn't it what breed/how old is your mare?

 

[LEC]

it's so frustrating isn't it what breed/how old is your mare?

10 year sport horse - competed at a fairly decent level. I think looking back the suspensorys have been impinging for a while but it was the forelimb lameness that bought it all too light. Just couldn't solve it with serious time off barefoot, nerve blocking, gait analysis etc I have x rayed the hocks and they are clean as a whistle. I could put her through the surgery but I am not convinced it will solve anything because we have significant postural offloading and the feet have changed morthology in the time I have had her as a result of compensating. She was hacking out till last week but freaked out at kids on a trampoline and was then looking terrible so have vet out today and will make a call on her. I won't put her through months of box rest just to hack.

 

[throwawayaccount]

10 year sport horse - competed at a fairly decent level. I think looking back the suspensorys have been impinging for a while but it was the forelimb lameness that bought it all too light. Just couldn't solve it with serious time off barefoot, nerve blocking, gait analysis etc I have x rayed the hocks and they are clean as a whistle. I could put her through the surgery but I am not convinced it will solve anything because we have significant postural offloading and the feet have changed morthology in the time I have had her as a result of compensating. She was hacking out till last week but freaked out at kids on a trampoline and was then looking terrible so have vet out today and will make a call on her. I won't put her through months of box rest just to hack.

ahhhh, /sort/ of similar to mine- she's 10 in may, thoroughbred x french trotter. i'm not sure what shes done but she has been passed around a lot. ended up in an auction, sold to me as sound/healthy last year (funny enough, the seller never disclosed about the auction..i found that from digging!), barely been able to ride. thats probably why she ended up in the auction thank you for taking the time to explain, i'm sorry you are going through this. i agree with what you say about box rest just to hack.... my mare started to get massively frustrated off of it and ended up making herself worse.

 

[BaronSamedi]

Mine fell in the field last spring and hurt his Sacroiliac joint, Physio and craniosacral therapy plus lots of ground work to build him up abs daily stretches have made huge improvements in him.

 

[throwawayaccount]

thanks Baron, glad to hear your boy is making promising improvements in his recovery

i'm just wondering, am i able to show photos or a video of her to anyone who is wised up on conformation or lameness issues generally? i'd rather do this via PM if possible?