littlelessbloom
Well-Known Member
Vet doesn’t think it’s connected as she doesn’t think the symptoms are coming through the back but I guess we would find out at a referral work up
Vet doesnt know
- Thread starter littlelessbloom
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SEL
Well-Known Member
They should find enough to justify an insurance claim - rarely is a horse 100% perfect even if you don't get a solid answer.
ycbm
Einstein would be proud of my Insanity...
Does she have TB blood? There is a known issue with malformation of C6/7 vertebrae in the bottom of the neck that results in instability of the front legs.
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littlelessbloom
Well-Known Member
Nope no TB in her
sbloom
Well-Known Member
Vets have a different paradigm, a different framework that they look through, so it's not about it specifically coming through the back. Everything about the way our horses move is about patterns - fascia connect right the way through the body, so problems refer all over. Horses are designed to compensate even more than we are, as prey animals if they can't compensate then they're lunch.
As I say, do read up about thoracic sling dysfunction, once you "get it" you see it everywhere...one fantastic example of groundwork for TS issues https://www.facebook.com/wildmagicllc
Mudfukkle
Well-Known Member
Rossdales are brilliant referal vets. But it will depend where you are in the country?
meleeka
Well-Known Member
But you will have peace of mind that you haven’t missed anything. I think it’s worth the money to get at least somewhere in finding out the problem.
LegOn
Well-Known Member
Friend of mine had a horse like this - the horse had SI injected, hocks injected, scoped etc with minimal improvement - a physio said she found something unusual in the poll, had that xrayed and there was a calcification in the poll that was preventing movement, this was injected to dissolve it and already massive improvement! Hind end, is not always hind end!
hock
Well-Known Member
Your vet sounds rubbish, I’d have no confidence asking them to do a work up etc. It does sound hocky but only because I’ve ridden a similar feel and the horse was compensating with the “hop”. I think I would at this point work lots more canter ridden and with a pessoa to strengthen, obviously building up. Is it both reins?
littlelessbloom
Well-Known Member
Yes both reins. He is “bunny hopping” on the lunge but is more sitting on his backend and bunny hopping with his front legs under saddle.
I think if he was doing the normal bunny hopping under saddle too then yes it’s probably hocks or SI related
Melody Grey
Well-Known Member
Agree- similarly, we have an alternating front foot lameness here that appears to have been caused by ulcers (presumably shifting weight off the back and onto the front), so sometimes things are not at all obvious!
Muddywellies
Well-Known Member
I would scope. If your horse has had them before, they don't just clear up and go away. More often than not, they return over and over again, especially if the root cause hasn't been established. Speaking from experience, I would scope and take it from there. (But I also agree with the SI comment above) .
Melody Grey
Well-Known Member
Re: ulcers being involved in loss of performance/ lameness work up, I will say that because ulcers can’t be nerve blocked, they can cloud the results of other diagnostics- I’ve had this twice now, once where we knew there were ulcers and once where we didn’t. Both times, lots of (expensive) nerve blocking revealed nothing and sent us round in circles. We ended up reinvestigating both times and then finding answers.
Although the ulcers likely have a cause, I’d say it might be worth getting them under control before undergoing extensive investigations- the results might be different. I appreciate it’s a bit chicken and egg though!
Although the ulcers likely have a cause, I’d say it might be worth getting them under control before undergoing extensive investigations- the results might be different. I appreciate it’s a bit chicken and egg though!
littlelessbloom
Well-Known Member
I think you’re right and very in line with what the vet says. We need to find out if there are ulcers there - if there are, why? if there aren’t, what is there?
As someone said previously, gastroscope is relatively cheap compared to more investigative work
As someone said previously, gastroscope is relatively cheap compared to more investigative work
hock
Well-Known Member
Do you have a trainer? Just wondering if they have any thoughts?
littlelessbloom
Well-Known Member
Yes so my original trainer hasn’t seen us on the flat for a while (as I said, doesn’t do it anywhere else) but last time she said that she was struggling to sit up and back on her hocks - possibly through weakness as she’s naturally a downhill horse.
I am arranging for a lesson with another instructor on Tuesday to see what she thinks - this instructor has helped us with a lot in the past, she’s just not my regular instructor
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
echo this. when my little mare got really difficult in her work vets and I agreed that we couldn't even think about doing a lameness workup until her ulcers (which presented as mild girthyness - already on ulcer-friendly management as all of mine are) were treated as they were causing her enough discomfort that any other examinations would be fairly worthless.
we did never find any cause and vet told me sometimes they do just develop, hers were pyloric rather than splash and were also difficult to resolve.
Pinkvboots
Well-Known Member
I know it's a totally different thing but it's an example my horse has had impaction colic twice and both times he did something completely different, first time he was eating but shook like he was cold, second time he shook his head constantly walking around lifting his hind legs.
I just think with horses it's so difficult to know because it's never the same behaviour they can just do basically anything that's just not right and it's a complete guessing game, it would be so much easier if they could talk ?