So the chiropractor came out today. She is someone I have not used before. She did spend a lot of time with us and seemed thorough. But also struck me as sort of quack-ish. She was also way too expensive that I won't be able to use her again unless she works some sort of miracle on my horse.
Anyway ... her diagnosis was SI pain/discomfort. That's the sacro-illiac joint, which is buried under a lot of muscle and almost impossible to really adjust. I suspected this, and it's pretty common.
He was also out in C3 of his neck.
Otherwise he showed no pain or displacement anywhere. His back was loose and pain free (yay!) as was his poll. It's just that darn hip/SI area.
Symptoms of SI pain/discomfort: I put my comments about Hampton in red.
- agitation when asked for upward transitions (nope)
- kicking out/cross cantering at the canter (will kick out sometimes if I spur him too hard ... hard to decide if this is just Hamps telling me that my aids are rude, or if he is uncomfortable)
- reluctance to go on the bit (nope)
- bucking in the canter (yes. Sometimes, when I ask him to really collect and back up my leg with the whip, he will buck. Again - being snarky or in pain?)
- Inability to hold a lead in one direction. (no)
- Looking weak in the hind end (yes)
- Horse may shift weight constantly between the two hindlimbs. (no. He actually stands in the crossties very square.)
- Reluctance to stand with one hindlimb flexed, bearing weight on the other limb, or reluctance to allow one or both hindlimbs to be picked up (I'd said yes, although mild).
- Breaking to canter rather than increase hindlimb impulsion (yes! Especially for slow trot - to BIG trot transitions. He would rather canter behind my leg than push off into a big trot).
- Lateral work (e.g., shoulder-in, half-pass) is particularly difficult. Canter is stiff and stilted, often four beat and difficult to maintain. (Lateral work is mostly fine, every once in a while he is a bit resistent to leg yield off my left leg. Canter used to be 4 beat as a 3 and 4 year old. Seems to have grown out of it?)
- Shows a loss of flexibility through the lower back. (Yes. Almost always tight.)
- Can only manage a poor bascule over fences, jumps long, refuses jumps, stops in combinations. (shows none of these. Infact he has a pretty darn good bascule)
- Has difficulty with cavaletti. (nope)
- An exaggerated sensitivity to palpation over the lower back and sacrum, which may be either a sinking away from the pressure, or tensing and quivering of the muscles (nope)
 |
| Ignore the perching monkey on his back ... |
So what next?
Well, I'm going to keep trying to strengthen that hind end. Hill work, caveletti and we need to start jumping again. This hind end hitch has pretty much vanished last summer. Is it because we were jumping regularly? We haven't jumped at all since December really. Has he lost that strength? At this point I do not feel he needs a long-term break. Both the vet and chiro said it was fine - and good - to keep him in work. Motion is good for the joints. Of course if anything gets worse, I will reconsider.
At some point, I am probably going to have to get his SI joint injected. I'm not sure how much this costs but I am sure it will probably require me saving up quite a bit. Is he sound for lower level dressage? Without a doubt. But he's going to need that issue examined further in order for us to proceed up to third/fourth level. That I have no doubt. He will be 6 in June - is he growing a little bit more? There are so many possibly explanations!
So we'll see how it goes. He is otherwise happy to work, happy to come to me in the field and just a general laid back, happy guy. He shows no signs of pain when you palpate his back or hips. It's just this slight hitch in his gait. He may actually be naturally uneven in his hips (like me! I have one leg longer than the other). Who knows.
Entering horse show mode now. Cue stress, panic and massive organizing and cleaning spree.
SI does seem to be a common problem, but also not really a black and white one to fix.
ReplyDeleteIn Sweden it seems to be kind of a popular diagnosis for chiropractors to say thay almost all horses have SI-problems...
ReplyDeleteRiva shows some of those symptoms, but again, she is turning 6 and I chalk it up to age, maturing, etc.
ReplyDeleteHorse show season and the weather is finally starting to cooperate!
Can I suggest coming up a game plan with your vet? A horse at my barn just got a body scan and was diagnosed at MSU with an SI injury and is prescribed 6 months stall rest, 2 months hand walking on hard ground, 2 months w/t on hard ground and then injections. As a owner with a 23 yo with arthritis in his hip it's not fun to see such an otherwise sound horse have a hitch in his step and it's getting painful when i pick his foot or the farrier comes out so be as proactive as you can.
ReplyDeleteNo worries - we do have a game plan between vet, farrier and chiro. Their advice is to help him strengthen his hind end. I cannot afford a body scan (and will never be able to). If he shows sign of pain or discomfort we will investigate further. :) Everyone seems to think this is a weakness and some muscle soreness perhaps. Not an injury. But - keeping an eye on it for sure!
ReplyDeleteHouston hasn't had his SI done but my old horse did once and there are a few horses in the barn that have as well. It's way less than stifle or hocks because its 1 injection not multiple for each leg. Don't remember exact numbers though :/
ReplyDeletesounds like this might not be it. My older horse I answer yes to all of those questions. :(
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. The diagram is really elpful. Hopefully it's just a transitional time for Hampton, and not a permanent condition.
ReplyDeleteI answered yes to most of those symptoms for Val. :(
I've known there was an issue, although when he came to me it was pinpointed further down in his hip (from a nuclear scan).
My plan is to strengthen his hind the best I can with slow, steady correct work. No close access to massage / chiro here - may have to plan a trip to civilization.