unevenness behind - what kind of treatment?

D

digitalangel

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Sep 2, 2006
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hey all

got another problem with the Nigel :) hes uneven behind and its been worse since ive had him. His owner says hes been xrayed and nerve-blocked up to his stifles and the vets couldnt find anything wrong (april 2006 ) and some kind of therapist came to see him... kind of 'tickled' him all over until he found the problem ( hamstrings on L hind ) treated him, recommended massaging the muscles before work and he was fine for her since.

Hes warmed up gently and a few rounds of canter helps a bit, but going walk to trot he throws a few 'funny' strides - i have video of this if anyone wants to see. some days are worse than others but ive been told to 'work him through it' and my RI almost thinks its a form of napping! Either way, its noticeable and im not sure ill be able to do a dressage test on him. It is also undetectable in canter and walk.

the therapist ( aussie guy ) has gone back to oz and wont be back till april. id love to get someone else out, but it doesnt sould like he was a physio, more like an osteopath?

as a precaution, he is on easy-joint ( glucosamine, devils claw, MSM, cider vinegar ) but it doesnt seem to be doing anything much.
sorry this sounds so vague, its the middle of the night and im still awake!
 
If the horses is unlevel there is a problem. How much can be done to recify this problem and how much it effects him is what you need to focus on :p

When stood square, if you stand directy behind your horses is he 100% level, are the muscles built up evenly and when he walks away does he stay level (our vets theory is, if you balanced a tray on his bum is it just as likely to fall off both sides or one more than the other). If the answer to any of these is no then there is a good chance its a physical problem, if you can say yes to all of these, it is still possible its a physical problem but also could be a behaviour issue.

TBH either way i would want to get someone to look at it, there will be other horsey osteos, we have one locally, there are also physios and chiros, you would need to ask around to get a recomendation of one in your area. If it was a hamstring problem then a sports massage therapist might be able to help, also doing stretches etc might help.

J x
 
I'd be inclined to get a chiro to take a look, particularly if anything lower than stifle has been ruled out. It could be that one of his hips is a bit out or something, my experience is that a good chiro is your best bet for pelvic/hip/sacroiliac (sp!!) type stuff. My old cob seemed very slightly uneven behind at times, he was treated by my chiro for a slight hip/lower back misalignment & I'm sure it helped him.
 
thanks guys...


Jesse - i know its a physical problem as in the video he looks very stiff and uneven on one hind - what im trying to do is find out what kind of treatment would be best as i have *no idea* what this previous therapist was. im guesseing either sports massage or osteopath - i dont think it was a chiro as the back/joints werent mentioned.
it will be easy to get one out, but im not sure *who* to get out ( and im waiting for the insurance papers to come back so i can get it covered by insurance )

Thanks iron maiden - with your cob could you see the problem or only feel it when he was ridden? also did he loosen up after a good canter or anything?
what did his unevenness feel like?

sorry for all the questions just want to make sure i get the right person out :)
 
My horse suffered a stifle injury, it was my chiro who picked up on it, where many others missed it, he had muscle wastage so it was obvious (once it was pointed out) there was a more deep rooted problem :eek:
My chiro is also Sports massage trained, so very helpful, worth asking about and see if you can find someone cross trained, could deal with either problem then.

J x
 
My horse generally looked fine, no-one ever told me he looked 'wrong' although to my eye he was sometimes a bit short behind. I rarely saw anyone else on him though. I could feel his uneveness most if I trotted briskly up a hill, if I did sitting trot my left hip dropped more than the right so I presume he was doing much the same himself. He also used to prefer to canter on the right rein, which is consistent with the right hind being 'sounder'. Didn't seem to matter if he was warmed/loosened up, I could still feel it. I used to get confused because people say they drop on the sound side, but he levelled up when he was recovering from an abcess in his right hind.

Hope this helps!
 
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my Ri desribes it as a kind of 'choppiness' and its hard to see unless youre on him you can feel it

hopefully i can find someoneswhos cross-trailed in my area as soon as my papers come through.

he gets both canter leads and he is in no way lame, and i have the Ri's blessing to still compete him in jumping, but im not sure he would do a dressage test very well right now so ill give dressage a rest for now i think.
 
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