Two weeks ago Shah was lame on his offside hindleg and we couldn’t see anything visible as to why he should be lame. No cuts, bruises, swollen areas, heated areas or anything that looked like he’d done something. After a day or two the lameness went and after a week I started riding again, slowly, but he wasn’t happy at all. He would walk along nicely but complained vigorously at any suggestion of a trot or canter. I knew that something wasn’t right so I went ahead and booked an equine chiropractor. We talked on the phone and agreed that it was possible that the problem was in the back.
The chiropractor came warmly recommended by several people and he’s known for doing a very good job. His name is Jose Gomez and he doesn’t have a website but if you’re interested in getting hold of him email me and I’ll reply with his email address. I can’t recommend him warmly enough. He’s a certified vet and acupuncturist as well as a chiropractor.
When he came yesterday he had a quick look at how Shah moves in walk and trot and he could spot straight away that there was a problem in the hip, on the side of the earlier lameness. The femur (thigh bone that connects to the hip) was out, probably happened when he was rolling in the field, which was causing him pain. Jose also found a whole raft of other problems, which I suspect have been there for a long time but no one else so far that has seen Shah has been able to tell me for certain about them so although it’s disheartening to hear how many things are misaligned and put out in his spine, it’s good to have finally found someone who can tell exactly what’s wrong and then also do something about it to put it right.
Here’s what was wrong with Shah:
- Femur bone was out (thigh bone), this was probably the newest problem, which is the one he was reacting against.
- Hip bone on both sides had dropped.
- Twisted sacrum.
- One neck vertebrae was out causing both shoulder scapulas to drop.
- Twisted head – probably giving him a constant head ache.
- Rock hard muscles all the way from the poll, through the neck and back because of the spine being so misaligned.
Most of these injuries and problems probably stem from when he was mistreated. Some might also stem from when he was a working stallion as they use their backs in a different way and don’t often get the after care they need. Because these problems have not been treated until now, they have slowly been getting worse.
In one way I feel really upset for poor Shah having been in pain probably most of the time. Think about what it’s like if you have a rock hard muscle or put one of your back vertebraes slightly out yourself, it hurts! That’s how he has been going for years. On the other hand I’m glad I’ve finally found someone who could tell me exactly what is wrong, and then put things right again.
Shah is now resting for a few days, turned out in his field, to get used to his ‘new’ body and I’m then introducing riding slowly again. We’ll be doing lots of long slow walks to start with so that he can get used to his body moving correctly. Then I have to do lots of pole work, hill work and canter work to re-build his back and bottom muscles in particular, as well as his belly muscles, which are needed to support the rest of the body.
I’m really hoping that this will be another big step forwards for us. It means I can’t start our endurance career as early as I would have liked but, all being well, we might try to do a non competitive ride in July as part of the rehabilitation program. And if everything is going well when Jose comes back in 2-3 weeks for a check up, we might be on track for some longer rides in August and September before the season is over.
If you ever are in doubt about your horse not feeling a hundred percent right, go with your gut feel and get someone out to have a look at them. Better safe than sorry. All horses that are in work should have their backs checked over every 6-12 months, depending on what type of work they do. That will keep them supple and happy.
