I have tried to check the search engine, but being technologically challenged, I did not find anything.
So, would you please share your wisdom about horses that have a “Hunter’s Bump?”
I believe that they are due to an injury to the sacrum? I am looking at a prospect for Eventing. I am planning on having a pre-purchase done, which would disclose any issues. However, if most of you have negative experiences, it might save me time and money.
Thanks in advance!
I would suggest looking at web sites that consider equine bodywork and biomechanics, and look for information on the SI. The more technical discussions have got past the term hunters bump and may say things like subluxation of the pelvis, while the less technical websites take it as fairly normal 
You might have a look at the dormant but still usable Hooves Blog by Mercedes and also Deb Bennett’s book on functional conformation. She also has a website and chat thread which is low use at this point but can be searched. You can find both by googling. My phone won’t let me cut and paste links.
My understanding is that the basic cause of the bump is either acute injury or long time chronic damage from bad posture, particularly going on the forehand. The tendons around the pelvis stretch allowing the pelvis to sink at the back and poke up at the front. I believe that if it’s asymmetrical when viewed from behind you might have something more going on.
I have never had this in a horse under my care but have watched it with interest during several years at a barn of mixed disciplines and ability.
From my observations I agree that the peaked appearance of the pelvis absolutely seems to happen to horses that are drilled in the arena on the forehand, whether jumper or dressage. And IME the bump can go away if the horse’s workload changes, IE retired, pasture break, change of trainers. I am not sure in this case if there is any small loss of function. Many of these horses also get bad hocks.
IME it also seems true that horses with longer backs who have the SI joint behind the point of hip are more susceptible to this. Many ottb have this build. Very short coupled horses with the SI above the point of hip don’t tend to get it, but can certainly have other SI or pelvis issues.
I’ve watched horses go that are developing hunters bump and it’s usually clear that they are moving on the forehand and if jumping, heaving themselves over.
Also if a horse is very underweight or had lost topline the pelvic process will be more visible in a way that looks like hunter bump but may not be.
As far as prognosis the traditional view of hunters bump is that if it’s old and cold and stable, it is merely a blemish and does not affect soundness. My personal feeling is that at the least it reflects a long period of being ridden and trained in incorrect carriage, which is a red flag.
I’m curious as to what others say as like the OP I agree there isn’t that much information around.
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/14145/hunters-bump
https://equinewellnessmagazine.com/sijc-injury-hunters-bump/
Maybe too simple of an answer but IME they are usually resolved with good chiropractic, stretching, and proper riding.
Excellent articles, thank you! All I’d add is that to fix it, you need to quit the activity that is causing it. Meaning riding in a way that messes up the SI.
CindyCRNA, Thank you for the articles. This horse does have a longer back, than my current OTTB mare. Maybe, before I spend the money on the pre-purchase, I will have my therapeutic massage person come out and assess. In the long run, it would cost less and I trust her. If she does not find an issue, then I will proceed with the pre-purchase.
Thanks again for the insights!
I have a mare with minor hunter’s bump, and recently went to a Jillian Kreinbring biomechanics workshop where she covered this topic, so naturally I asked quite a few questions.
The first distinction to make is between “rough coupled” which is a conformational feature, and hunter’s bump, which is an injury. Of course, being rough coupled predisposes the horse to hunter’s bump. Looking at the horse from the back, if the spine right at the SI is slightly tipped, it is hunter’s bump, indicating a ligament tear as shown.
She showed us before and after pictures of a mustang mare with hunter’s bump that she bought out of a crank-and-spank style dressage situation where she was doing third level movements. From the “before” photos, you would never have guessed that this horse was doing third, and hunter’s bump was not her only issue. With lots of careful groundwork, and eventually riding, she was looking tons better in the “after” photo 6-12 months later.
Jillian’s advice to me was to take extra care in strengthening the topline and haunches, because the ligament tear will not heal, but proper muscle development can take care of the job of stabilizing the joint. “This is no the end of the world” is what she said, and in a nutshell, is very manageable. Personally, I wouldn’t put a horse like this into high level jumping, or maybe cutting or reining, but for more moderate intensity sports, it’s fine with the right management, depending upon the severity.
It’s still early days with my mare, but she is high on the right side, and low on the left. She tracked short on the left and had almost a dip in the muscling in front of her left hip. With steady work, amino acid supplementation and monthly bodywork, she is starting to come more and more even, and seems to be happy in her riding and her training is progressing very normally (she’s a green 4 yo, I suspect the injury occurred when she was slammed into “90 days training” with a western trainer as a 3 yo weakling).
That’s been my experience. Many times I’ve noticed a SI problem to weak back muscles and improper saddle fit, causing them to work improperly and strain or tear ligaments in the SI area. I wouldn’t buy a horse with it and expect high level aspirations, but with normal low level stuff and a good brain, would be no problem.
I am looking for a horse for low level Eventing. BN- max. I am old and have no aspirations to go higher.
My thoughts on being an older rider is that one of us can have aches and pains and physical limitations, but not both of us 
or we’d never get anything done. So I need a sound fit horse. Not a fire breathing dragon, but sound.
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