One Rein Struggles & Anxiety - Mysterious Hind End Issues

[Ottbaxel]

I just X-rayed the neck to be safe given the head tossing. His teeth were done a few months ago, SI has been injected previously with not much difference, hocks have mild arthritis so he’s had injections there, front feet have been radiographed, etc so just trying to slowly do some diagnostics on what could be causing issues if it is something physical. I was a bit worried about the neck especially given his trouble bending left and his tendency to lean so hard on one rein. He is getting chiropracted in a couple of days.

My vet thought maybe getting him out of the ring and cantering around in the fields could help him mentally and build some strength. I tried a few times but he just got too excited out there for me to even ask for the canter…however what I did start doing is if he picks up the left lead on his own after trotting a fence, I just leave the outdoor and canter right into the fields. It at least eliminates the stress of the transition into it. He holds the lead well and feels nice and strong even up or down the hills which is encouraging. Not much head tossing or yanking me around which is intriguing given how much he’s been doing that in the flatwork.

[Ottbaxel]

Chiro came out today. His ribs were being pulled right. He was less willing to bear weight on his right hip. He didn’t want to shift his weight from his left front to his right hip, which is interesting since I notice the same thing when I go to do leg lifts to release his left shoulder. He always keeps that right hind foot cocked.

[Jealoushe]

Keep working on the building muscle and showing the body the correct way to carry itself etc. It takes a few months for the results to start showing.

[Ottbaxel]

That’s the plan! I do see some improvements already in his way of going up and down hills, and over the small fences we’ve done he feels quite soft. I wonder if his stifles are the main issue-I’m loosely considering having my vet check them out just to be safe…but I think I’ll wait and see how he feels right after his next dose of Legend and see if that makes any difference first. In the meantime though, we are still going to keep chipping away at the strength building!

[Ottbaxel]

Well, I spoke with my vet and opted to try SI injections once more. I will still continue all of the strength building stuff we have been doing, but she thought he might need a little bit more help. If it’s not an SI issue, then I’m a little stumped, seeing as it theoretically shouldn’t be hoof/hock/neck/back/stifle/ulcers either.

[SolarFlare]

It might still be SI - mine had a soft tissue (ligament) injury in the SI. Injections worked amazingly the first time…for about 3 months. Injected again and never got great results. After lots of shotgun diagnostics we sent him for a bone scan and they were able to identify an SI ligament injury (the scan along with process of elimination due to all the blocks and other diagnostics we had done beforehand).

Mine plugged along for a few years off the track, including jumping and low-level shows, until it finally got bad enough that we could figure out what was going on.

[Ottbaxel]

Were you able to do anything else to fix the SI injury, or did you give up once you found the diagnosis? I actually didn’t see noticeable results the first time he got his SI injected at all. However, they were done when he was still pretty weak all around (he had come to me very underweight and had no muscle at all really) so maybe now he has enough support in the rest of his body too to help him out along with the injections.

He certainly could use more muscle still (I had a friend recently suggest an equiband so I am considering trying that out) but compared to last year his body condition has improved significantly. So, who knows.

[SolarFlare]

We didn’t give up - the university hospital where he had his bone scan was confident that he’d be able to return to his normal level of work (lower-level stuff, including jumping up to 3’) with rest and rehab.

He was on stall rest with handwalking for 6 weeks, then half day turnout in a small round pen (about half size) and handwalking for another 2.5 months, then tack walking for 6 weeks while his turnout area gradually increased in size, then added in trot, then large figures, then poles, then finally canter. He was starting back jumping (crossrails) about 8 months after diagnosis.

That was 2015. We originally went back to doing low-level hunters (up to 3’), then switched to low-level jumpers (again up to 3’) and now we event at 2’9 and school some 3’ fences. We’re capable of showing a level higher in eventing but my coach and I have decided to keep him down a level so that he can keep going longer (he’s 18 this year). He did need his SI injected once in 2019 but haven’t had it done again since.

Apparently you can image the SI via rectal ultrasound - my vet didn’t do this (I’m not sure if it was a thing vets did back then. I heard about it here on COTH later on). You may want to speak to your vet to see if that’s something they can do. I was told previously that the SI is very difficult to image due to how deep it is, and a bone scan is one of the ways it can be done, but it’s not cheap. Although - the amount of money you’re spending on random guesses adds up pretty fast. I spent a lot of time and money trying to diagnose, but it was still useful in the end as we knew what the problem wasn’t.

[Ottbaxel]

I have heard of the rectal ultrasound as well-I could mention it to my vet. We’ll see how the SI injections (and all the strengthening as well) works and then go from there.

You’re right about the money-although most of what I’ve spent money on (X-rays, injections, saddle fitting etc) weren’t just guesses and this info has accumulated over about a year and a half, I have spent a lot. My trainer has mentioned me throwing in the towel and selling him to look for something else-the only thing is I don’t think he’d be an easy sell at all. He is super super reliable xc too, which is what I’ve always wanted and when his flatwork does go well, it feels incredible. So I’m giving it my best shot for now. Ugh!!

[Ottbaxel]

I just ordered an Equiband-I am going to (VERY gradually) start using it on the lunge with him to build up some better hind end muscle without a human on him, and then keep doing raised poles (not on the same day as the Equiband) to help build up his left shoulder stronger.

Only a few rides back since we injected his SI as strongly advised by my vet, so hopefully that works as well. I know it will take a few weeks to see any difference with that. Interestingly, my vet noted that the left side was pretty tricky to get the needle into.

[Showbizz]

I had a mare in training last winter who had similar issues cantering one direction. Finally, we found she has inflammation in BOTH stifles. Xrays were clean so owner chose not to inject. We found the mare could be ridden well 3x per week - with a day or more off in between - successfully. More than that and trouble showed up.

[Ottbaxel]

Interesting! This is what I am curious about. I have stifle X-rays (honestly forgot I even took those during the ppe) and they look fine, but my vet was certainly open to doing injections to see if they help. She very strongly recommended the SI injections too though, so I opted to do just the SI and then decide what to do if those don’t help him enough.

What diagnostics did you do to discover the inflammation?

[Jealoushe]

I would dive into the research on equiband/pessoa systems, it’s better to lunge them in just a halter especially when they are first developing muscles.

[Showbizz]

I wasn’t there with the owner during that particular vet visit, but I think it was a combination of palpation and ultrasound. They did find fluid.

[Ottbaxel]

Welp, many weeks of hills/hacks/raised poles/backing up/masterson method, plus adding an equiband at the walk on the lunge a couple of weeks ago, and he has just recently gotten worse.

My trainer had noted in the last few lessons that he doesn’t quite track up with the right hind at first, but he has been warming up out of it pretty quickly. I have also been noticing that after I ride, he consistently rests that leg on the crossties. He is also reluctant to move his hindquarters to the left when letting people by in the aisle.

The problem has mainly been with the actual left lead canter transition, but in the past week he’s been difficult in the right lead in general. I gave him bute yesterday and today and rode him per my vets instructions. Yesterday we flatted and he definitely felt better. Today, we trotted some jumps to get the canter (as instructed by my vet) but he was much worse in every way today. Thankfully I had brought someone along to take videos, and looking back at them it seems to still be that right hind that’s causing discomfort, but in a much bigger way now (maybe from actually getting some more legit flatwork out of him yesterday).

Back to the vet we go!

[fivestrideline]

Ugh I’m sorry.

Definitely vet time. I’d invest in ultrasounds of the stifles (or any other large soft tissue spots) if that ends up flexing off, not just X-ray. Just personal experience so YMMV, but it’s surprising how normal and clear an X-ray can look when the soft tissue is a mess! Especially since he seems to get worse with targeted fitness work rather than better.

There are a lot of options these days if you can narrow down what is bothering him. Hoping for good news!

[Ottbaxel]

My vet came out again last week and took another look at him-he is definitely funky in the hind end. She suggested getting the owner of the clinic out for a second opinion, so we will see what comes of that! The appointment is tomorrow with both of them. I am SO lucky my vet is as invested in this horse as I am-her boss usually doesn’t do farm calls so this is a big deal!

[phoenixrises]

I don’t want to be that person, but is EPM something that exists where you live?

ETA - I should actually ask if your horse has ever lived somewhere that EPM is a thing as it can lay dormant for a while.

[Ottbaxel]

Well, while I don’t personally know any horses in my area to be diagnosed with EPM, I know possums live in the area. I’ve never seen them near the barn, but that certainly doesn’t mean the possibility isn’t there. I can mention that at the appointment as well-he passes a neuro test fine but I know EPM could do more than just neurological damage.

[fivestrideline]

Horses compensate very well for minor neuro deficiencies - until they can’t. EPM and other neurological issues can therefore present as vague, hard to pin down lameness or behavioral issues before the horse starts showing neuro signs.

If you have possums, you have EPM. It’s worth investigating if nothing pops up or issues continue and the blood test is not expensive, though not technically a diagnostic test. The caveat is if he is in/has been in an EPM area he will likely show a mild positive on blood testing (exposure), but if the numbers are WILDLY off the charts high a lot of vets will treat that without the spinal tap.

All this to say, don’t rule out EPM due to lack of neuro signs. Other things are perhaps more likely, but EPM is sneaky and can present like a lot of other things. Lyme is the same way.

Fingers crossed for answers from your vets!