SI Joint Issues

[RedRyderKy]

SI Joint issues, can it get better or does it always remain a problem? Could pain be bad enough to make horse aggressive?

I’ve got a 10 yr old OTTB who has been off the track for 2 years. He had 70+ starts and was “sound” with some micro fractures of his right coffin bone. Horse behaved like a typical track horse, but in general pretty well mannered. Due to personal commitments I didn’t restart him until last fall. This was about 2 months of riding and then turned back out due to me being busy with work & family. Flash forward to this spring and I’ve been battling sounds issues related to his SI since. I’ve had a vet out doing chiropractic care & acupuncture multiple times. First time she examined him she said if I planned on competing him, I’d be seeing a lot of her. This vet also thought he had Lyme Disease and we treated holistically. Still not 100% soundness wise to ride more than trotting and even then it’s not pretty. Last week, I went to work him and he was severely lame and I immediately called lameness vet out. One exam and multiple X-rays of his stifle & hock, she too feels it’s still his SI. One of the other issues with this horse is he has gotten very aggressive to the other horses and to people. My other OTTB has bite marks all over his body from being bit. His field has a shared fence line and he run to reach over to bite and literally pick up the Shetland pony if he gets ahold of him. Tonight he nailed me on my ass when I had my back turned to dump feed in his feeder.

The horse has been treated for suspected ulcers and receives a daily supplement to prevent digestive issues. Teeth have been floated, gets quality feed/hay, turned out 16+hrs a day. I feel like I’m getting no where with this horse and see no end in sight for getting him sound enough to start training, let alone dealing with the aggressive behavior. Thoughts?

Side note: I swear I’ve got some serious bad luck with horses as of late. One pony being treated for EPM, one gelding who can’t be a jumper as planned and is now straight dressage, and this guy with SI issues. This post may be a bit whiney.

[SolarFlare]

What kind of diagnostics have you done? Do you have a diagnosis for exactly what the SI problem is?

Mine had SI ligament damage (so soft tissue, not arthritis), diagnosed through blocking everything from hoof to stifle on the affected side (to rule out other issues), then finally sending him for a bone scan (we did other tests to exclude issues as well). Once we knew what the problem was, we were able to formulate a rehab plan.

I did the rehab in 2015 and haven’t had any other SI issues since. I do keep up on hock maintenance as in his case, he does have some lower hock arthritis, so we don’t want him to compensate and end up with a sore SI again. I also switched to low-level eventing and we do a lot of dressage and proper flat work, which has made him stronger and straighter. I think this helps prevent another injury.

Mine didn’t get aggressive, but he’s overall a very laid-back horse so not that type. I can see though if your horse is in constant pain that the result could be lashing out.

[AppaloosaDressage]

My 17 yo GP horse has been getting SI injected since he was 10 and competing 3rd level. Whenever it is approaching time to get injected again, you can feel the change undersaddle. Tigher, stiffer, progressively more unhappy until once or twice a ride I’d get these little “scoots” where he’ll shoot forward a couple strides and stick his neck up. Not “lame” but you can tell he’s getting uncomfortable. After injections he’d be a happy camper and go on to school and compete for 6-8 months before another round. He’s past due for injections currently and while two weeks ago we were doing 21 one tempis down the diagonal, now I can feel simple collected canter is bothering him. He has about 40 % DHH in his bloodline and the rest is KWPN… not sure if this predisposes him to the SI problems or not but you can definitely see in his conformation that it has potential to be an issue. I’m taking him tomorrow for x rays and PRP injections as I personally don’t want to mess around with using steroids on them anymore (effective, but potential consequences of laminitis too scary) …if PRP doesn’t give him enough relief to stay in an easy 3-4 day/wk retirement plan, he will get to be a pasture puff and go out for walking hacks a few times a week. He’s earned it.

[Larbear]

Something else to consider while treating him is to check the medial lateral balance of his hind feet. A lot of times they can be high inside and that will affect things further up (including SI).

[RedRyderKy]

So the horse was adjusted by regular vet chiropractor today. His pelvis/hips were very out and his left side was much harder to adjust and keep it. He had some heat in his hind tendons with the left being worse that wasn’t there before. Vet recommended getting scans on the tendons, thought it could be a suspensory. Horse is now on stall rest until this happens.

[dungrulla]

If you treated holistically for Lyme disease and didn’t give antibiotics he probably still has it.

[punchy]

Why spend money scanning tendons with heat (only heat?) when you know the horse has an SI injury? He probably had it when you got him. Unfortunately, SI issues do badly when the horse is not exercised regularly, and it sounds like your guy had a lot of time off. Muscles and soft tissue support systems weaken and atrophy and when you start trying to get them back to work, they can’t move properly and their body is too weak/crooked to help itself and you get other issues (like heat in tendons). Unless you have access to and can afford a long, slow and carefully planned therapeutic rehab, I would recommend stopping on your horse, giving him some temporary anti-inflammatories, and making him a pasture pet. Sounds like he’s in a lot of pain, hence the aggression. I would do it sooner rather than later; for his own sake, but also because aggression, like other things, can become habit forming.

As an aside, many racehorses who break down in front do so because they have hind end problems.