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  Discussion on DrOpped Pelvis in large Standardbred mare
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New Member:
mokuc

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 22, 2016 - 1:44 pm:

I have a 22 year old rescue mare with a very uneven pelvis. She came to me in very poor condition showing lameness in her left hind leg. The age and origin of the DrOpped pelvis is unknown and the right side of the pelvis is much higher than the left. Her lameness improves dramatically with chiro treatment and the right side of the pelvis also evens out a little. Unfortunately she requires treatment once a month or more. The vet who does the back adjustment believes that she has damaged and stretched the ligaments in this area, however no diagnostic work has been done. When this mare is "in", she can walk, trot, and canter out in the pasture comfortably. Then she tweaks something and the right side of her pelvis raises more and she moves her left hind leg out and around when she walks. Here is my question. I can find very little information on treatment of this type of injury except chiro, acupuncture, and massage which only help temporarily. Is there anything else I can do to help this mare remain stable?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Nov 25, 2016 - 9:46 am:

Hello Maureen,
If we assume that we are indeed looking at injured / stretched sacroiliac ligaments there is nothing that can be done to fix the condition however there are palliative treatments, we deal with this condition at HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Spine, Back & Pelvis » Lower Back Pain in Horses and if you will follow the link in the si injury section of this article you will find some images that may help you with identification.
DrO
New Member:
mokuc

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 1, 2017 - 2:50 pm:

Things have gotten much worse. Immediately after a chiro adjustment 2 months ago, my mare's back appeared to be much more level but her stifles, particularly the one on the DrOpped, left side started catching frequently. It doesn't stay caught, but occurs when her left hind is stretched out behind her. When she goes to bring it forward, she has to bring it out and around before she can put it down. She doesn't have this problem at the trot, only at the walk. It is worse when her stride increases. I have been doing 30 minutes of ground work 5 days/week for a month now with no improvement. (mild uphill walking, ground poles, tail pulls, and some backing up, hand walking, 24/7 turnout.) The vet wants to raise her foot angle and the ease of breakover but my farrier wants to put a backwards stifle shoe on her. I'm not sure which way to shoe her. The mare has been on estrogen for 3 weeks with no change. The vet was able to stretch her hind legs way out behind her during the lameness eval and believes that my mare has very loose stifles. This mare came to me with the DrOpped pelvis and very mild stifle issues 3 years ago. She was sound enough for light trail riding but now she is unrideable. Not much is known about her history so I don't know if she had bad stifle issues previously or if the problems are related to her DrOpped pelvis or conformation. I also don't know if the stifle worsening is related to her chiro treatment,however the worsening of her stifles occurred right after her back was worked on. Anyway, here are my questions. 1. How long should I continue exercising this mare per the vet's instructions before I can expect to see improvement if it is going to happen? 2. Do you recommend stifle shoes or raised angle for her? 3. The vet did not do any radiographs or ultrasound during the lameness eval. Although it seems clear that her problem is now her stifles, I am concerned that we don't really understand what caused her stifles to worsen. I am considering getting a second opinion but am not sure if I should give the exercises more time or do it now. This is a very kind mare and if I can't ride her, I still need to do what I can to keep her comfortable. Here is a video of her walking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2JS_uwy8gU Thanks!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Feb 2, 2017 - 8:07 am:

Hello Maureen,
Are you seeing any improvement with the exercise? 1) Certainly another month would be enough time but if there has been no improvement yet I would be concerned.
2) I recommend a normal hoof angle, see HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Upper Rear Limb » Stifle Lameness » Stifle Lock: Upward Fixation of the Patella.
3) This is your call.
DrO
New Member:
mokuc

Posted on Saturday, Feb 4, 2017 - 7:44 pm:

I am seeing a very small improvement after one month. She offers to trot and canter when turned out which she didn't do earlier. Her ability to walk without catching her stifle seems to vary from day to day. The farrier did a balanced trim and no change was seen. If I miss a day or two of ground work with this horse, she appears worse. She is always worse in the morning and then improves as the day goes on. She also looks better after I do ground work with her.
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