The Peg-leg horse
The Johnston’s texted me that they needed Uri checked because he had come down funny off a jump. The next day he had been off with swelling around his coffin bone area (left rear leg). The ligaments had been ultrasounded and were fine, and in a week the swelling was gone.
But now Katie texted that, “He’s not “off” anymore…but he feels like a peg in a hole. If you know what I mean.”
That description might sound crazy when you’re talking about a 1400lb, 17’2 hand Warmblood, but I did know what she meant. I bet you do too.
And I’ll bet, if Katie had told that to some veterinarians, they would think SHE was the crazy one. I believe you have to listen with more than just your ears, but with your heart. And also discern with your spirit, not just your technical equipment.
Uri is an “A” level jumper. Katie is a phenomenal young rider. In fact, her family decided to use all her potential college money for horses instead. That’s what she loved, and it showed in her riding and her relationship with her horses.
I normally checked Uri every two months to make sure he was physically perfect. I made an extra stop for him because I knew how stressed-out Katie was. And she was there at the barn, trying not to cry.
What I noticed most was that the sound of Uri’s left rear leg was more “hollow-sounding” than the others. This was on the concrete barn aisle.
I checked him over with a fine-toothed chiropractic comb. Almost all of him was perfect! Which was great. All I found was his coffin bone and hip in his left rear leg were subluxated. After those two parts were correctly adjusted, the “sound” was back to perfect. “Solid-sounding”, with equal sound when all four legs hit the ground.
Katie rode him shortly after and said he was back to normal. Yay!
I was so glad to be able to help. I remember that in my past, traditional equine veterinary practice, I probably would have focused more on tendons. Probably injected the coffin joint because there had been swelling there. And maybe messed with the shoeing and/or pads.
And that would not have worked at all.
Those treatments could have made it worse. A shoeing change would have tweaked that subluxated coffin bone, making it more sore.
It’s always a great idea to have a bodyworker on your horse’s team. I also recommend learning how to check your horse yourself with Body Checkups.
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