A big thank you to Helen Davies from Equine Research Project for the informative discussions.
Also to all the horses and owners that allow us to study the skeleton which opens up a new world about the what is happening on the inside of a horse.
Below are the two areas of the pelvis I will address.
For a long time I have been wanting to express my feelings and perceptions about "YOUR HORSE"S PELVIS IS OUT"? Is it really the truth or just a way of trying to describe something is wrong and you don't know what. I recently read a post by an equine body worker asking for advice on how to "fix" her horse's pelvis that continuously goes "out". Like most body workers, chiros and -fisios believe they can "fix" everything, there is a reality to face and the truth is "NOT EVERYTHING CAN BE FIXED". Not everything is always muscle or fascia or mal-aligned bones. Sometimes there is much more going on than what the eye can see.
For the purpose of this I will be addressing some issues that could possibly be the reason why the "pelvis" always has a rotation per se (one hip higher than the other) an imbalance in the tuber coxae area. As I am not a vet therefore I would recommend you get your vet to x-ray or ultra sound the specific area so you can have clarity as to what you are dealing with if your horse suffers from a pelvic dysfunction.
Is the issue of the pelvis skeletal or is fascia or muscles or the SIJ the main cause of what your horse is displaying.
Before you run out and go and inspect your horse ALWAYS make sure the horse is standing square or as close to square as possible before comparing height differences. Also remember to be safe, all horses kick, some just more than others ;)
For the first step let's look at the "rotation" of the pelvis, the tuber coxae.
This is where one side of the hip is, or appears to be lower than the other.
What could be possible is that the point/end of this bone could have broken off and attached skew or at the bottom. This would give the impression that there is a "rotation" in the pelvis which in fact is a misnomer of what is actually happening skeletal.
I have seen many horses with the point of the tuber coxae "missing" from the actual point of where it should be. Many of these horses are sound and it does not always mean that the horse will be lame. In some cases it may affect the way the horse goes or hamper its performance. One will have to do a gait analysis to establish how it is affecting the horse.
The second issue I would like to discuss is the tuber sacrale... more commonly described as the hunters or jumpers bump region. One of the issues is when there is an evident difference in height in one side to the other. What would cause this? There are many contributing factors but predominantly I would say the cause is muscular. Be it the primary trauma or secondary.
In the event of possible direct trauma to one of the tuber sacrale there may be calcification causing one side to appear higher than the other side. There is not much you are going to change about this issue as it is bone growth.
Keep in mind that when alive, bone is living tissue. Fascia and or muscles can remodel bone if in constant restriction.
For the purpose of this I will be addressing some issues that could possibly be the reason why the "pelvis" always has a rotation per se (one hip higher than the other) an imbalance in the tuber coxae area. As I am not a vet therefore I would recommend you get your vet to x-ray or ultra sound the specific area so you can have clarity as to what you are dealing with if your horse suffers from a pelvic dysfunction.
Is the issue of the pelvis skeletal or is fascia or muscles or the SIJ the main cause of what your horse is displaying.
Before you run out and go and inspect your horse ALWAYS make sure the horse is standing square or as close to square as possible before comparing height differences. Also remember to be safe, all horses kick, some just more than others ;)
For the first step let's look at the "rotation" of the pelvis, the tuber coxae.
This is where one side of the hip is, or appears to be lower than the other.
What could be possible is that the point/end of this bone could have broken off and attached skew or at the bottom. This would give the impression that there is a "rotation" in the pelvis which in fact is a misnomer of what is actually happening skeletal.
I have seen many horses with the point of the tuber coxae "missing" from the actual point of where it should be. Many of these horses are sound and it does not always mean that the horse will be lame. In some cases it may affect the way the horse goes or hamper its performance. One will have to do a gait analysis to establish how it is affecting the horse.
The second issue I would like to discuss is the tuber sacrale... more commonly described as the hunters or jumpers bump region. One of the issues is when there is an evident difference in height in one side to the other. What would cause this? There are many contributing factors but predominantly I would say the cause is muscular. Be it the primary trauma or secondary.
In the event of possible direct trauma to one of the tuber sacrale there may be calcification causing one side to appear higher than the other side. There is not much you are going to change about this issue as it is bone growth.
Keep in mind that when alive, bone is living tissue. Fascia and or muscles can remodel bone if in constant restriction.
Below are some pictures of asymmetry in the equine pelvis and why it is sometimes impossible to have the "rotation" fixed.
