Sometimes there is a Simple Explanation...

‘Sacro-iliac’ issues are extremely common all over the world. Unfortunately all too often, they are not recognised for what they actually are: manifestations of mineral imbalances which are affect the horse’s strength and co-ordination. Such problems particularly show up in the hind-quarters because that is where the largest muscles of locomotion are located.

In the case of the vast majority of Sacro-iliac issues,  the ‘injury’ is to the horse’s bio-chemistry, or the ‘self-regulatory mechanisms’ - his ability to balance his own minerals.

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Signs of Sacro-Iliac issues​

• 'Bunny hopping' & or disuniting at canter

• Difficulty getting or maintaining the correct lead

• 'Tight behind' & Short-stepping - Unable to 'track up'

• Resenting or kicking out at the leg

• Propensity to 'hollow out'

• Leaning in to the circle

• 'Hitching' a leg

• Star-gazing

• Stumbling

• Knuckling over

• Tail-Clamping/swishing & Running off

• Difficulty going downhill

• Ongoing 'Saddle-fitting' problems

• Bucking and 'humping'

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When something is wrong with your horse and you call the vet, chiropractor or physiotherapist they will be looking for one or more locations, on or within the horse’s body, where there is some kind of change or ‘injury’ to tissues.

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If they find one, they know what to do and can ‘treat’ it appropriately.

However there are multiple issues exhibited by grass-affected horses where no-one will be able to find any LESIONS because there aren’t any – even on autopsy.

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Areas of inflammation and ‘soreness’ may be identified which can cause repeated trouble with saddle-fitting and difficulty performing simple tasks like being lunged.

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 Many people go to enormous expense investigating; for example having the pelvic area x-rayed only to find there is absolutely nothing physically wrong.

 Current recommendations for treatment often include one or more of the following: rest, rehabilitation, strengthening exercises, and local injection of the joints and ligaments.
 

 In reality, these treatments are recommended because  bio-chemistry disturbances have not been considered.

How on earth could these issues be caused by mineral imbalances?

More often than not there is a very simple explanation.

The largest muscle masses of the horse are located in the hind-quarters and they are operated by major nerves running the length of the spine.

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It takes EXACTLY the right quantities and ratios of certain minerals, including sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium, for the nerves and muscles to function properly, enabling normal movement (and behaviour).

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When the forage of the horse is chronically imbalanced (high potassium and nitrogen from green grass - (especially when there is a lot of clover in the pasture) and at the same time he does not consume enough salt, it becomes impossible for him to move normally let alone stay properly co-ordinated.

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In the vast majority of cases when the diet is adjusted these issues just resolve on their own.

We learned this in our experiments 'fixing' head-shaking horses who often exhibit 'sacro-iliac' issues as well as the head-flicking/shaking. What we discovered was that ALL the issues would resolve with the same diet adjustments.

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Providing our diet recommendations are followed, you will see vast improvements within a month.