By Jenny Paterson, B.Sc.

 

Great news! The horse with the suspected fractured pelvis is back to normal! I know a lot of people will be thinking, "How can this be?" Actually it is not at all difficult to understand when you realise how much mineral balances have to do with nerve and muscle function.

 

When Susan bought Millie, a Sir Tristram bred Thoroughbred in March of 2007 for her daughter Carmel, she was everything she was wanting for her next horse. Calm and quiet with a fantastic temperament and she had already proven herself as a Show Hunter, finishing sixth nationally on the 2006 circuit. She took to eventing well, placing in all but one event in the 2007 season and consistently scoring in the high 60's in the winter dressage series.

 

Millie was turned out for a spell over Christmas 2007, but when brought back into work a couple of months later she was not the same horse she had been previously. For some unknown reason she could not even maintain canter and would 'bunny hop' with both back legs together and she had lost the ability to jump, taking rails at 70cms with her hind legs.

 

"We were very worried" Susan said, as she had also lost a considerable amount of condition. "My heart sank when the vet suspected a fractured pelvis or serious damage to the sacroiliac joint." Mils was booked in to have a scan which involved being injected with radioactive dye. The results were inconclusive, so next a series of nerve blocks were conducted to narrow down the location of the problem, once again with inconclusive results.

 

Mils then went home and on advice from Massey Susan, Carmel tried high doses of bute, but again no change. "We have tried every treatment under the sun over the last eighteen months including chiropractors, acupuncture, laser treatment and massage but while some resulted in temporary improvements, nothing achieved anywhere near a full recovery. It was very depressing."

 

When the vet's next suggestion was to go into the stifles surgically, Susan visualised more huge bills with no results. With the costs having mounted by now to thousands of dollars, they refused this option and turned Mils out again.

 

Then, while surfing the internet back in May, Susan came across our highly absorbable organic magnesium with boron and my website, Horsemanship New Zealand. Reading some of the articles, Susan had a 'light bulb' moment that maybe Millie's issues just might be grass related. That's when I received the call for help via email from Carmel.

 

As I live close by I was able to visit and check things out for myself. On the lunge the horse couldn't even canter a big circle without 'bunny-hopping' and swapping leads behind. Mils was very agitated so we only did enough to record a before video. Fortunately I have seen this same collection of symptoms in quite a few horses over the years, experiencing the very same problem with one of my own horses, so I felt confident to help.

 

Mils was on short Rye/Clover paddocks. Put simply, these pastures, especially in early spring and autumn conditions and especially when fertilised, become very high in potassium and nitrates and very low in sodium. Whilst potassium competes for absorption with calcium and magnesium, the excess toxic nitrates latch on to calcium and magnesium and are excreted with them. The horse's body is thus 'stripped' of these essential minerals leaving not enough to run their large musculature and nervous system. Next to water, the electrolytes, sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium run the body. It is easy to see how this can be mistaken for a physical problem rather than a nutritional one.

 

I recommended the same regime as for Ferg's horse. Lots of horse safe hay, highly absorbable organic magnesium with boron or highly absorbable organic magnesium with boron plus extra organic calcium to assist with the calcium/magnesium deficiency, extra salt to help rectify the sodium:potassium ratio along with a blend of top quality, well balanced vitamins and minerals. It is necessary to add salt to their feed as they won't get enough from salt blocks or mineral blocks.

 

Mils has improved over a period of a month to where she can now canter properly each direction and feels comfortable and calm again. HOW SIMPLE! Mils symptoms had become extreme. For every extreme case there are many more mild to moderate cases.

 

Story Update: August, 2009. Carmel has started jumping Millie again and is clearing 80cm with ease. Also, her flat work is fantastic, almost seems better now than when we first purchased her. We have entered her at the Kaiapoi Show and jumping day. She will be competing in the 70cm and 80cm classes. We are very excited to have her out competing again.