Julius as his normal self - cuddly, perky,
and pain-free!
Julius has been going downhill again though. He has been going super lately and I really thought he would be ready for Addington High Profile, then just a few weeks ago he started to get sore in his back and feel stiffer behind. I can always tell when he is in pain because he loses the sparkle in his eyes, the glow in his coat, gets moody and isn't too interested in his food. I backed off and did lots of stretching and work on the Pessoa to try and get his body looser and stronger, but he kept going further downhill. It got to the stage where I didn't want to ride him because he looked so sore, and even being groomed was no longer enjoyable for him. There was a slight lameness in his right hind, which is where he had his steroid injections in his hock for athritis. I thought either the athritis had come back and he was compensating with his body to relieve the pain, or back to our initial suspicion of a suspensory. In any case, I needed a professional's opinion.
Seb had a chiropractor and acupuncturist see him in Germany which made a huge difference to how he coped with his workload there, so I did a bit of research for acupuncture and chiropractor specialists here in the UK and found Sue Devereux, who does both. I thought Sue would be able to assess Julius too and see if the condition of his body is directly linked to the soreness in his right hind, and at the least relieve him of his discomfort through her therapies, so booked them both in for a full assessment and treatment.
Both assessments were extremely thorough - the most thorough I have ever experienced! Sue carried out an all-over body assessment with palpitation, a dental check, saddle check, watched them walk and trot up, carried out flexion tests on all four legs, watched them being lunged freely and ridden under saddle (but not Julius, as he was pretty much lame). After the assessment, Sue began the chiropractor session, checking and correcting every joint she finds is out of place.
After Seb's two treatments he is moving completely differently, it's amazing. It's like he has been completely unlocked behind the saddle and he is able to lift his back more than I have ever known him to do. Julius, unfortunately, is a bit more difficult.
Because we have always suspected Julius's high suspensory, we thought we'd better get it scanned once and for all to see if there is any damage there at all. Unfortunately, the scan was fairly insignificant although given his history and symptoms, it is still worth a look at by the surgeon Ollie, who operated on Julius for his colic and for his kissing spine surgery. I am just waiting to hear back about that, though of course surgery is the last option I want to go for.
Richard, my vet from Willesley Equine, came along to Sue's first assessment of Julius as he was interested in her work and her diagnosis of Julius from a therapeutic perspective. We all agreed that Sue would treat Julius a couple more times to help his body feel better and to help him move in an easier way that relieved pressure from his suspensories in his hind legs. This way, we are covering both the chicken and the egg - whether he is lame because of his hock/suspensories (veterinary) or if he is lame because his body is tight and he has a bad "posture" so to speak, which causes strain on his hocks and suspensories.
When Sue came back to do Julius the second time, we reassessed him trotting up and on the lunge and he was about 75% better, 0 being the last time Sue saw him, which was great! Even in the week after her first treatment he perked right up, started cuddling me again, his topline started showing again and he was generally happier and had more energy. He was the Julius I am used to knowing.
Sue did her second treatement and three days later he was pretty much sound on the lunge! I am now able to get on him and walk him around. He is still perky and cheery, so hopefully in a couple of weeks we will be trotting and he will be sound!