Horse walking on three legs gallops across field as if he had four!

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gait

4-legged pony operating on 3! 

  • deeply relaxed and mumbling
  • big stretch through the back and pelvis
  • renewed vigour for his new girlfriend and for galloping!

This 31yr Old New Forest pony had a cart/driving accident 11 years previously. The Vet had diagnosed a stifle problem at the time but since then it had become evident that tissue had been damaged in the pelvis. Since that time the pony had developed a 3-legged gait. On observation it could be see that there was little muscle in the tensor fascia latae, the patella was dropped and rotated and there was a build up of muscle on the left side of the lumber – presumably due to picking up hind leg whilst moving? There was muscle wastage seen in the gluteal muscles.

During the session I was consistently clearing along the back and down the hindlegs. After a long while the pony made a huge stretch (dorsiflexion) through the back and pelvis from approx T10 to sacral plate and lifted the hind leg at the same time. At one point he stood on both hind legs with equal weight, which was unusual. A couple of times he tried to rest the good leg. The owner heard the neck click and could tap into the sensation herself of binqi moving down the leg to the knee and stopping there. The owner also observed some licking and chewing and described his mouth movements as an ongoing ‘mumbling’.

The owner stated that, "There was a definite improvement. He became easy and more relaxed in his movement. After ten days to two weeks he had a severe bout of colic. When he came round he was better than before. If it was related it was very unclear. The freer movement has been maintained several months after the session. Had come off bute and was taking a herbal replacement. Currently five out of six nights he gallops on 3 legs and is full of vitality (especially with his new girlfriend!). The muscle seems to have developed on the near side, ( which indicates that the pony is using this leg more - my addition)". The owner also noticed that she could pick out the off hind foot more easily than before.

This was the first horse to respond by stretching which was a very exciting moment in the early days of my research period. The treatment appeared to be relatively uneventful as the pony just became very quiet. The stretch was certainly due to the tensions in the back and pelvis becoming more present for the pony and therefore the desire to stretch and free tissue structures became more pressing. Binqi could be felt moving down through the hindlegs. Positive feedback from the owner shows that Buqi has a lot of benefit for the older horse that has become stiff and stuck in the joints.