Re: hunter's bump

["Suzanne Solis" <gaendurance@mindspring.com>]

I am intrigued, where do you get this info? The reason I ask is because I
have an ex endurance horse with a hunters bump and I spent a year with
Chiropractor/vet and farrier working together with this horse. He was
dagnosed by the Vet as having a short leg which made him overdevelope one
shoulder and become off balanced among many other things. I had mentioned
the hunters bump to a couple of vets but was told that it was nothing to
worry about.
This horse does slip in the backend quite a bit but much more so when he
gets tired and lazy.
-----Original Message-----
From: JOltmann@FANCYPUBS.COM <JOltmann@FANCYPUBS.COM>
To: ridecamp@endurance.net <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Date: Friday, August 21, 1998 1:02 PM
Subject: RE: hunter's bump


>My experience is that a hunter's bump is caused as a result of the pelvis
>tipping downward, hence creating a "hinge" at the point of the bump. This
is
>a structural weakness that can lead to atrophied muscles and overall
>weakness in the hindquarters. I've also noticed that endurance horses with
>hunter's bumps have a tendency to "slip." I'm sure that many have
>experienced this--you're going along at a nice extended trot on a flat
>surface and your horse suddenly slips with one of his under-reaching back
>legs, resulting in a instant, jarring collapse of the back end. I have been
>told that this happens because, with the pelvis rotated downward, the horse
>can reach farther underneath himself than normal, and does in fact reach
too
>far and slip on that back leg. This, unfortunately, aggravates the already
>tilted pelvis and further stretches the soft tissues attached to it. Horses
>with hunter's bumps are typically very light in their rear ends (not a lot
>of muscle development), which is a result of, in their weakened condition,
>working more off their front ends.
>I have found that regular chiropractic care followed by strength and
>balance-building exercises (such as riding balanced figure-8s, which forces
>the horse to use its rear-end muscles) can reduce the hunter's bump and
>gradually reposition the pelvis. This results in a horse that is better
able
>to use its rear end, once the muscles are rehabilitated, and slips less
with
>the back legs.
>