The Art of Natural Dressage

Today Er had an accident. He reared a little and he slipped, so his hind legs slipped forward, which caused him to "sit down", if you can imagine... From than position he rolled back on his back and then he got up. He seemed fine, there was no lameness whatsoever, his walk was just as energetic as before. I checked him for any bruises or obvious injuries, nothing. I palpated his muscles, but there were no signs of pain or discomfort.
He fell on asphalt, but he didn't really hit the ground hard, because he first sat down ad then just rolled on his back.

I'm worried that there could have been some damage done to the sacroiliac joint, or maybe the ligamenst involved. I was wondering if anyone knows whether the damage in that area would have been apparent (like lameness or soreness), or if it takes longer to show that something's wrong with that area?
Are there ways I check if everything's fine (like some certain stretches or anything...)?

ai poor horse. What you say could be possible, but it is hard to say on paper. We weren't there
I would say wait one or a few more days and wait if you see any differeces during walking straight, in a circle and some short turnings. If you dont see any reaction it will be fine.

it can be sensitive, when you fall on your knees you will feel it too, and you can walk a bit more slowly and stiff, so the horse can do the same.
When he felt very hard the ischium can be very sore. That is a bone which come on the ground when the horse sit on his but. The muscles around that place can be hurt.

Give a lot of love and a soft massage. He will show you if it is okay or not.

Thank you so much for your reply. It's been two days now, and he isn't showing any signs of pain. I have been massaging the muscles around his rump and he doesn't aprear to be sore in any way. I guess he was lucky

Thanks again

yes i think so

Be careful with stretching, especially after a fall or trauma. Massages are okay, but if you stretch a cold muscle (or worse: a bruised muscle) it can easily be damaged. You should only stretch a horse that is already warmed up and even so you need to be careful because you don't always feel how far you can stretch him without overstretching. That's why I'm a fan of letting the horse do the stretches themselves.

I think he was lucky, since it's been two days and he's not showing soreness nor stiffness. Hopefully he'll think twice in the future about rearing on asphalt

I am trying to be as careful as possible with stretches in general. I like the idea of the horse stretching himself, that works great for the back and neck muscles, but how can you ask a horse to stretch the muscles in his legs? For the front legs, I ask for a jambette, but what about the rear legs?

Front and back crunches do stretch the legs as well. Have you ever done the dog position in Yoga? Stretches good

_________________
Volker

The horse owes us nothing.