Mallow is a 12 year old, 15.2hh Thoroughbred cross gelding. Mallow had a fall on concrete and fractured his withers from Thoracic vertebrae 2 (T2) through to Thoracic vertebrae 7 (T7). The withers are formed by the spinous processes of the vertebrae. A vertebrae is shaped like an upside down T. The spinous process of the vertebrae is the vertical line of the upside down T. The spinous process is the bit we can see as the withers. The spinal cord runs through a hole in the vertebrae which is where the vertical and horizontal lines would meet. 

 

The xrays above show Mallows fractured withers. The first x-ray shows the first of the thoracic vertebrae where the neck joins the body. The second x-ray is Mallows withers where the front of the saddle would sit. The x-rays are taken from Mallows right side with the left marker (in yellow) being towards his tail. You can see that there are two fractures on most of the vertebrae affected. There is one fracture at the base of the spinous process and one at the tip of the spinous process.

 

When Emma first met Mallow and his owner Jenny, Mallow had just been given the all clear to start being turned out for short periods. Mallows injury to his withers was unusual in that when he fractured his withers the fractured portions fell to the left, at a right angle to the remaining vertebral bodies. This had torn a lot of the attachments for muscles that hold the top of the scapula (shoulder blade) against the body. This meant as Mallow stood on his right leg the top of his right scapula would ‘pop’ away from his body. This limited both his trust and ability to use the right fore leg.

 

Emma utilised a mix of massage and gentle ground work to gently strengthen Mallows right shoulder and teach him to trust his right fore leg again. It took a lot of dedication from his owner Jenny to deliver this very gentle and repetitive exercise programme. Due to the severity of his injury his work programme was gently increased over two and a half months until he was ready to carry a saddle. And this was the next hurdle, trying to fit a saddle to a horse with very asymmetrical withers! Martin Wilkinson Master Saddler was called in to help and he was able to devise a temporary solution until Mallow had muscled up again.

 

Mallows ridden work was very gently introduced and increased, utilising some of the same exercises he had done inhand to help strengthen his right shoulder further. Jenny again showed the utmost dedication taking Mallow thru his repetitions of exercises daily. Mallow was more than happy to tell Jenny when he thought he was ready to move on to the next level! The close bond and understanding between Jenny and Mallow played a pivitol role in helping Emma to assess when Mallow was ready for something a bit more difficult. 

 

Mallow is now back in full work enjoying hacking, schooling and trips out, including dressage competitions!

 

 

Here is Mallow from the outside, with his scapula drawn on.