The “Hunters Bump” – Code Words for: OUCH! By Shantel Perreal B. Ed., B.Sc., RMT, CMT, PT, HECO and 2nd year student Caitlin Scott www.holisticequinerehab.ca
If you are faint of heart or don’t want to reflect on what is REALLY going on inside your horse’s body, you or your trainer and coach’s skills, you better stop reading. The words are raw, because of the pain being experienced by these horses.
OK...
Last fall, we travelled down south to a large show jumping facility where we were inspired... wait... enraged at what we were bearing witness to. I cried. I cried for the poor pony who had the coach yelling at him and his little girl to whip him to get his lazy a$$ over the fence. As we watch, we can clearly see the pony is dead lame. I cried because out of a class of 15 horses, 10 were 3-legged lame. This was the theme for every class we watched. I cried for the horses unable to obtain a proper bascule to comfortably carry their rider over the fences because their hind ends are so weak, dislocated, stuck or otherwise. The bute, the injections, the “tide me overs” to just get one more round in... the list goes on. It took me a couple months to be able to sit back, digest my feelings and now be able to bring forward this information in a way that you can take it home and take a look at what may be going on with your horse. It is my sincerest wish that this may inspire you to take a look at your horse from a new perspective and start to think how you can do better for that animal who gives their all to look after you. We have all heard the term “hunters bump” and often wonder what it means. I’ve actually even heard it’s desirable for a hunter horse to have this special shape to their back. Nothing could be further from the truth. The “hunters bump” is actually created by the sacrum pulling away from the pelvis and falling forward. So let’s walk through a mini anatomy lesson so we’re all on the same page. We’re going to focus on the pelvis, sacrum and lumbar vertebrae of the spine. The picture below shows how the sacrum is supposed to sit in the pelvis from a side and front view.
This view is looking from the right side of the horse, towards the left. The tail would continue from the left side of the sacrum and spine to the head through the right.
This is a classic view of a horse with the Hunters Bump. Notice the lack of muscling along the topline, the raised portion of the spine, the hollow as we rise up to the SI joint and odd angle of the tail head.
18 • Saddle Up • June 2015
Sacrum sitting normally in the pelvis. In this view, you would be looking from the front, towards the back. Where you see the small hole, is where the spinal cord would run, and where the lumbar vertebrae would connect.
Compare this image to the one above. Notice how the sacrum is no longer in contact with the pelvis. Not only has it fallen, it has also shifted forward.
HCBC 2010 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR