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| Author |
Message |
    
Terri Haynie (Terrilyn)
| | Posted on Saturday, Oct 13, 2001 - 2:07 pm: |   |
I have a 10-year-old TB mare whom I bought in January 2001. She was very undernourished (all bones) and had some obvious ataxia. She is in very good health now, and the ataxia is measurably better but slightly noticeable to a trained eye (vet can see it). Her history is sketchy--former racehorse, broodmare, trail horse. She has twice thrown herself backwards in the stall after being tacked. She literally flings herself backwards with no regard to where she lands or whether or not she hurts herself. Yesterday, she threw herself backwards again after being tacked, but this time with a rider who had just gotten on and had asked politely for her to go forward. Cindy was lucky enough to avoid injury, but the mare got up with blood coming from her mouth--with no apparent source from cuts in her mouth, etc. This mare is normally easy-going and a nice ride. Good disposition. She is very funny about her back end, though, and we have to trim her with her back feet brough forward instead of back. I feel that this could be a pain thing--that she is reacting to something--but I don't know what! She also does not like to back up. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this before? After the incident yesterday, Cindy lunged her briefly to make sure she was moving well and that she was ok--she seems fine today. She does not scoot before going back--she just explodes from a standstill. Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated. |
barbara (Oscarvv)
| | Posted on Sunday, Oct 14, 2001 - 8:44 am: | |
I am frightened for this horse's well being and for anyone considering riding her. She is going to seriously hurt herself or someone. I would not be riding her or tacking her up until you find out where this behavior is coming from.
There are so many possibilities for what is wrong with her that I don't want to speculate.
But if she has ataxia, problems lifting hind legs for farrier, and cannot back along with her flipping over she needs a thorough exam.
Good luck and be safe.
Barbara |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM (Dro)
| | Posted on Sunday, Oct 14, 2001 - 9:38 am: | |
Hello Terri,
Barbara is right there are many possibilities including simple (though quite dramatic) misbehavior and the dearth of detail makes it difficult to say much.
The ataxia and difficulty lifting the hind legs suggest that there may be a CNS problem with vertebral instability (see Equine Diseases: Nervous System: Wobblers or Cervical Stenotic Myelopathy) as a possibility. People report with EPSM (Equine Diseases: Lameness: Problems of Muscles, Tendons, Ligaments, and Bones: Tying Up, Rhabdomyolysis, and Shivers, EPSM) difficulty lifting the back legs. Since it occurs with the tack on mouth problems need investigation. The total lack of regard for self preservation suggests even seizure activity, a relatively common problem in horses. So nervous, muscle, mouth pain, and behavior are all still a possiblity that will require careful examination and testing to rule in or out.
DrO |
Lola Sims (Queenbee)
| | Posted on Sunday, Oct 14, 2001 - 8:49 pm: | |
Everyone is correct about the many possibilities for this behavior. Obviously something is wrong and hurting her terribly. For what it is worth, I had a mare that did this and we couldn't find the cause. With intense watching, we finally noticed a very very slight muscle tremor in the shoulder . Final outcome, she had a cracked shoulder blade and this was causing her to behave almost identically to you mare. Hope this is some help. Rest and healing took care of the problem. |
Sharon Thomas (Sefiroth)
| | Posted on Monday, Oct 15, 2001 - 12:55 am: | |
My quarter horse did something similar, especially since you mention it was happening just after tacking her up. Do you quickly cinch up and does her lunging happen after right after you tighten up the girth? Some horses will react with almost blacking out if cinched to quickly and to tightly.
My QH would actually kind of space out and lean sideways. It was hard to notice though unless you knew the horse pretty well. If you startled him out of it he'd lunge backwards, sort of rearing up at the same time as sitting down on his haunches. If you left him alone and quiet, he'd usually come out of it in a couple minutes no problem. This happened a few times before I figured it out.
My solution was to tighten his girth veeeeeeeerrrrrryy slowly and in stages. I'd throw the saddle on, tighten it slightly, go get his bridle, tighten a bit more, bridle him, tighten a bit more, then walk him for a bit and make the final tightening before I climbed on.
Just my story to consider. Good luck with your mare. She sounds like she's in good hands now!
~Sharon |
