atrial fibrillation

[doodleberry]

Has anyone had any experience with atrial fibrilation? my horse had a colic surgery last year and was quite poorly but survived!! I opted to not get him back into work (hes a hunter0 until the following year as thought there was no point , so in april this year i got him back into work very slowly very carefully had him in the school and all was fine! I then had him vaccinated and asked the vet to check heart and eyes (as some dont check heart) not for any reason just as routine and low and behold there was a funny heart rythmn!!! had him in for a heart reading ( i cant think at this minute what its called !! on the tip of my fingers but you all get the drift!!) and atrail fibrillation was confirmed!! great so opted to go for the quinadine treatment and after 5 goes it didnt work!! so really fed up as he had just become a fab hunter low mileage at 11!! so roughed him back off again . i cant bear at the minute to put him down as he looks so bloody well so decided to get him up with the other hunters so he could do a bit of light cubbing then rough off again we have no intention of jumping or anything silly but just wondered if any one had any experiences good or bad of this situation!! also his dressage is reasonable but hes a big old boy so trying to find a home for him is proving v difficult as not really a novice ride? thanks

 

[pines of rome]

My big T.B had this, he also looked well when diagnosed but he went on to develop heart and secondary liver failure, I lost him 10 months later, dropped dead in his field.
I hope your horse isn,t as bad as mine was, I think some heart conditions can be managed, watch for any oedemas and be careful riding as they can collapse when the heart is irregular!

 

[mellissa]

Hi there,
I have only just seen this thread. My horse of a lifetime got af when he was 12. He has had two quinadine ops, the last one failed two years ago.

He is now 16 and thoroughly enjoys his life to the full. I put him back to small open jumping classes and he has not worried at all with his condition in that time. It is not advisable to hunt an af horse, but if you want to pm me I can give you the full low down on this condition x

 

[alsiola]

AF isn't then end of a career necessarily. I would get an exercising ECG performed - may need a specialist - as only a small number of horses with AF develop malevolent rhythms at increased heart rates.

 

[doodleberry]

well we decided to just cub him gently to see how he got on! he is now hunting once a week !! he only goes out for an hour and a half but the other day he did a couple of jumps and was soo pleased with himself he was practically beaming at night when i checked him! At the moment his happiness is more important and as long as he keeps on enjoying himself then why not go hunting ? we aren't silly with him if there is a day on the banks he just doesn't go and he doesn't jump jump jump al day he takes the non jumping route unless something nice pops up ! his rider actually fell off him the other week as he tried to go one way and the horse decided he wanted to follow his mate in front!! bless him!! just wondering what condition he will present with when he comes up from summer next season!! i think he is trying to extend my knowledge on things!!