Azoturia. So what DOES cause it?

PapaFrita

PapaFrita

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PF had her first EVER episode today. Needless to say I was utterly shocked and gutted for her and immediately wondered what I'd done wrong management/feedwise. I ASSUMED it was the new feed which is a mix of oats, barley, maize and other such stuff, but having done a quick search on Google, it appears things are far more complex than that.
Factors against PF; She's female (lots of hormones), she's highly-strung, it's very hot here at the mo and could need more electrolytes, and she has a few days off when I went to Buenos Aires although I rode her gently yesterday and she was fine
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Sooo, how on earth does one pinpoint the cause??? Only thing that has changed recently is the feed; it's ALWAYS hot here (although I have of late been a bit lax with the electrolytes
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) and she's always been nervy and female.
What do I do? I've taken her off the grain, given her some bute, stabled her. Will give her electrolytes and a few days off. Any suggestions/advice welcome.
 
It usually is primarily diet related, although other factors obviously play a part or every horse fed a high starch diet would tie up, and they don't. If you have recently changed her feed to cereals from a high fibre diet, its very likely that this is the trigger factor and if you put her back on a high fibre diet, chances are the tying up will be manageable again.
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ETA - You probably know all this, but in case you don't. Give her at least a couple of weeks off, then bring her back to work really slowly. Always warm up and cool down gradually, and if you work her in cold or wet weather its important to keep her warm so leave a blanket clip on or use an exercise rug.
 
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It usually is primarily diet related, although other factors obviously play a part or every horse fed a high starch diet would tie up, and they don't. If you have recently changed her feed to cereals from a high fibre diet, its very likely that this is the trigger factor and if you put her back on a high fibre diet, chances are the tying up will be manageable again.
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Oh, she's always had grain, but it used to be straight oats, and now it's this mix that I'm not 100% sure about (and less so now)

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ETA - You probably know all this, but in case you don't. Give her at least a couple of weeks off, then bring her back to work really slowly. Always warm up and cool down gradually, and if you work her in cold or wet weather its important to keep her warm so leave a blanket clip on or use an exercise rug.

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Yep, that's what I found on my Google search
 
my gf horse gets azoturia she now has to have her on equine sensitive which is very low protien. there wasnt any real reason that the mare tied up she was just out on a hack being led from another horse when it happened. so far with a carefully managed diet she hasnt had another problem. but its like when you have had a gallop dont stop and let the horse stand keep it moving all the sensible stuff but she has been fine so i hope you dont have any more problems.
 
My mare tied up once. About 4 years ago after our yard owner tried to feed her up on a mix of straights. Since then I have fed her only fibre based, low starch feed and she has been fine ever since. Hope this helps.
 
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My mare tied up once. About 4 years ago after our yard owner tried to feed her up on a mix of straights. Since then I have fed her only fibre based, low starch feed and she has been fine ever since. Hope this helps.

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I'll have to put her back on oats, and probably start soaking them. We're quite restricted in feed options here; there's nowhere near the range available in the UK. Can't get hay here either
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it is often related to diet and a change to the exercise routine.
I remeber hearing that it is caused by an imbalance within the musle fibers but as far as i know there is no one cause,some horses seem to have a disposition to it and each horse tends to have their own triggers often linked to diet but not always.....

This is the best summary ive found so far on it....

Some unfortunate horses develop stiffness, painful muscle contractures, profuse sweating, and elevated respiratory rates during or following exercise.
The term "tying-up" is used to describe horses with these clinical signs.
In severe cases, horses may be unable to move their hindquarters after exercise, and muscle breakdown results in dark urine due to the release of myoglobin.
Horses may be so painful with tying-up that they will paw and roll resembling colic. Other terms for this syndrome include azoturia, Monday morning disease, exertional rhabdomyolysis, and chronic intermittent rhabdomyolysis.
It has been implied or assumed that there is one underlying cause for tying-up in horses.
In 1917, Dr. Steffin commented on tying-up, saying "no one disease in the horse has been subject to so many theories and hypothetical suggestions as this one."

This statement remains true. Veterinarians and owners have noted improvement in their horses' signs of tying-up with various new diets or supplements.
The variable response of horses to these treatments has fueled the controversy regarding tying-up and its actual basis.

From Muscle disorders: untying the knots through nutrition.
Author Valberg, S. J.; Geor, R.; Pagan, J. D.


Google scholar can give a lot of help if you want to learn more about the causes just type in the name of the disease,or a few different names if it tying up, then look at the top few articles there the most cited articles,the summarys uaually give a good idea of the whole article.The summarys dont tend to be full of scientic jargon either thankfully
 
You know, as I was talking to one of the grooms about PF's tying up, he mentioned that another horse had had colic on Monday. They gave it some bute and apparently that was that. I said it probably wasn't colic if a bit of bute made her better, and then I thought she might've tied up as well.
 
A build up of lactic acid is the main cause of Azotoria.

Protein is NOT the problem - starch is and normally you would have to feed a diet of fibre and oil, ie Alfalfa, Beet and Soya/Veg Oil to prevent any reoccurance.

If you can't give the above diet, oats are the lesser of the evils as they are the highest in fibre and lowest in starch of all the cereals, however soaking them may take out even more of the starch, especially if you rinse them before serving! A selenium/vit E supplement is a very good idea if you can get one.

Poor PF, here's wishing her a speedy recovery.
 
Ditto sirena re: starch - avoid straights completely if at all possible - also, be aware that once a horse has tied up it is *usually* prone to it, so you may need to manage her more carefully from now on. For instance, my mare tied up the first time from being stabled 24/7 as the fields were poached - second time it was due to excess grass (not the quality of the grass, the physical amount as she was turned out in a large field)....
Aim for as much turnout as possible, as little starch and sugar in the diet as possible, feed electrolytes and reduce hard feed during periods of reduced exercise.
Don't bring her back into work too early - the severity of azorturia is measured by a blood test to show the levels of CK and AST...the levels can still be high whilst the horse shows no further physical symptoms - during my mares first attack, she looked fine after 2 days but her levels remained very high for 2 months! When you do bring her back into work, do it very slowly...ie: first couple of days gentle walk only, then gradually introduce a few steps of trot etc....as she is on box rest, going back into work can trigger another attack sand you will not know what her levels are like so just take it very steady to be on the safe side.

Really hope she gets over it quickly...good luck
 
Thank you! I've read conflicting reports about whether it's starch or protein and I'd much rather it were starch as alfalfa is high in protein as well and if she can't eat that then we're buggered!!
I'm going to go back to oats ASAP AND soak them as well. I'll see what I can do about a selenium/Vit E supplement.
PF was walking sound this afternoon, but bum muscles very tight and hard. Put some electrolytes in her water as well, just in case. She's comfortable at lease. Fortunately it was only a mild attack (from what I've read)
 
Mine tied up a couple of years ago - she'd been out, managed to remove her rug (in winter) and I can only assume she'd got a chill. She's quite a tense/nervous horse and, obviously a mare. She was already on a low protein, high fibre feed regime but I had changed her over from chaff to alfa - which has far higher protein levels. I took her off the alfa and changed it to just grass. She had a few days box rest, two weeks off (everyday turnout) and started work again very slowly. Like three weeks at walk slowly - it took about four weeks for the blood levels to go back to normal. I'm careful about warming up and down and doing a lot when it's really cold but she's been fine ever since.
 
She shouldn't be turned out until all physical symptoms have gone...if she is still stiff and sore, her CK and AST levels will still be high and any movement will make it much much worse. Box rest until all symptoms gone, turnout in a small paddock if possible and bring back into work slowly.

ps. hope this shows as me, forum gone bonkers and I keep being logged in as other users!!!
 
Physical symptoms are gone, at least in walk, which is just as well because she only blinking got COLIC today!! Can you imagine walking a colicky, tied-up horse!?
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Luckily colic only mild and had a stash of drugs (sorbitol and bute, administered under vet's orders) to keep her comfortable until vet arrived *sigh*
 
Diet for def! stick to low starch and low sugar. ours got it after switching him onto molassed chaff and topline cubes. he is now on speedibeet, topspec balancer and happy hoof
 
She had a few days off - was that because you were in BA or because she's had a virus/been under the weather? (or a combination of the two?)

We found a problem when the mare - slightly highly strung! - had had a few days off to recover from a virus, her feed had not been cut and her management had been changed from out at night and in for a few hours during the day to being in with only a few hours out.

Management solution: in our case leave feed well alone as she was already on Simple Systems, make sure that if in the future she is not worked that her feed is cut accordingly, switch her back to mostly out. We now also take care to warm her up and down.


Poor PF, it does hurt. My poor little mare would shake if she thought you were going to try to touch her rump.

I hope PF is over it soon. Have you had bloods done to check that the CK levels are dropping and when they're low enough to allow her a little turnout?
 
I was in Buenos Aires, so she had 5 days off. I confess that I've always just got on when PF has had a few days off, although I never do anything strenuous, but never had any probs until new feed started. Basically, I've put her back on oats (I think she's calmer on them as well, as new feed has maize and barley in it) and I'll make sure her rations are reduced if I don't ride her. I should've thought to get blood taken when vet came out to check her on Friday! Silly me. I'm sure vet will be back out soon, so will do that. PF is now walking sound and is allowed restricted turnout (as it happens, the only kind we have!!) Vet has also said I can start riding her very gently. I'll see how she is today and might try a walk tomorrow.
 
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