Devastated - Wobblers :(

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Ultimate Dreamer

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My 9 month old filly may have wobblers. They are coming to x-ray her neck tomorrow to see what that shows.

She is perfect in everyway but has shown signs of wobblers only over the past 4 days. I am hoping it has been caused by a trauma but really have little knowledge of the syndrome.

Does anyone have any experiences? She is such a sweety I just can't believe it. :(
 
oh that awful :(

I hope its not, and its something and nothing :(

fingers crossed and best wishes for you and your filly
 
Thank you. I have everything crossed that it isn't.

Does anyone know if it has been caused by a trauma the chances of recovery? Or anything else it could be that is effecting her co ordination.
 
It's compression of the spinal cord causing horses to loose co-ordination therefore making them 'wobbly'.

Its also degenerative.

They grade wobblers 1-5, 5 being the worst.

There is an operation that can be done but is very expensive, has a long recovery period and will only take them down a grading so IMO it's not beneficial.

Ubfortuntaley as amymay said, there is not usually a positive outcome to wobblers.

Hope this is not the case for you filly x
 
Thank you Kelly. I have already decided in my mind that if it is wobblers then I won't have her suffering and if she has it through growth / genetically etc I will unfortunately have her PTS as she is so young I can only imagine it will get worse.

I am hoping it is something else but what I have no idea.
 
Sorry to hear this.

The only hope I can give you (I think) is that I have been told it is less likely to be wobblers in a female horse, as opposed to male horses. It also usually takes effect around the ages of 5 - 7 years.

Now, I clearly don't want to get hopes raised, but this is what I have been told. I have no idea how much, if any truth is in it.

All the best for you and your filly.
 
amymay said:
I've known a couple of horses with wobblers - none were success stories I'm sorry.
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I've answered Ultimate Dreamer in Breeding. Please read my story. It has been an unqualified success. One of my vets had a yearling Thoroughbred with Wobblers and he is racing in Australia now. The most significant aspects are the age of the horse (the younger the horse the better the possibility of reversing the condition) and the strict adherence to the stringent diet.
 
Can only hope it isn't wobblers, I lost a 3 yr old gelding to this years ago, was very sad as he was such a lovely horse... but in the end he just looked so very confused and frightened that it was easy to make the decision to PTS, fingers crossed!
 
Sorry to hear this but please dont give up hope and straight away think of having her PTS. My boy was diagnosed with wobblers after I had had him a few months straight off the race track. Everyone kept telling me bad-news stories but I wanted to give him a chance and Im so glad I did. Its not all doom and gloom and it really annoys me when everyones so negative about it before trying anything else! My boy is now 15yrs and I am still riding him gently, he leads almost the same life as my others, he's full of life and happy!! I also know another horse who was destined to be an eventer but he was also diagnosed with wobblers but has since become a god PSG dressage ponio!!!

If you want any information or help or support f anything Pm me! Think positively and things may work out well! :)
 
They can get a virus which causes similar symptoms, but if it is wobblers the outcome isn't good.
We bought a two year old from a stud who showed no symptoms until broken at four. We later found out as a foal he fell in a ditch and was stuck there which probably caused the condition.
I wouldn't be too fast to euthanise her, give her a month or two to see if it is an injury.
 
No ideas or advice but can send lots of vibes and keep my fingers crossed for you both...
I do hope its something simple and not long term....
Teresa
 
How did you go on? Hope that you had good news...x

Edited - sorry was reading that the posts were from yesterday - didn't realise it had gone past midnight and thats why! Off to bed for me...

Fingers crossed for her.x
 
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Hey the books say give it atleast 2 months before u make a decision as all brain or spinal cord injuries it infections r slow healing. Its common in rapidly growing tbs under 4 after a trauma however can also be caused by inflammation of the spinal cord caused by an infection originating in the respiratory tract. The other thing which it could be is ehv infection which causes inco-ordination. Good luck and let us know xx
 
I too wish people wouldn't be instantly so negative!!!

I too have a wobbler. A 15hh TB mare. She was diagnosed as a 4yr old. I chose to retire her straightaway and put her in foal. Her 'foal' is now a 7yr old eventer, aiming for a 1* this season. My mare is now 13 and happily lives out 24/7.

If she had been a gelding i would have considered the op but as a mare and knowing i would breed from her i didn't take the op option.

It is not necessarily degenerative. My mare was x-rayed 6 months & 12 months after initially being diagnosed with wobblers. No changes. She was graded on a scale 1 - 4 and she got 2 in front and 2.5 behind.

As yours is so young there are chances of rectifying it through diet etc

The royal vet college are who i used and i can't recommend them highly enough!

Please pm me if there is anything i can help you with.

xx
 
weeanne said:
Hey the books say give it atleast 2 months before u make a decision as all brain or spinal cord injuries it infections r slow healing. Its common in rapidly growing tbs under 4 after a trauma however can also be caused by inflammation of the spinal cord caused by an infection originating in the respiratory tract. The other thing which it could be is ehv infection which causes inco-ordination. Good luck and let us know xx
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Thank you everyone for all of your replies.

Weeane - I find this interesting as she has had a very runny nose over the past week it started off as a cough with a weeze then developed into a snotty nose.

I should probably point out that she has only been turned out for 2 weeks due to 3 months of box rest as her stifles were full of fluid due to a growth spurt. I phoned the vets regarding her cough / snotty nose and they said it will be due to the change in conditions i.e living in to going out.

Although when the vet came to see her on Monday he didn't think her snotty nose was linked. but he has taken bloods - but said he would not send them off for testing. When she was born she was very poor and her bloods where all the wrong way round, this was rectified with supplements and diet as advised by the vet and the vet decided against a transfusion. So we feel her immune system is low. The stud owner instantly though EHV.
 
Sults / Jo_currie - Thank you, once I am clearer as to what is wrong with her I may PM you if that is OK. I am determined to give her a chance even if it the worst case scenario she is such a poppet.

The turn around from Monday when she had to run around to show how uncoordinated she was then during the axamination she fell down and wouldn't get up for 10 minutes it broke my heart as she is normally so willing and friendly to last night when she was just grazing happily and walking over to see me alhough still wobbly. The fact that her whole personality has changed surprises me. When I am on my own with her she is as she was although still wobbly however with others she is scared and anxious, reluctant to be caught.
 
Ultimate Dreamer said:
The turn around from Monday when she had to run around to show how uncoordinated she was then during the axamination she fell down and wouldn't get up for 10 minutes it broke my heart as she is normally so willing and friendly to last night when she was just grazing happily and walking over to see me alhough still wobbly. The fact that her whole personality has changed surprises me. When I am on my own with her she is as she was although still wobbly however with others she is scared and anxious, reluctant to be caught.
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Wow, sounds pretty dire. Poor little scrap.
 
Monday was pretty horrendous. Although last night she was a lot happier - once she has been caught she is fine with anyone.

The YOs daughter she adores and was more then happy with her last night.
 
Sults said:
I too wish people wouldn't be instantly so negative!!!

I too have a wobbler. A 15hh TB mare. She was diagnosed as a 4yr old. I chose to retire her straightaway and put her in foal. Her 'foal' is now a 7yr old eventer, aiming for a 1* this season. My mare is now 13 and happily lives out 24/7.

If she had been a gelding i would have considered the op but as a mare and knowing i would breed from her i didn't take the op option.

It is not necessarily degenerative. My mare was x-rayed 6 months & 12 months after initially being diagnosed with wobblers. No changes. She was graded on a scale 1 - 4 and she got 2 in front and 2.5 behind.

As yours is so young there are chances of rectifying it through diet etc

The royal vet college are who i used and i can't recommend them highly enough!

Please pm me if there is anything i can help you with.

xx
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Sorry but I disagree with you on this. My horse had grade 2 compression in his C-spine (affecting back legs). It is a degenerative disease - fact! To say you can sort it through diet is ridiculous.
Any vet will advise that you do not ride a horse diagnosed with wobblers - therefore you will not be insured for the condition, or any injuries that can result from having the condition.
I also am very surprised that you would put a mare diagnosed with wobblers in foal!
My beloved horse was pts last August due to his wobblers and the fact that he was severely injuring himself in the field. Pictures of one of his self inflicted injuries is in the veterinary section.

For the OP - I would not want to give you false hope, but if the foal actually collapsed during tests then it sounds bad I'm afraid.
I really hope the outcome is a good one for the little one.
 
Always Henesy said:
Sorry but I disagree with you on this. My horse had grade 2 compression in his C-spine (affecting back legs). It is a degenerative disease - fact! To say you can sort it through diet is ridiculous.
Any vet will advise that you do not ride a horse diagnosed with wobblers - therefore you will not be insured for the condition, or any injuries that can result from having the condition.
I also am very surprised that you would put a mare diagnosed with wobblers in foal!
My beloved horse was pts last August due to his wobblers and the fact that he was severely injuring himself in the field. Pictures of one of his self inflicted injuries is in the veterinary section.
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The vets at RVC wanted to re x-ray my mare at 6 months and 12months after first diagnosis purely to see if it was getting worse. They found no change and therefor not degenerative. She was 4 yrs old and pretty much full grown. With a foal, as they still have a lot of growing to do, it is possible that it can rectify with a lot of thought paid to diet and restricted exercise.
When i was looking for which stallion to use i visited the well known Welton stud at Hartpury. They actually had a youngster that had been diagnosed with wobblers months previously that they were successfully rectifying through these measures.

This, as well as the inital costs when she was diagnosed (including myelogram etc) WAS all covered and paid for under my insurance.

My mare was retired from work the day she was diagnosed. I do not ride her.
Although i do know of other wobblers that have continued to be ridden. This, you would not be insure for.

My decision to put her in foal was after a lot of thought and many many discussions with my vets as well as a vet at rossedales and animal health trust. So trust me, i did my research!!!

I am very sorry that things didn't work out for your boy. I guess circumstances are different for everyone.

UD - Please keep us posted

some info on wobblers..
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AnimalSciences/pubs/asc133.pdf
 
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