Equitop Myoplast and long term box rest query.

AdorableAlice

AdorableAlice

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Any one used this please, or looked after a very long term box rester.

My horse has been on barn rest since last August and maintained his top and weight throughout. (very big horse).

Into week 4 of rehab now and walking 40 minutes on the level, and he has literally disappeared in front of us. Top and muscle mass gone. Quarters gone from apple to tent shaped, wither prominent and having to pack saddle with gel pads behind the wither, crest gone.

He is as bright as a button in himself, skin and coat reasonable, feet in good nick and he is enjoying his walking. (he was wormed whilst in the box). He is an older horse at 18. Bloods are normal, cushings test borderline and further test to be done.

Vet suggested Myoplast and I am just wondering if any of you guys have used it, good or bad.

Can't really make any huge changes to diet yet as he is no nearer being turned out. He has adlib poor quality hay that is well soaked, low calorie chaff mixed with speedibeet to carry a calmer and a handful of cheap pony nuts in the mornings and a bran mash in the evenings with a broad spectrum multi vit.

I am giving him some nice hay now and replace the pony nuts with a few conditioning nuts, but I cannot give anything that will fire him as it is imperative he remains quiet to do the endless walking that he is facing.

All thoughts and idea's welcome, and I do realise many will look at the present diet and be shocked, but please remember this horse has been in for 10 months now and it has been, and remains vital to keep the gut moving.
 
Yes, my big horse (17yo) had it throughout the last hunting season then a break while he was on hols and now back on it (though at half the dose as not working so hard). I think it makes a big different to him, combined with the correct work which for him is lots of lunging and long reining over poles, using a Kavalkade etc.

ATM he's having 1 scoop daily, while hunting he was having 2 scoops but at that level it seems to make him loopy!
 
Loopy ! can't go there at all. He is already bright and has acp if it's a windy day, before exercise.

Many thanks for advice.
 
AdorableAlice said:
Loopy ! can't go there at all. He is already bright and has acp if it's a windy day, before exercise.

Many thanks for advice.
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Don't worry too much about the loopiness, it might have been more to do with him getting to the point where he was convinced every time I tacked him up, he might be going hunting! ;) But my physio said other clients had told her it made their horses sharp. TBH it didn't bother me most of the time as I knew he was feeling well, I just could have done with a bit less of it on hunting days.

But anyway, I think the Myoplast helped a lot. I noticed that he gets a big bum and neck first, then the muscle over his back starts to improve (his back is where he struggles).
 
Many thanks, thinking about it your horse would have been fit and it was winter.

My horse is as soft as butter and very weak from standing in for months. My horse is like a bottle of fizzy pop, it's all over in a flash and then he is tired, and if it is hot he struggles to get home. 10 months of 700kg standing still has to take it's toll.

I will just see how we go, he is a gentleman so I do trust him to a certain extent.
 
Is that the stuff that looks like ball bearings? If so, Dotty had a tub when she dramatically lost weight and muscle tone and her bloods came back as all over the shop. It kick started things up again and she soon had an appetite back.

Have you tried soaked grass nuts (not the alfalfa ones) as they can be a great help and can almost be fed ad-lib? I used the Northern Crop Driers ones.
Love the bran mashes, can't beat it for recuperation and keeping functions on the go. Have you any brewers yeast as that's brilliant for digestion, also helps with coat and hooves; if you need any let me know and I'll send some down?
What about Kossollian too? An oldie but great for situations like yours when they just need a bit of help.
Obviously feeding alone isn't going to get him back in shape, just walking a bit further every day will help.
Would it also help to cut up exercise into am and pm shifts so he's still good when he gets back as opposed to being so flat; that might help him more than anything because otherwise he's always got tired muscles.
 
Maesfen said:
Is that the stuff that looks like ball bearings? If so, Dotty had a tub when she dramatically lost weight and muscle tone and her bloods came back as all over the shop. It kick started things up again and she soon had an appetite back.

Have you tried soaked grass nuts (not the alfalfa ones) as they can be a great help and can almost be fed ad-lib? I used the Northern Crop Driers ones.
Love the bran mashes, can't beat it for recuperation and keeping functions on the go. Have you any brewers yeast as that's brilliant for digestion, also helps with coat and hooves; if you need any let me know and I'll send some down?
What about Kossollian too? An oldie but great for situations like yours when they just need a bit of help.
Obviously feeding alone isn't going to get him back in shape, just walking a bit further every day will help.
Would it also help to cut up exercise into am and pm shifts so he's still good when he gets back as opposed to being so flat; that might help him more than anything because otherwise he's always got tired muscles.
Click to expand...

I haven't got the Myoplast yet, but the picture shows it as small black balls. Have just telephoned my feed merchant and they will have a brewers yeast for me in the morning, thank you so much for such a kind offer. They have a bag of plain grass nuts which I will fetch when Epsom finishes.

I finish for a week so will split his walking up. Little and often with walks and feeds for 10 days and hopefully he will improve. Many thanks.
 
Thanks guys.

Big boy had a cup of micronised linseed today and I will gradually add the BY. Still waiting for Myoplast to arrive.

He doesn't look great but he is certainly happy to be out of the box.

The very generous crash test jockey on board this morning reported the horse was not a fan of bunting on a house in the village, and after growing to 27hh only just agreed to tiptoe past. Hope there is no more up tomorrow or crash test jockey might be handing in the paracute and absailing kit I equipped him with !

The horse has already broken his usual rider, I hope he doesn't break this one.
 
It's good stuff and works but from memory is about 40% sugar and about 20% amino acids. I stopped feeding it due to the high sugar content. Hope all works out for you!
 
Hi,I've used the Myoplast,to great effect,when bringing back into work but my vet told me there was no point giving it(as it wouldn't work) unless the horse was in hard work. Mine went straight into an intensive fitness regime(vet said to work him as much as possible,6days a wk) so not sure if yours is just doing walk work at the mo whether you'll see a good improvement/it'll be worth your money? Perhaps that contradicts what your vet has told you? However,I can def say,that after 1tub of it&hard work,we were calling him The Incredible Hulk...seemed to be about 18hh and built like the proverbial brick outhouse... ;)
 
the vet prescribed it for my boy when he needed to pick up condition and and topline after being treated for ulcers. I understood that the value of it was meant to be to help them build up muscles when combined with the right work, which presumably isn't going to be possible for him at them moment, but I might have missed the point?

To be honest it did nothing for him at all, and it is Very expensive! What fixed him was ad lib good quality hay. Is that an option for you? My boy is prone to fizzing up, but ad lib hay doesn't do that at all, and it keeps his gut moving and lets him build condition without loading him full of food. If he's not really having any hard feed you might find he manages fine with it. Just a thought...
 
I used it last summer and noticed no difference at all in muscle tone or topline- really expensive and really disappointed!
 
I'd be careful giving it to an animal that is borderline Cushings. A friend of ours put their pony on it and it very quickly developed serious laminitis - of course they can't prove it was the EM that caused it, but pony was not at all overweight, nothing else had changed and there was no obvious other trigger. It would make sense given what Archie73 says about the sugar content.
 
Thanks everyone,

I have not seen much difference to be honest. The horse is only able to walk and the whole rehab process has been fraught with problems. His hind limb motion/breakover point has changed which as resulted in him pushing his shoe backwards and sideways. This in turn is breaking his foot away making keeping a shoe on difficult.

I have managed to source the best hay I have ever seen in decades of horse keeping and he is tucking into it well. His skin is superb and he is well in himself.

Scanning on 6th July and it is hoped that scan will allow turnout into a small paddock. I so hope this happens, he has been in the box since 1/8/11 and we are both at the end of our tether.
 
I had it for my mare from the vets after her suspensory ligament operation (de-nerved) and she was on 12 weeks boxrest followed by in hand walking and build up fomr there. I didn't find it made a massive difference and the muscle has only built back up through being back into work properly.

Thought it was very expensive too but insurance paid for it luckily! It smells nice though! haha

My vet said that they would need 1 1/2 - 2 pots of it before you'd notice any real difference.
 
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