Fears of Wobbler Syndrome

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MJ_1993

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Hi All.

I was hoping you could put my mind at ease a little. For the past few days my horse has had issues putting his head all the way to the floor (to eat his dinner ect) but when his head is down, he seems ok.

So i got the vet today and she put him on 7 days worth of bute, and wants to see him in 10 days.
She says he has Cervical Inflammation, she didn't seem all that concerned to be honest - she is an incredible vet -

My biggest fear is it's going to turn out to be Wobbler Syndrome, I am a massive worry wort about my baby so i just wondered if anyone had this experience and can tell me (hopefully!!) the inflammation gone without a problem.


Thanks and Sorry for being a worried Mum!
 
A friend's mare had a similar problem for a while - she couldn't graze, almost as if she couldn't reach. I don't remember if they came to a diagnosis, but it definitely wasn't Wobblers and she got better.
 
Magnetic Sparrow said:
A friend's mare had a similar problem for a while - she couldn't graze, almost as if she couldn't reach. I don't remember if they came to a diagnosis, but it definitely wasn't Wobblers and she got better.
Click to expand...

Such a relief to have someone say that! Sounds exactly like what he is doing atm, Hoping it all just goes away! Thanks!
 
I recently lost a horse to wobblers and "eating" wasn't an issue apparent and he could do all his "carrot stretches" and stuff like that.

Hopefully this too will pass.
 
My big horse had the same problem few years back, I was told he had the onset of wobblers but the vet then said to me, I don't want you to go home thinking your horse has wobblers ( mind ******) got a second vet had neck xrays bone scan and nothing flagged up.
He had he's neck medicated( not sure why) and all has been well ever since
Still to this day never really had an answer.
Hope all goes well for you xxx
 
This is what happened to my horse, he couldn't raise his head higher than his chest, and he'd apparently gone over backwards rearing whilst being brought in. The YO was a shouty, pull on the lead rope type of person and I feel that this might have contributed to the accident - if she had shouted at him or yanked him in the mouth with his chifney on, it certainly would have caused him to panic and go over backwards. Of course I rang the vet immediately and he was treated by the emergency on call vet as he presented as quite ataxic but it did pass for a while and he stabilised.

I'm afraid to be honest with you, my horse did go on to develop wobblers or certainly CVM, but he had considerable damage to his neck following the fall. The best thing for your horse is probably the anti inflammatories as these will reduce the inflamation and will probably prevent any calcification from forming. Maybe when your vet has seen him in 10 days you will be able to ask her if she can check him out to see if he has any neuro problems as a result, and it might be worth asking her if you can get an ACPAT Physio involved at that stage so that he/she can offer some suggestions for passive exercises to loosen up any stiffness.

Try not to worry, easier said than done, I know. There must be lots of horses who this happen to that recover without complications, I think my horse was just unlucky.
 
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I was thinking about this more and my thoughts pretty much echo what applecart has said.

Although my boy never exhibited (during my period of ownership) any problems eating or moving his neck - at *some point* during his history there must have been some accident - and it is likely at *that* point he did have problems.

Unfortunately only time will tell.:(
 
Hello Everyone!

Thankyou all for commenting, I thought i would let you know the vet came back out to re-asses and is happy with the progress, even though he is not 100% yet she done some tests and is almost certain it is nothing Neurological! She has given me permission to walk on a loose rein as he is happier in the afternoon as opposed to in the mornings when he comes out of his stable!
Thankyou everyone =)
 
This is good news :)

My mare showed the same symptoms as this after some dental work and injections into her neck - I would rule out any trauma first.
 
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