Horse back legs not working well

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Cowboy Bahrain

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Hi all,
I have my horse Arabian with 10 years old. Eating properly but not getting good condition for the last 2 months. He is eating twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Eating hay, alfalfa and ready made mix. In the morning I find him daily setting and hardly standing up. His back legs are not working properly but can't see any inflammation within his joints. Once he stand up he can walk, trot and canter with no problems at all. I have done a full blood test and vet says everything is very good with no issues..!! I feel so upset for not able to help him. Knowing that u have tried different types of injunctions based on vet recommendations but without any improvements... Any idea this poor boy??
 
Blood tests can't diagnose everything.

If he doesn't appear to be in pain but has little control of his back end then this might suggest neurological issues.

Get the vet back and investigate further.
 
Agree with WS. Sounds like a possible neuro condition, the vet needs to do either a lameness investigation which will highlight any ataxia or some neuro tests. In my opinion (based on my own exp of a wobblers horse) if these investigations point to neuro problems then xrays need to be taken to assess the problem and investigate further.

A horse that is daily setting (think you mean sitting) and can hardly stand up as a very serious condition which needs investigating immediately. Has your vet done any neuro tests or seen the horse moving??
 
Many Thanks for your kind reply. I start using the Vitamin E and found him better in the morning. I stopped the Vitamin E for tow days and found that he get is hardly can wake up again in the morning. Our Vet service is very poor and we depend on our experience all the way with the horses. I'm trying to read a lot and search many videos through the YouTube to be able to help him. I start also using Muscle Massage via Electronic Pulse Therapy Machine Digital Electric Instrument and and massage with ointment at night with wrapping the back legs with bandages. he is getting better but I don't think this is enough. I also did a basic horse neurological test and found him responding. once I crosses his back legs, he pushed his left leg so fast and left it up. but the right leg just brings it back to it's normal location slowly. Any advises?
 
Sitting to stand up is a symptom of epsm. So is response to vitamin e. I suggest you try a low sugar, high fibre diet (cut out that mix, it will have molasses in it) with 10,000 iu of natural vitamin e or 16,000 iu of synthetic vitamin e powder, plus either 4-500ml of oil (build up gradually) or 10g of acetyl l carnetine a day. The diet won't hurt if he hasn't got it, and will show a result if he does.

If your horse is at all overweight, go the alcar route, don't feed oil to an overweight horse.

Google epsm and pssm, same thing. There is also a Facebook group.
 
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If he is eating well but losing condition it could be due to pain. Your vet service might be poor but can you at least get them to give painkiller medication? Bear in mind a painkiller won't cure him and for most lameness problems he should not be ridden or driven if he is needing painkillers. One exception is mild arthritis where gentle movement can help stop the joint seizing up, so in that instance to give painkillers and continue working helps the horse not to become any worse. But your horse struggles to get up so if he has arthritis is could be that it is severe, not mild. A horse with severe arthritis would probably be better not being ridden/driven.

I don't know anything about neurological conditions but you have done some basic tests and the horse isn't responding properly with one of his legs, so this is not good. However, I would not expect Vitamin E to help a neurological condition and you say that helped. I might be wrong about it not helping neurological conditions though. I think Vitamin E is for muscles? I wonder if he has had an accident, slipped or fallen maybe and injured his muscles, maybe when you wasn't there?

Does he go out in a field at all or is he in a stable all the time unless being ridden/driven? Some conditions are helped by being kept still, in a stable. Other conditions are helped by being kept in the field so he can constantly move around slowly. If it is a muscle problem or arthritis he will probably be better moving around.

When it comes to inflammation in the joint you can't see this with your eyes, you can see and feel swelling around a joint but only x-rays will show up internal damage to a joint, so you can't rule out some sort of arthritis without further investigation.

The other thing I can think of is azoturia. That is a problem with muscles. I think it has a new name now, Exertional Rhabdomylitis Syndrome or something like that? It is caused by cereal feed and not enough work, as far as I know. The muscles go into spasm and become damaged, the horse can't move easily and it is painful. It can take a while to recover, a few weeks I think but horses only recover with the right treatment. You say he eats twice a day, what do you feed? He should mostly be eating hay and only small amounts of the mix, if he needs it at all. If he usually works hard and has a day off, you should feed less of the mix on that day. If he does have azoturia, I am not sure of the treatment, but definitely it involves rest and not working, I think treatment also involves not feeding any mix at all. I think it would have shown up in a blood test though, unless the vet didn't test for it. Your vet might have done a blood test for other reasons.

Your horse has a serious problem, whatever it is. Not being able to get up is very serious and if he doesn't start to make a recovery soon you should consider euthanasia. Are there any vet hospitals that you could travel him to in a horsebox which could investigate why he can't get up? If you can find the cause and treat it there is the possibility he could make a complete recovery, it depends on what the problem is. But you can't leave him as he is now for long, it's cruel to leave him in pain and unable to get up easily.
 
Cowboy Bahrain do you have an update for us? What is your horse like now, is he still struggling to rise?الحصان الخاص

بك لا تزال تكافح للارتفاع؟

هل يسمى حتى الان? المحاربين القدامى
 
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http://www.cvm.umn.edu/umec/lab/vitE/home.html

this tells you about vit E deficiency. I think you may be describing vitamin E deficiency myopathy.


As you appear to have little vet support and have to try and help him yourself then
if this was my horse I would get him on 10000iu per day (fed in 2 lots) of high quality vit E oil and plan on doing that for a long time (months) Vitamin E supplementation at high levels works very quickly. You can blood test for vit E levels although as your vet service is poor I doubt this will be possible. Does your horse get much vit E naturally in summer or is most of your feed hay based? If he has been on a grass restricted diet you could well have a deficiency.

If you google "vitamin e deficiency horse" you will find lots of info.
 
paddy555 said:
http://www.cvm.umn.edu/umec/lab/vitE/home.html

this tells you about vit E deficiency. I think you may be describing vitamin E deficiency myopathy.


As you appear to have little vet support and have to try and help him yourself then
if this was my horse I would get him on 10000iu per day (fed in 2 lots) of high quality vit E oil and plan on doing that for a long time (months) Vitamin E supplementation at high levels works very quickly. You can blood test for vit E levels although as your vet service is poor I doubt this will be possible. Does your horse get much vit E naturally in summer or is most of your feed hay based? If he has been on a grass restricted diet you could well have a deficiency.

If you google "vitamin e deficiency horse" you will find lots of info.
Click to expand...

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-367959.html THIS MAKES VERY INTERESTING READING ABOUT VITAMIN E DEFICEINCY.

Can be due to drought and hot weather making not very good hay and therefore lack of vitamin e. Can be detected on blood test very easy.
 
Dear Applecart14 and all others,
Thanks a lot for your kind support and reply. I have reached an old man who has a wide range of experience in treatment of Horses. The moment I called him and explained to him he knew what is the problem and asked me to buy ilium injections. Then he mixed them with other medicine that he has and injected it allover at the horse back closer to the lumbar and at the hind. The moment looked at the horse he knew what he is suffering from. The horse has Muscle ٍSpasm which are coming from his neck through the back going to the hind and back legs which cause the problem. The man says that good we came at the early stage to help him, otherwise the horse might not be able to walk anymore as a result of hemiplegia. The horse will be at rest for a month and within 2 days I can see him doing much better. This old man has experience and saved many horses in GCC countries with minimum efforts and without surgery. Thank you all again and have a great day.
 
Cowboy Bahrain said:
Dear Applecart14 and all others,
Thanks a lot for your kind support and reply. I have reached an old man who has a wide range of experience in treatment of Horses. The moment I called him and explained to him he knew what is the problem and asked me to buy ilium injections. Then he mixed them with other medicine that he has and injected it allover at the horse back closer to the lumbar and at the hind. The moment looked at the horse he knew what he is suffering from. The horse has Muscle ٍSpasm which are coming from his neck through the back going to the hind and back legs which cause the problem. The man says that good we came at the early stage to help him, otherwise the horse might not be able to walk anymore as a result of hemiplegia. The horse will be at rest for a month and within 2 days I can see him doing much better. This old man has experience and saved many horses in GCC countries with minimum efforts and without surgery. Thank you all again and have a great day.
Click to expand...

Can you clarify? What are ilium injections? The ilium is part of a horse's pelvis. I have never heard of a treatment anywhere in the world that cures ataxia by injecting the muscles. Are you in Bahrain?

I'm very confused, is this man qualified at all?

I hope he continues to improve, will you please let us know?
 
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ycbm said:
Can you clarify? What are ilium injections? The ilium is part of a horse's pelvis. I have never heard of a treatment anywhere in the world that cures ataxia by injecting the muscles. Are you in Bahrain?

I'm very confused, is this man qualified at all?

I hope he continues to improve, will you please let us know?
Click to expand...

Sadly, in rough translation all he had done is to inject him with a painkiller injection (THANK GOD). Ilium butorgesic is a centrally a...u can do for him is to have him put to sleep.
 
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Hi,
ILIUM DEPREDIL Injection comes in 10 mL available at the vet shops and has mixed it with other medicines, plus 10 mL of Equi-gan per week. I can see improvement on the horse in 3 to 4 days. I can see some improvement in his movement and his body condition. Yes I'm from Bahrain and the man is well known in the region as a qualified person.
 
Cowboy Bahrain said:
Hi,
ILIUM DEPREDIL Injection comes in 10 mL available at the vet shops and has mixed it with other medicines, plus 10 mL of Equi-gan per week. I can see improvement on the horse in 3 to 4 days. I can see some improvement in his movement and his body condition. Yes I'm from Bahrain and the man is well known in the region as a qualified person.
Click to expand...

Like I have said you will see improvement for a short time.
According to the website Illium Depredil is a long lasting anti-inflammatory. Actions: Long lasting anti-inflammatory steroid with minimal mineralocorticoid activity. It has less tendency than prednisolone to induce sodium and water retention.

Effective where therapy is required over a prolonged period (2 - 3 weeks) and where oral administration is less desirable.



You mention Equigan. This is an synthetic anabolic steroid. According to a website it is a great appetite stimulant, it increases vigor, muscular development and gives skin and hair a better appearance. It is used for horses that are energetically trained and that present a lot of fatigue and low performance. It promotes a better nourishing conversion by maintaining the animal with a stable body weight.

I hope it works out okay for your horse, please keep us updated. x
 
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Hi All,
This is to inform you all that my lovely horse back same before. He was suffering from back pain as I have discussed earlier, and after some search I found that the reasons are: Saddle, Bridle, Horse Bit, Horse Teeth...etc.

I have then contacted a professional person to see his teeth and found that his teeth are sharp and he did his exercise for the teeth. Now my horse has just borne again. he is performing very well and he is building a better condition now.
 
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