Horse getting worse on bute trial...ideas?

[a kind of magic]

My mare is suffering with some general discomfort, there is muscle tension in the sacroiliac area for definite but we are investigating potential reasons for it. She's had a lot of time off recently so we sent her for restarting and she is still at the trainer's yard.

She is generally a bit tizzy but great to ride, not argumentative and always does as asked but appears uncomfortable transitioning from walk-jog and even more uncomfortable moving up to a lope but she will do it, doesn't buck and isn't lame. First port of call is a bute trial with some physio on the 2nd week. She's been on bute since Monday and her behaviour is getting progressively worse - she is now bucking and very unsettled, she's a stressy mare as it is but this is her on a whole other level!

Something I have yet to discuss with the vet is the potential for gastric ulcers, does anyone think this could be a possibility? At home she is turned out 24/7 and has a small feed of fast fibre. I had been exercising her prior to her re-start and she was 100% to ride at walk and jog, I didn't lope because of my fitness rather than hers! She's naturally stressy and hates being stabled but is brought onto the yard for half the day as she's being worked twice a day. She won't eat hay whilst she is in the stable either so I am aware of the fact her fibre intake is not as good as usual and she is obviously under physiological and psychological stress. I am due to ring the vet tomorrow so I can keep her up to date but I wondered what others thought?

 

[ihatework]

Bute is contra-indicated for ulcers - if your horse is getting worse then this would most definitely be my first point of investigation if she were mine.

Good luck.

 

[a kind of magic]

Thank you-it was my first thought when the trainer said she has been getting worse. I will ring the vet and ask about scoping.

 

[Wagtail]

A horse at my yard got worse during a bute trial and was found to have gastric ulcers.

 

[Oberon]

I did some revision on ulcers - you may find this helpful.......

"The pathophysiology of stomach ulcers

The stomach is shaped like a hanging gourd with an upper and lower portion.
Hydrochloric acid is produced in the lower portion by parietal cells. This lower portion of the stomach also produces a copious amount of mucous in order to protect itself from the acid.
Without this mucous the horse would effectively digest its own stomach.
Ulcers most commonly occur at the junction between the lower (acid producing) half and the upper half (that has a surface much like our skin).

The upper portion is easily damaged by the very strong hydrochloric acid.
About 80% of ulcers occur at this junction or higher up on this unprotected surface.

We humans produce acid when we eat but horses evolved as a grazing animal to eat 18 to 21 hours a day and so they produce acid to break down forage 24 hours a day. The horse produces this acid whether it is eating or not. An averaged sized horse will produce around a litre of very strong acid every hour.

This acid serves to break down the fibre that enters the stomach, but if there is not an adequate amount of food in the stomach and the acid is not utilised, it accumulates in the bottom portion of the stomach. Eventually there will be enough acid to overwhelm the protective mucous and it will literally eat into the stomach tissue. This will create an ulcer in that portion.

When the horse is very active (galloping, jumping etc.) the abdominal contents will push against the stomach, compressing and trapping it against the diaphragm. This will cause the acid to splash up and reach the upper, unprotected part of the stomach and create ulcers there.
If the horse has developed ulcers in this unprotected part of the stomach, the already significant pain becomes even worse when acid is splashed onto them again.

The response in different horses is variable, but with horses required to jump it may show as jumping flat, running out, bucking or refusals. It is not uncommon for them to buck after a jump due to the compression and splashing effect previously mentioned.

For the same reason, some horses may be reluctant to go downhill.

Other horses may kick out and resist canter aids or rein back, pirouettes or slides (in western riding classes).

Due to the consistent muscle pain patterns found in ulcer cases, they also may refuse to pick up the correct lead in canter. Often they do not engage the hindquarters correctly – commonly in the right hind as most horses are ‘right handed’ and place more strain in that limb.

They are often restricted in the shoulders due to tightening of the facia over the muscles over the shoulder and wither pocket area. This contracture limits the ability of the muscles to lengthen and shorten appropriately.

There are also consistent chiropractic findings along the entire chest, vertebral, lumbar, sacro-iliac areas resulting in pain and an inability to use the back correctly.

One very important muscle that is frequently dysfunctional in ulcer cases is the Psoas muscle – a group of three muscles that form the largest and strongest muscles in the horse’s body. Its function is to stabilise and protect the pelvis from damage. This is what prevents a racehorse from fracturing its pelvis when it bolts from the starting gate. When the psoas muscle is in pain, the pelvis and croup muscles cannot function well and will go into spasm.

Acupressure points can be palpated to test for ulcers as seen in this video.
http://www.depaoloequineconcepts.com/library/ulcer_treatment_protocol.aspx "