Permanent Tight Muscles - Any Ideas?

In cattle you can just paint a line of iodine on their backs to treat a deficiency. Worth asking the vet if there's any issue doing that although might depend on the colour of the horse!

It's a long shot re overdoing the E but if you initially had better results it could be that so worth ruling out.
 
SEL said:
The other thing that can cause muscle tightness is lack of iodine. Not sure if you can test for it though.
Click to expand...

I'll have a google :)

FfionWinnie said:
In cattle you can just paint a line of iodine on their backs to treat a deficiency. Worth asking the vet if there's any issue doing that although might depend on the colour of the horse!

It's a long shot re overdoing the E but if you initially had better results it could be that so worth ruling out.
Click to expand...

Wah, she is grey!

Will alter the vit e and see. Think I have decided to find her a low level home, but I will keep playing around with the supplements so that I can get her the best I can :(
 
for mine I found the best feeds by a long way were micro linseed, alfalfa pellets and copra. Plus high vit e, salt, supplement (which has iodine in it) and alcar. Most important of all is his exercise sheet which is doubled up in colder weather. Even when it is warm he has an exercise sheet. As it got colder this week he had a double one.
 
PorkChop said:
I'll have a google :)



Wah, she is grey!

Will alter the vit e and see. Think I have decided to find her a low level home, but I will keep playing around with the supplements so that I can get her the best I can :(
Click to expand...

If she hacks nicely then that sounds ideal. I would be more than happy if I could get mine to happy hacker - I just need to get her past the stage of 'I hurt, get off NOW!' that got me dumped last year!
 
paddy555 said:
for mine I found the best feeds by a long way were micro linseed, alfalfa pellets and copra. Plus high vit e, salt, supplement (which has iodine in it) and alcar. Most important of all is his exercise sheet which is doubled up in colder weather. Even when it is warm he has an exercise sheet. As it got colder this week he had a double one.
Click to expand...

Thank you, yes I do keep her rugged up and she has a massage pad on before and after exercise.

claracanter said:
Has she been tested for Cushings? This can present itself in a variety of different ways
Click to expand...

Interesting, no she hasn't, she is only seven though.

SEL said:
If she hacks nicely then that sounds ideal. I would be more than happy if I could get mine to happy hacker - I just need to get her past the stage of 'I hurt, get off NOW!' that got me dumped last year!
Click to expand...

She has started jumping again too, but for me she isn't forward enough to properly event. Hence why I have done so many investigations with her as with her being a Connie X I thought she should be a lot more jolly - thats what I wanted anyway!
 
Hi, two suggestions, get her blood tested for a full vitamin and mineral profile (do not let the vet try to guess which may be the problem to save money get them all tested). Secondly give St.hippolyt in Germany an e-mail and see if they have any ideas. Also try chia seeds rather than linseed. Good luck.
 
Rocky01 said:
Hi, two suggestions, get her blood tested for a full vitamin and mineral profile (do not let the vet try to guess which may be the problem to save money get them all tested). Secondly give St.hippolyt in Germany an e-mail and see if they have any ideas. Also try chia seeds rather than linseed. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Yes, done this too! No stone unturned, all came back perfect, bah.
 
It's no help but I've had various vets tell me it's a waste of time blood testing as it doesn't always show a deficiency even if they do have one! So it could still be a deficiency.
 
FfionWinnie said:
It's no help but I've had various vets tell me it's a waste of time blood testing as it doesn't always show a deficiency even if they do have one! So it could still be a deficiency.
Click to expand...

Tbf my Vets were all for testing bloods and taking a biopsy - maybe because they were getting paid well for it!

All bloods, including those before and after exercise all perfect.
 
To add to this, you would think that something would have shown up on the pre/post exercise bloods wouldn't you? Even with the possibility of the biopsy not being the most reliable?
 
PorkChop said:
To add to this, you would think that something would have shown up on the pre/post exercise bloods wouldn't you? Even with the possibility of the biopsy not being the most reliable?
Click to expand...

Yes I do and I don't know about the biopsy not being reliable although I suppose it depends who read it?

However she could have a different myopathy or cause which doesn't follow what we already know.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Yes I do and I don't know about the biopsy not being reliable although I suppose it depends who read it?

However she could have a different myopathy or cause which doesn't follow what we already know.
Click to expand...

There is actually only one person in the UK that tests the muscle and reads the results.

What are the odds of me having a horse that has something so rare I can't test for it :D

A friend said to me the other day, that most people would not take any notice and would have just carried on as she is, because she is doing everything adequately. She just doesn't understand, neither does my husband, *face plant*.
 
REviving this thread from 2017 in the hopes someone may have found a solution. I am dealing with largely the same situation, a talented mare who is so stiff and laid back as to be almost horizontal. She’s strange thiugh, as she starts off stiff and actually works out of it with proper work. Her muscles soften when a switch flick at the 30 min mark or so - she suddenly goes from zero go to lovely, light forward and a proper full stride.

ALCAR and higher doses of Vit E have been tried with no success. Blood work is normal. She is a very light, almost concerning, sweater. Currently on 1 cup of Purina Trimax (Canadian ultimate) per day, plus vitamin mineral mix (mad barn amino trace +). Any and all suggestions welcome, I’d love to fix this for her. I have not yet tried whey protein, may give that a go!

- wishing you all the very best into 2020! (from across the pond)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top