Poorly horse...possibly tying up?

[Bertolie]

About 3 weeks ago my horse came in from yard and was obviously uncomfortable. Fidgeting, rocking from side to side, shifting from foot to foot and raising tail. He also had a 'swelling' on the top of his back leg, possible from a kick. Vet advised keeping him turned out and rugged up to keep warm and see how he went. After a couple of days he seemed fine although the 'swelling' hadn't gone down. Yesterday when brought in from field he was showing same symptoms so rang vet again and it was decided he would come out. Full examination carried out, flexion tests done and no obvious clues as to what was wrong - just that he was uncomfortable in his back end and uneven. Vet took bloods and I have just spoken to them and the results are contradictory! His CPK results are over 500 - anything over 300 is high so this would indicate tying up but his white blood cells are also raised which would indicate infection.

I am a novice horse owner and thought that tying up was an exercise related thing? Leo is nearly 20 years old and a happy hacker that due to saddle problems hasn't been exercised much in the last couple of months. We did go out on Saturday - 30 min walk around the block, but that was all.

Does this sound like tying up to all you knowledgable HHO folks?

Vet is going to give him a course of antibiotics to rule out infection first, then retest bloods in a weeks time. If his urine appears dark red I am to call vets but he is turned out 24/7 at the moment and gets checked when it is dark so not sure how I would know?

Any thoughs or advice would be appreciated.

 

[lcharles]

I'm no expert on tying up but if he doesnt go out much, 30 minutes of walking could cause him to tie up. However, I think horses generally tie up from lactic acid building up (like we get cramp) and is caused from them not cooling down correctly but if he's out this shouldnt be an issue x

Perhaps with his age and general lack of riding, maybe he is just stiffer and the kick has made him even stiffer? x

Hope he comes right xx

 

[kirstykate]

If he is living out I would be very surprised if he is tying up. Laminitus/Colic??? Have seen vets get the 2 mixed up.

 

[Bertolie]

If he is living out I would be very surprised if he is tying up. Laminitus/Colic??? Have seen vets get the 2 mixed up.

First thing the vet checked for was laminitis - no heat, no pulses. Vet did think tying up at first but thought it highly unlikely. The 'swelling' which we though could have been a kick the vet said was fibrous tissue, not sure where/what from though!