Prone To Tying Up - Getting Competition Horse Fit Again

[AHarley]

Hey peeps,

I've recently started riding a lovely mare who has been off work for about 6 months and is prone to tying up, I have been gradually increasing the workload over the past 4 weeks introducing canter and yesterday a pop over a small cross pole just to keep things different however last night she tied up! Any advice on managing the condition?

I am only able to train her 3 days a week at the moment due to my own health issues, and hopefully she is going to be getting some extra exercises in between to avoid rest days. I've thought about small management changes I could make, i.e warm up and cool down slowly with an exercise sheet on. Offer small amounts of water after ridden work. Is there any advice anybody has?

She is already very well managed and cared for by her owner, its just a case of me figuring how to ride her in a way that doesn't cause an episode.

Appreciate some advice x

 

[View]

The first thing that pops into my head is has she been tested for PSSM?

 

[AmyMay]

6 months no work, to canter after 4 weeks ridden is a bit too quick, especially if you’re only riding three days a week. She needs to walk, walk and walk some more for at least 6 weeks. Warming up and cooling down properly are vital. And yes an exercise sheet is an excellent idea. Also the routine feeding of electrolytes is something to consider.

Have you discussed the tying up with her owner, what are their thoughts?

 

[AHarley]

Thanks for replying both. View - I'm not sure if she has been tested but my best guess is probably. I know she has problems with the high sugars at this time of year. She is your typical big athletic competition horse, long limbs and a bit hyper-mobile which seems to be a trait of her bloodline.

Amymay - thanks for that advice so what would an exercise regime look like? 6 weeks working through each pace to build up to a safe level where she can jump? I've been taking special care with the warm up and cool down but think I may extend it further from now on. Even though she has had 6 months off it seems she's retained alot of fitness and muscle tone. Working her yesterday she barely broke a sweat and her respiratory rate remained steady even whilst jumping, she has however gained weight. Should I be factoring this in more than her cardiovascular fitness?

As for her owners she's been managing the condition for a long time, it's just a case of me getting up to speed!

 

[AmyMay]

No, 6 weeks at walk, before introducing short bursts of trotting at week 7, with at week 9 canter can be introduced with longer periods of canter by week 12.

 

[merlinsquest]

^^^ this

 

[ihatework]

You need to get the horse fit first!
My suggestion is you sit down with the owners who are presumably used to managing this horse and work out an exact plan for fittening, work, feeding, rugging and follow their advice to the letter.

Also search PSSM on here, for anything that ties up a PSSM diet would be worth following (following consultation with owners).

 

[TPO]

re Fittening - It also depends why the horse was off for 6mths and what it was doing during those 6mths. Was it turned away and out of work due to owner's time constraints etc or was the horse injured and was any of that time off box rest?

The old adage is that it takes the same length of time that they were off for to bring them back into previous fitness. Obviously this varies regarding previous level of fitness, age, breed/type and why they were off work but is a general rule of thumb.

 

[SEL]

What breed is the horse?

I'd check if you're dealing with a horse with PSSM or another tying up disorder. Sounds like the owners have done their research so they will hopefully know if she's been diagnosed.

Whether or not she broke a sweat with the work you are doing is irrelevant (not least because quite a few horses with muscular disorders don't sweat properly!). Amymay has hit the nail on the head with the walk work. All a bit dull, but very necessary.

 

[AHarley]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! Really helpful and appreciated, I've heard of the condition but never come across a horse with it before, especially not brought one back into work before!

She was out of work due to owners time constraints, she has been a foot perfect competition horse, completely injury free and turned away for most of the winter.

SEL - That's really interesting about horses with muscular disorders not sweating properly, in retrospect I can now definitely see this is definitely the case with her. She is a Holsteiner I think, but has a mix of other warmblood bloodlines in there too. To me she looks a little hyper-mobile which looks quite typical of her breeding on the sires side. I've wondered if this contributes in some way.

Does anyone know of any muscular stabilisation exercises that could be done in walk with her?

 

[SEL]

Walking over various arrangements of poles is great for getting them to work out where their legs are. Good for keeping their brains interested too - loads of examples online.

I'm going to guess PSSM type 2 with that breeding, which likely means the owners have had to make a diagnosis on symptoms if this has gone on a while (otherwise would be a muscle biopsy). Take fitness work slowly and long slow warm up and cool down when you pick up the pace.