pssm1 flare up?

[B1u3]

I’ve posted about this before kind of (pssm1) but i’ve been paying even more attention to everything my horse does now since colicing just over 5 weeks ago and had suspected ulcers due to being starved from colic episodes. He’s always been spooky and quite stressed in cold weather but i’ve really noticed that he struggles in warm weather now too (when the suns out/flies). He fairly recently got diagnosed with PSSM1 and while i know he's bad in winter/cold weather, i’ve never noticed a problem with the warmth.

Anyways, he’s become overly sensitive to flies (twitching/flinching every time they touch him, tail switching, sometimes kicking his back legs, head shaking, even if i touch him he twitches. When i was in hand walking him about 2 weeks after he coliced, his shoulder muscles would twitch for about 8 seconds or so after the fly flew off him), he gets spooky/flinching at sounds and movements.

Today, he was worse than what he usually is though. And i believe he had a mild PSSM flare up? this is new to me so i'm not 100% sure but for example some of the things he was doing, overly sensitive to flies/fly spray, he wouldn’t let me pick up his feet (mainly his back ones, though they are usually his easy feet to pick up), stressed, warm around poll, head, shoulders, withers. I honestly panicked and thought he was colicing but he didn't do his usual colic behaviour, so i know he definitely wasn’t lol.
But is this normal for PSSM1 horses?

I have him on speedi beet, dengie ulser lite chaff, dodson & horrell daily vitamins & minerals, and ive just bought some salt which i will be gradually adding into his feed. he’s been in a field the past 5 weeks with minimal grass and fed hay. Is there anything i can do to help him more?

I did mention to the vets what he has pssm1 when they were coming out every day for colic but they weren’t really much help tbh (one said that she didn’t really know much about it and when he was at the clinic they said they didn't notice anything else wrong with him, he was there for 4 nights and 5 days).

Sorry that this is long but this is all a learning curve for me and knowing what i should and shouldn’t look out for would really help my overthinking lol.

 

[ozpoz]

The autumn grass flush could cause this. There are some helpful Facebook groups too.
Diet can take a while to get right, mine is intolerant to soya and alfalfa and I’m very careful to avoid these. Keeping him warm always, a long warm up and cool down before and after work, excercise every day, even if just 15 mins lunging all keep him comfortable.
I also discovered they can tie up in only one muscle so he has regular bodywork treatments.
It sounds as if he could have had an episode, but as you get used to your horse and the triggers for his condition it will become much easier to manage. Rug against flies as well as for warmth and call the overthinking meticulous planning instead.

 

[I'm Dun]

I’ve posted about this before kind of (pssm1) but i’ve been paying even more attention to everything my horse does now since colicing just over 5 weeks ago and had suspected ulcers due to being starved from colic episodes. He’s always been spooky and quite stressed in cold weather but i’ve really noticed that he struggles in warm weather now too (when the suns out/flies). He fairly recently got diagnosed with PSSM1 and while i know he's bad in winter/cold weather, i’ve never noticed a problem with the warmth.

Anyways, he’s become overly sensitive to flies (twitching/flinching every time they touch him, tail switching, sometimes kicking his back legs, head shaking, even if i touch him he twitches. When i was in hand walking him about 2 weeks after he coliced, his shoulder muscles would twitch for about 8 seconds or so after the fly flew off him), he gets spooky/flinching at sounds and movements.

Today, he was worse than what he usually is though. And i believe he had a mild PSSM flare up? this is new to me so i'm not 100% sure but for example some of the things he was doing, overly sensitive to flies/fly spray, he wouldn’t let me pick up his feet (mainly his back ones, though they are usually his easy feet to pick up), stressed, warm around poll, head, shoulders, withers. I honestly panicked and thought he was colicing but he didn't do his usual colic behaviour, so i know he definitely wasn’t lol.
But is this normal for PSSM1 horses?

I have him on speedi beet, dengie ulser lite chaff, dodson & horrell daily vitamins & minerals, and ive just bought some salt which i will be gradually adding into his feed. he’s been in a field the past 5 weeks with minimal grass and fed hay. Is there anything i can do to help him more?

I did mention to the vets what he has pssm1 when they were coming out every day for colic but they weren’t really much help tbh (one said that she didn’t really know much about it and when he was at the clinic they said they didn't notice anything else wrong with him, he was there for 4 nights and 5 days).

Sorry that this is long but this is all a learning curve for me and knowing what i should and shouldn’t look out for would really help my overthinking lol.

You are describing symptomatic PSSM 1. How are you treating it? In the early days the management is so fiddly, but once you get it right it does get easier.

 

[B1u3]

The autumn grass flush could cause this. There are some helpful Facebook groups too.
Diet can take a while to get right, mine is intolerant to soya and alfalfa and I’m very careful to avoid these. Keeping him warm always, a long warm up and cool down before and after work, excercise every day, even if just 15 mins lunging all keep him comfortable.
I also discovered they can tie up in only one muscle so he has regular bodywork treatments.
It sounds as if he could have had an episode, but as you get used to your horse and the triggers for his condition it will become much easier to manage. Rug against flies as well as for warmth and call the overthinking meticulous planning instead.

thank you, i’ve seen that in hand walking for a couple of minutes before going out in the field can help? He’s out 24/7 minus when he’s in for a couple of hours or so when i’m up. I’ve just started putting pales of hay dotted around his stable to encourage movement, he has a pretty decent sized stable and he’s only 14hh anyways so he does have a good amount of space to move. He’s in now and he seems a lot calmer than yesterday, i have took for like a 5 minute or so walk in the arena before coming in and he was willing to move.

 

[B1u3]

You are describing symptomatic PSSM 1. How are you treating it? In the early days the management is so fiddly, but once you get it right it does get easier.

I’m trying to sort his diet out atm, He’s overweight but he has a lost a lot in a short time due to colic, so i'm also trying to keep a balance of healthy weight loss from now on. He hasn't done much exercise recently (he’s unbroken as well) but i have been starting in hand walking again and going to start long reining again Saturday. I hope i’ve read your questions correctly and this is what you mean? x

 

[SEL]

Is he on grass? I keep my retired p1 on grass and she's dumped her muzzle too often recently and is hugely symptomatic. Picking up hind feet is an act of bravery on my part and she's waddling like a duck.

 

[B1u3]

Is he on grass? I keep my retired p1 on grass and she's dumped her muzzle too often recently and is hugely symptomatic. Picking up hind feet is an act of bravery on my part and she's waddling like a duck.

he is now, yeah. I’ve tried muzzling him so many times but they don't stay on no matter what i do, due to other horses getting it off him

 

[SEL]

he is now, yeah. I’ve tried muzzling him so many times but they don't stay on no matter what i do, due to other horses getting it off him

It'll be the grass then. It's been so dry all summer many have got away with it - you need to treat him like a laminitic & grass right now has too much sugar.

 

[myheartinahoofbeat]

Do you have him on vitamin E? This makes a huge improvement to my boy and if you google it is one of the best supplements for PSSM.

 

[I'm Dun]

I’m trying to sort his diet out atm, He’s overweight but he has a lost a lot in a short time due to colic, so i'm also trying to keep a balance of healthy weight loss from now on. He hasn't done much exercise recently (he’s unbroken as well) but i have been starting in hand walking again and going to start long reining again Saturday. I hope i’ve read your questions correctly and this is what you mean? x

You need to do a big diet overhaul. Low sugar and starch feed, just enough to carry a balancer in. It needs to be a good quality one though. Spillers lite is the best of the commercial pelleted ones, progressive earth ot forage plus are much better options though. And vitamin e. Start on 10,000 ius of natural vitamin e and onces hes stable reduce it to the level where it maintains him without feeding too much. Mine went loopy on too much, the one and only time she ever scared me was a too much vitamin e and protien incident! I'd also feed salt and extra magnesium. Out 24/7 so they are always moving, but with limited grass, which isnt easy to find at all. The best mine ever did was chucked out on a huge hilly field. I also had to ridiculously over rug her. It made me cringe as I'm not a rug them to the eyeballs person, but she really was so much better very heavily rugged.

Work is really the key to managing them though. In the early days I'd lunge mine for 20mins cantering and then ride and work her fairly hard again later. Once she stablised it got easier. If hes not broken its much harder.

 

[B1u3]

Do you have him on vitamin E? This makes a huge improvement to my boy and if you google it is one of the best supplements for PSSM.

I spoke to my weight bridge about vitamin E and she said that he should be getting enough from the balancer as of right now and to add extra when his doing more work.

 

[I'm Dun]

I spoke to my weight bridge about vitamin E and she said that he should be getting enough from the balancer as of right now and to add extra when his doing more work.

Shes absolutely, totally and completely wrong. Your horse isnt even getting enough to meet the recommended amounts for a normal horse in winter, but for one with PSSM that amount can be up to five times more.

You need to disregard advice given to you by a feed company that wants you to buy their food. The food they have recommended isnt suitable, and they have completely overstepped, offering totally incorrect advice about PSSM. I appreciate I am now offering advice about PSSM, but you can verify what I say is correct, and I encourage you to do that. Sadly PSSM isnt really understood by many people, so doing your own research will be hugely helpful.If you have a look there are a fair few peer approved papers kicking about discussing it. Its a horrible thing for a horse to have, and I wouldnt have another for free! But you can manage it, its just a bit of a nuisance to get the management right in the first place.

 

[B1u3]

Shes absolutely, totally and completely wrong. Your horse isnt even getting enough to meet the recommended amounts for a normal horse in winter, but for one with PSSM that amount can be up to five times more.

You need to disregard advice given to you by a feed company that wants you to buy their food. The food they have recommended isnt suitable, and they have completely overstepped, offering totally incorrect advice about PSSM. I appreciate I am now offering advice about PSSM, but you can verify what I say is correct, and I encourage you to do that. Sadly PSSM isnt really understood by many people, so doing your own research will be hugely helpful.If you have a look there are a fair few peer approved papers kicking about discussing it. Its a horrible thing for a horse to have, and I wouldnt have another for free! But you can manage it, its just a bit of a nuisance to get the management right in the first place.

I’ve been thinking about it and i’m potentially thinking it could be the chaff? it has alfalfa and oils in it and i’ve seen that alfalfa can cause flare ups or not agree with pssm1 horses? i’ll look into vitamin E but i may try him without the chaff first to see how he goes. He’s been fine his whole life and its literally only been these past couple of days or so that he’s been like this, the only newish thing is the feed. i did feed him dengie healthy tummy a while back and stopped feeding it because we had a colic scare (he didn't colic thought i just panicked lol) but thinking back i wonder if that could have been pssm1 and i didn't know it back then.
I will look into getting vitamin E for sure, do you have any recommendations?

 

[I'm Dun]

They can worsen with age, but anything could have triggered it. its not just the chaff. You have an untreated potentially nasty and in some rare cases, fatal diesase thats untreated.

Use progressive earth or forage plus NATURAL vitamin e

 

[Exasperated]

I’ve been thinking about it and i’m potentially thinking it could be the chaff? it has alfalfa and oils in it and i’ve seen that alfalfa can cause flare ups or not agree with pssm1 horses? i’ll look into vitamin E but i may try him without the chaff first to see how he goes. He’s been fine his whole life and its literally only been these past couple of days or so that he’s been like this, the only newish thing is the feed. i did feed him dengie healthy tummy a while back and stopped feeding it because we had a colic scare (he didn't colic thought i just panicked lol) but thinking back i wonder if that could have been pssm1 and i didn't know it back then.
I will look into getting vitamin E for sure, do you have any recommendations?

Pure feeds produce things without soya or alfafa,

, I’m Dun is 100% right about ladling industrial quantities of vitamin e into him:

I spoke to my weight bridge about vitamin E and she said that he should be getting enough from the balancer as of right now and to add extra when his doing more work.

Your weigh bridge person is wrong, simply and plainly wrong about this.

Generally understood that natural is preferable to synthesised vit e, probably double the amounts needed if synthetic.

Keep that pony warm! Ridiculously so, maybe add thermatex stable wraps for his legs indoors this winter, but try and encourage him to be moving around as much as possible. In hand walks, turn out, preferably with a buddy he can mooch about with, needs to keep his muscles and body tissues ‘engaged’ to limit the awful stiffness. Good luck.