Roarers, anyone know..

[Fairynuff]

whata 'stage four' roarer means? Oh has to transport a little arab mare to a clinic on Monday who has been diagnosed as a stage four. The vet involved is one who is notorious for , shall we say, sending home dead animals. Hes the one who wanted to operate the pony (colic) in his box using an epidural and opening his flank like they do with cattle !!. I didnt allow it. Anyway, this little arab is very over weight, unfit and has spent most of the winter stuck in an inside box with all doors closed

. I know the yo and asked her if he had used an endoscope to help make a diagnosis. The answer was "no". He just listened to her breathing as she stood in her box. Im desperate to ask her to get a second opinion as it could be anything and not nec roaring but it would be like talking to a brick wall. It will be interesting to see if oh has to do a return trip with the little mare, I hope so. Keep your fingers crossed that the op goes well. Mairi.

 

[Fahrenheit]

Ive never heard of anyone operating on a roarer without at least endoscoping them first. I used to have a roarer and it never affected him and we did show jumping, eventing and everything, alright if we had gone on to a higher level he might have had to have a hobday operation. My friends horse has recently had a hobday operation because his roaring was affecting his performance, he is jumping fox BSJA now. IMHO I wouldn't use this vet with what you've said about him!
I hope it goes well lets us know!

 

[Fairynuff]

I know the mare in question and all that is asked of her by her owners is a quiet hack and a bit of trot in the school. The owners dont know much about horses etc and rely on the yo for everything including vet. If only I could find out what 'stage four' roaring is. This vet has been taken to court by a good few owners and all hes had is his knuckles rapped

. Hes been banned from coming within ten miles of my yard, Id take a pitch fork to him without a second thought. I didnt pay the bill for the pony colic , he was put down in the end. Forgot to add, he was on livery and the vet was the owners choice, not mine. M.

 

[GTs]

Stage 4 is the most severe level of roaring - hence why he was able to hear it in the stall without getting the horse breathing hard. I would be interested to hear what procedure he was doing.

 

[Fairynuff]

Cheers GT

Odd thing is that NO ONE noticed till the day before the vet arrived! Is it possible that a stage four can happen over night or was missed? Im very dubious about the whole story but then Im biased. Nothing I can do about it anyway.Oh God, how annoying

M.

 

[GTs]

Not sure how quickly it comes on - the one thing I will tell you is the are AWFULLY noisey!

 

[VictoriaEDT]

"Roarer" is the term used for laryngeal hemiplegia and this is basically paralysis of the larynx, which produces a roaring sound when the horse breathes in and out during exertion. I suppose the stages are the severity of it. Usually to fix it the vets do a tie back operation where they tie back (with stitches) one or both sides of the larynx to allow greater air flow.

If I were you I would do everything in your power to get a vet who is competant. Beg if needs be!!

Hope this helps