Shivers?

khalswitz

khalswitz

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I bought my ex-racehorse back in November, and first thing my farrier said when he came to shoe him was that he has a shiver in one of his back legs. He told me not to panic, that sometimes they come right with work (he wasnt in work when I bought him).

However, now he is quite fit, and actually turning out to be a talented boy. However, he is getting trickier to shoe behind. What was a wobble before has turned into him struggling to balance when he is being shod on that leg. Last time he was shod the farrier thought him slightly better, but this time was worse again.

I have bought rubber matting to shoe him on, have been lunging him before shoeing, and he has been fit and in work since I got him. What else can I do to help? It doesn't interfere with her performance at all - it looks like the limiting factor may be getting shoes on his hinds!!

I've read on the net that magnesium, vitamin e and a high fat/low sugar/low starch diet can help. Anything else/is this true?
 
Ooooh, my favourite subject :)

I had an ex-racer who was a shiverer. The best animal I have ever had the pleasure of owning. He too couldn't be shod behind, he got to the point where I could only just pick his hind feet out. We hunted full days without hind shoes on, show jumped and x-country schooled on grass and hacked regularly. I actually trained him myself for point to pointing without me shoes on too. Never affected him in the slightest.

Personally never tried the High fat/low starch diet but the fitter he got the better the condition. We did plenty of supplying exercises to strengthen up his hind legs, shoulder in, half pass and a movement I called the crab - making him walk horizontally to the school fence sideways.

The only thing I was fanatical about was getting his back checked regularly as we found he often developed secondary problems in his pec and shoulder muscles.
 
My last horse was a shiverer. When I changed farriers, the new one asked me to give the horse a couple of sachets of Danilon before he was shod. He said it is uncomfortable for the horse and the Danilon would help ease that, so he had a couple of sachets at about lunch time if the farrier was coming in the evening. It did seem to help. During the actual shoeing, we had to get him up against a wall so he could lean on it. It was always a bit of a trauma getting up against it, but once he realised he was OK, the farrier had got his foot and he wasn't going to fall, he would stand quietly.

Foodwise, I couldn't give him anything with a lot of sugar in. Any competition mixes or heavily molassed feeds were out as he seized up on them. I just gave him D&H Safe & Sound, supplemented with Magox, linseed and brewers yeast. I tried the EPSM diet but couldn't get enough liquid oil into him, as he wouldn't eat the required amount, so I switched to linseed meal instead. Also, I found that regular work was the key. Lots of hacking to keep him fit and loose, as well as physio (a proper equine physio, not a "back man") every 4-6 months to deal with the associated tight/sore muscles.

It is manageable, you need to play around with diet and management until you find what works :)
 
Fabio has mild shivers. I find the best thing for him is to be on 24/7 turnout. He's out well rugged with shelter even in winter. Stabling makes the shivers symptoms more exaggerated. He's happier out anyway!

I have him on a high oil diet and give him a vit e, selenium and lysine supp.

Give plenty of time to warm up, expecially in colder weather and if cold use an exercise rug. Regular exercise also big help in alleviating symptoms. :)
 
Fab, thanks for the replies!! Geoff currently lives out 24/7, but being a bit on the slim side and in reasonable work he does get fed quite a bit of pasture mix and conditioning cubes as well as high alfa-a oil and alfa-beet, so going to cut the cereals out and increase the alfa-a as well as adding oil. Also going to try a vit e/ magnesium supplement just to see what works.

Love the danilon/wall farriery idea though - going to suggest to my farrier! At the mo the only problem is with the farrier, so just trying to keep him happy and therfore the horse shod!! Unfortunately, I have previously tried him barefoot and he was really footy, so if I cant get him shod we may have issues later down the line... :(

He's such a good horse though, and so talented, I hope I can at least prevent it getting any worse!!
 
Ah, that's so weird, I was just asking my vet about this yesterday - my boy's always struggled with picking his back feet up, and with one in particular, lifts it up really high and then almost topples over. I've had such trouble trying to pick out his back feet. The vet said that often showjumpers (which he is) and racers often get it.

Anyone know what causes it? Can it be managed through diet and excercise then?
 
My boy is a slight shiverer and I'd agree with what all others have said..

Keep him warm (I've found this quite key)
Keep him fit
Feed High Oil, low sugar diet add vit e and magnesium (be careful with selenium as you can overdose quite easily) you are best to buy these as individual supplements rather than pre-mixed - try progressive earth on ebay
Regular physio as he does get tight in the back (I also have a equillibrium massage pad - it's ace!)
Leg stretches after exercise.
Don't shoe him behind... (mine is barefoot all round)
Be patient (mine generally settles after a couple of attempts to pick his feet up - he just needs to find his balance)
 
UptodateK said:
The vet said that often showjumpers (which he is) and racers often get it.

Anyone know what causes it? Can it be managed through diet and excercise then?
Click to expand...

It's a neurological / nervous condition and certain types / breeds are more prone - warmbloods and draughts mainly, but not exclusively...
 
One of my old horses had it, he was on a high fat low carb diet which did sustain it throughout his hunting career, you could never feel anything when he was doing fast work but day to day exercise it was prevelant.

Shivers is a progressive disease, the first few years we had him it was a very minor issue and managable, as he got older it became impossible to shoe him behind as he was a big horse who had been put together wrong anyway.
 
Thanks for the helpful info. Mine's a 12 yo KWPN, and the condition isn't apparent at all in work at the moment, just when picking up his feet. He's been on box rest through injury for 3 months which probably hasn't helped.

The suggestion about going barefoot behind seems really sensible. Feel quite upset now realising he has this degenerative condition, will have to re-think diet and management now to try and help him as much as I can.
 
I'd also agree about keeping him warm - mine was worse if he got cold.
Regular turnout (if not out 24/7 then certainly as much as possible) and exercise.

I didn't get on without shoes (tried mine without for a while) but if you cut out all of the cereals and sugar you might well find he's less footy. I would have him on just something really basic (high fibre nuts, something like that) and add-in linseed (high oil = high fat) and even Yea-sacc which is good for digestion. You might find that helps with the weight issue as he should digest his food a bit better. How about something like Speedi-beet and /or barley rings for weight too, rather than molassed and starchy conditioning feeds?

RE picking out feet I have to admit that I rarely picked out my boy's back feet. If I was really lucky I could do it but rarely. He could/ would never lift the bad one for the physio or vet either, he seemed to trust only the farrier with it.
 
Ok, so a feeding question. I'm cutting out as much of the starch and sugar as poss, however he is in medium work and a poor-doer, plus a bit on the thin side... is on Alfa-A Oil and Alfa-Beet alongside vits and mins and oil atm, but have phoned round some feed companies asking what is suitable and now have some queries... my vet told me to aim for below 12% combined sugar and starch, but the Calm and Condition from A&P I was recommended has 12% starch along, plus 5% sugar. That combined with the Alfa-A Oil I could get the average below 12%, but is it worth it or am I better sticking to just those and the oil? Or anything else to recommend?
 
Do you know if the ERS pellets contain alfalfa or molasses? I try to avoid those two for sweet itch reasons but my horse is a suspected shiverer in his front legs so the ERS pellets may help him as he is currently on power & performance.
 
I stick a bucket of food in my one's face when showing his bad leg, takes his mind off worrying about it and that helps reduce the shiver. He's 15 now and so far its not got worse touch wood.
 
My Appy has mild shivers in both back legs. It is worse when he is in more during the winter as he is stiffer and I think the cold weather provokes it. He is still in work and does a bit if everything, including hunting in the winter. It is almost completely gone at the moment now that it has warmed out and he is living out 24/7. There is no cure for this condition but it can be managed - my boy also has Arthritis of the hocks and before he had his steroid injections, the Shivers were worse. My Vet says Shivers is usually a secondary condition to something else so it might be worth getting your Vet out to examine your horse and book a visit from your Chiropractor too. Hope this helps :)
 
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