Shivers

[Andrew657]

I have just arranged to view a horse with shivers with the possibility of sharing.

I have been told it doesn't affect him - but what should I know/ watch for.

Also more generally as this will be the first tiime sharing (have had my own previously) is there any questions I sahould ask.

Thank you for all your help

 

[TGM]

We have a horse with shivers and have had him over 10 years. Doesn't really affect him until you pick up his back feet, when his leg might have a little spasm. However, there is a knack to picking his feet up so this doesn't tend to happen. Hasn't affected his ridden work at all and he has successfully evented and hunted. There are different degrees of severeness though, so some horses might be more badly affected.

 

[Suncat]

It’s not a very well researched subject, though there's been some good work done in recent times. It can vary but a lot of horses with Shivers are often unaffected in their work. The shiver (disrupted instructions to the hind leg muscles) tend to affect conscious rather than unconscious movement due the part of the brain affected. So movement the horse doesn't 'think' about like walking/trotting/jumping forward isn't affected, but unusual movements were they are thinking consciously about the movement itself (lifting one leg, backing up) can be.

My Physio and vet have both advised that keeping that 'link' stimulated and the affected muscles soft and responsive really helps - so I do regular rein back with my boy and massage/muscle stim on his bottom
Like TGM I'm found different grips/ways of lifting his back leg reduced the 'trigger' for the involuntary movement. Which helps reduce the spasm and keeps the muscles nice and relaxed.
My boy is coming up 8, doing well at grass roots dressage, working equitation and a bit of jumping.

From a shivers point of view, just be clear what the horses involuntary symptoms are and be accommodating of that. It might simply be knowing that one hind leg will ping up much faster than you expect when you ask for it to pick out

 

[Hopelessly horsey]

I had a horse that was sold to me with a "mild shiver" .....turns out he actually had wobblers!
Having had this I'd be going in eyes wide open and definitely getting a vet to check the horse and perform a neurological exam on site

 

[Andrew657]

I had a horse that was sold to me with a "mild shiver" .....turns out he actually had wobblers!
Having had this I'd be going in eyes wide open and definitely getting a vet to check the horse and perform a neurological exam on site

Agree if this was a potential purchase - would you get vet for share ?

 

[FabioandFreddy]

If its for a potential share and the horse is only a mild shiverer i wouldn't have any issues. However i would never buy another with shivers. I had Fabio from a 4 year old and he had very mild shivers. We done everything, dressage, jumped, hacked. He was fantastic until he went downhill rapidly at 11 and ended up having to be pts at 12.

The problem with shivers is it differs from horse to horse and can deteriorate at any point.

The only thing from a share point of view is to be sympathetic picking the feet as they can have a jerky action and hold the leg up high until they then relax.

 

[Hopelessly horsey]

Agree if this was a potential purchase - would you get vet for share ?

Not for a share as there is always the option to walk away if the horse isn't suitable or deteriorates.

 

[Andrew657]

Not for a share as there is always the option to walk away if the horse isn't suitable or deteriorates.

thank you

 

[Hanno Verian]

I had a stunning Hanoverrian with a shiver, I took him on as a loan 20 years ago, his shiver made it virtually impossible to pick up one his hinds, I got used to picking it out whenever he lay down rather than stressing about lifting it. It gave me access to a former high level dressage horse who taught me a lot. He had a lot of fun being a pet and not a commodity and when he started to spiral downhill we in agreement with his owner had him PTS.
The shiver was never a problem, I wouldnt have been able to afford a horse of his class at that time in my life it was a win win!