shoulder sweeney

[Bennions Field]

Hi I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with shoulder sweeney (nerve damage to shoulder) I have a 3yr old filly who damaged her shoulder last sept, she spent 3 months with the physio and has now been left to 'see what happens' She has had some muscle regeneration following the atrophy period, and has some stability back in the joint. has anyone had a horse who has recovered and if so were they able to be ridden? If she can't be ridden then she will be used for breeding as thankfully she has a good pedigree.

 

[Cliqmo]

Oh no what a shame!! We had a mare who got kicked in the shoulder and caused nerve damage and extensive muscle damage/atrophy. She had surgery and we spent months afterwards treating her with a gadget from the vets that sent a mild electric pulse through her shoulder to build up her dimished muscle. It was quite succesful and she returned to hacking work (she was 15 when it happened) but we didn't ever jump or do fast work again. Fingers crossed for a quick and full recovery x

 

[Bennions Field]

She had the muscle stim on for the three months she was with the physio and for the last 3 months she's been back home and out in her paddock. I have stopped now as wasn't sure how long to keep doing it for. There has certainly been some muscle regeneration but there still seems to be a slight movement in the shoulder joint. I will be really dissapointed if she cant be ridden as she is a beautiful andalusian horse, I brought her as a foal from spain, and had always dreamt of owning one, if she cant be ridden I am going to have to find a loan home with a stud so she can go and be a mum. I am still a little bit hopefull things will work out

 

[Cliqmo]

It would be gutting I'm sure! I guess she may always have a weakness there but hopefully with her age she will make a significant recovery and be able to lead a normal life

 

[bailey14]

http://www.horsequest.com/journal/health/case2.htm
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080624192240AA4Slkb

maybe these sites could help you, particularly the second where someone has posted about it.

 

[Bennions Field]

many thanks for your messages, the website links were really helpfull, and certainly gave me some hope.

however I was wondering if anyone has a horse who has had the same problem some time ago, and if so if they have recovered and how long it took, I know each case is very individual but if I knew there was some chance of her making some sort of recovery it really would give me hope

 

[alidav]

Hi there

Unfortunately a week ago my horse suffered a severe shoulder injury when she collded head on with another horse (she was ok). My Arab was in a dreadful state with massive bruising/swelling all around her throat, shest,shoulder and betwee her legs & dragging her leg behind her - no control at all. It's day 8 and she is trying to put weight on her bad leg now and is placing it in front of her in walk and even banging on the stable door! the swelling has all but gone apart from just behind her girth area and down her leg and she's eating and drinking well. I was originally told she wont be ridden again but another Arab owner had the same experience and he was100% afterwards. I don't know how severe his case was but believe me, you would never have known and he had the most amazing movement.

I hope your horse and mine recovers. I know exactly what you're going through. She's on Danilon twice a day and has to be on box rest for 6-8wks. At least she can feel me tickle the back of her felock now which she couln't feel before.

Wht is your vet doing for your horse? Can you get a response when you tickle the fetlock?

Good luck. I'll keep checking back for progress reports.

 

[Bennions Field]

It sounds like your horse damaged more nerves but perhaps a little more temporarily, Teba was taken to lea hurst (liverpool uni) as its 30 minutes away and they recommended 6-8 weeks box rest then review - I decided to contact an equine physio who was fantastic and treated her right from the 3rd day post injury. She stayed with Gabby for three months (cost a fortune!) but was sent back home once she was able to go out for 15-30 minutes in a small paddock. She's had no medical treatment, just rest and Vitamin E suppliment as it helps build cells/muscle/nerves. 7 months on she is now out 24/7 in a large field and runs around like a loonatic! but when she turns to the left you can see she still has great deal of movement through the shoulder joint. Great news last week she can be put forward for grading as a broodmare, she is a pure bred analusian mare so at least she can be bred from if she passes the grading. Would love to be able to ride her though, Someone did say the other day that it could take up to a year to fully recover, I think she has improved a little more lately but still not anywhere near 100%. Best of luck with your neddy, it sounds like yours is recovering a little quicker than Teba, she took months to get any stability through her shoulder, she never seemed to have any other joints affected just the shoulder muscles. Keep me posted on how you get on

 

[Littlestabling92]

Hia, not sure if this is still relevent to you, but I feel i ought to share my positive outcome with as many people as possible!
I have a 4yo that ran into a telegraph pole messing around out in the field (stupid I know!) 2 years ago. I began tharadic regular treatments on the shoulder (muscle stimulation) for about 4 weeks just to get the blood running through the muscle again to repair nerve damage. We then began riding him and exercising him regularly despite being very lame (but they are in fact in no pain it's just the muscle has wasted away) you HAVE to keep them moving and definitely do not put them on box rest -worst possible thing to do. A few months in and the tharadic man noticed my horse's tail leaning dramatically to one side and he told us to shoot the horse as his back was too messed up and the vet also seconded his opinion. However, we decided to let him have 6 months or so off in the field. We began riding him in the spring despite still being lame and tail leaning, but we spoke to a number of chairopractors and they all seemed to agree that it was likely that the reason the tail was leaning was because of the unbalanced awkwardness the horse was having to deal with. We continued hacking him mainly as lunging proved too awkward and slowly but surely he came right. He is now hunting, XC, SJ absolutely fine and totally sound (this is however 2 years since the accident). There is still a slight visible loss in the shoulder's muscle but it only appears visible and is continuing slowly to fill in. I'm so pleased, and please don't give up it is likely given time your horse will come right!