Slight heart murmur - anything to be worried about?

tashcat

tashcat

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I was chatting to a lady on my yard today who told me about her deceased horse who had a heart attack in the field (no problems beforehand although she had noticed him slowing down in the weeks prior). Our conversation reminded me when the vet last came to see my 22 year old pony he detected a slight heart murmur.

He had not heard it before - although there is a small possibility he has always has it and that it wasn't picked up on before.

The vet said not to worry, but to always remind him when he came.

I just wanted advice from the wider community - is there anything at all I should be worried about? Should I be avoiding certain things with him? Is there anything I should be looking out for? Any advice at all?

Any help is much appreciated :)
 
Heart murmurs come and go with horses. My old mare had one which never bothered her and she lived to 19 when she was PTS due to another problem. I had a livery with an exracer that had a level 4 murmur in all four chambers. This completely disappeared after a couple of years and she did lots with her. Just take advice from your vet as not all murmurs are the same. Some are more serious than others.
 
Take your vet's advice, the person who has listened to his heart and knows his history.

As above, heart murmurs can mean different things, they can disappear with fitness, or can get worse. If the vet didn't seem worried don't worry too much.
 
Murmurs can be nothing or catastrophic ,Fatty just missed being PTS because of his .
If your vet is happy I would not worry about it.
 
As above. Trust your vet ,and remember that its never the thing you expect that catches you out.It is very very rare for a horse to have a heart attack .Trust your vet and ignore yard gossip.
 
My dog has one, it's quite noticeable but the vet says he's fit as a fiddle. I have to keep an eye out for coughing and a reduction in his ability to exercise, I'm supposed to take him back if I see anything like that. I'd imagine it's the same for horses, as it is for humans.
 
If he has got to 22 i wouldnt be worried he may have had it all his life and doesnt appear to have been a handicap. Not knowing a lot about heart murmurs other than some football and rugby players have them and seem to do just fine i wouldnt worry in the least. Vets have an uncanny knack about throwing things into the conversation and then saying its nothing to worry about, to which my usual reply with choice language is if its nothing to worry about why did you mention it, that usually puts their gas at a peep.
 
I have an Arab mare that at the age of 10 I was told while at a ride(Endurance ) she had a murmur. Now at the age of 24 she is still winning Endurance races. Often fit horses like humans have a flow murmur and these can only be heard if the heart rate at rest is slow. These mean nothing at all. I would follow what your vet says they are the ones that know.
 
It depends on loads of things, whether there's an underlying condition, which part of the murmur the heart is in, which valve is affected, what grade it is. If the vet thought it was worth investigating further I'm sure he/she would have said.
 
My old girl had one, first noticed at 24 to 26. It got very slowly worse throughout her life, but she made it to 40 & was PTS for reasons unrelated to her heart. She was showjumping & winning to 30, & a fast & excitable hack to around 34-5.

As others have said, there are lots of different types. Mine have annual health checks, so maybe monitor yours when he has his jabs?

T x
 
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