Sweeney Shoulder and Subsequent Back Problems (lop-sided tail) - help!

[Littlestabling92]

I have a 5-year-old gelding who was diagnosed with a 'Sweeney' shoulder on his near fore about 3 months ago. We have been taking him to an experienced local horseman who owns a Fardaic machine and has delt with many Sweeney shoulders in the past. This machine sends electric impulses through the muscle forcing it to pump blood to the damaged area. He also told me to start riding him (despite not being sound) to help rebuild the muscle, so this is what I have been doing and as a result the muscle has began to regrow.

However, when I bought him I noticed his tail was slightly leaning to the left, I did have a 5* vetting done by a well thought of vet and he did not think this was a problem. I have recently noticed that my horse's tail is now dramatically leaning to the left. I called the vet out (a different vet) who said it could be very serious and that he might never be sound again. He couldn't tell exactly what was the problem and just told us time will tell.

My horse is not in any obvious pain, he just has a weak left hindleg, left front Sweeney shoulder and a dramatically left leaning tail; none of this has stopped him galloping around the field. I am going to get a physio out to look at his back and maybe another vet for a second opinion.

Do you have any suggestions or ideas of what this back problem could be and/or how to cure it?

Thanks <font color="green"> </font>

 

[rubyred]

How did he damage the scapula nerve? Could he have done something behind as well then? To be honest your vet isn't being very helpful I would definitely go for a second opinion. If its an option, depending on diagnosis behind, I have seen good results with sweeneys using water treadmills.

 

[jojoebony]

My four year old was diagnosed with a sweeney shoulder. He'd been kicked on the shoulder and although at the time it didn't lame him he gradually developed an awkward gait and muscle wastage. He was also lame behind - initially he was xrayed and they thought spavin but nerve blocks didn't make a difference. In the end they put the hind leg problem down to compensation (off fore and near hind involved).
He also regularly "put his back out" due to the awkward way in which he was moving. My vet concluded that it was a mechanical lameness and I started riding him again to build up the muscle (and certainly he never appeared to be in pain as such). I noticed an improvement fairly quickly.
He had regular sessions with the physio (weekly at first, then monthly) until we were happy he'd overcome the problem. This included massage and electro impulse to try to restart the nerve function. I also did lots of pole work with him.
J

 

[checkmate1]

Hiya, I had a arab who had suffered badly in the past with azourtoria, therefore had muscle wastage on hind quaters where it wasn't dealt with properly, and she had a tail that leant to the left. There was also no 'weight' in the tail. She required regular physio to keep things ticking over, but was extremly fit and could have done endurance.

 

[spaniel]

I would suspect your horse has caught a hind leg in his headcollar whilst scratching his ear at some stage in his life.

 

[Littlestabling92]

Just wondering how long your 4yo took to recover from the sweeney injury? also, did your horse have a leaning tail?
Thanks for your reply - I'm so glad that there is hope!

 

[Littlestabling92]

Thank you for all your responses, they're all really helpful. My horse is now undergoing regular physio treatments on his back. His muscle on his shoulder has not yet built up completely and he is still a bit lame - but he is getting steadily better!

 

[Littlestabling92]

Hi, just to let anyone know that my horse (after 2 years) is completely fine now - SJ, XC, Hunting, Dressage - all sound and balanced. Very pleased. I think I've learnt that if diagnosed with sweeney shoulder you just get on them and get riding (hacking up hills works well) despite the very awkward gait and lameness. It takes a long time, but well worth it in the end. Muscle wastage is still visible but only to those who know it's there and it is surely continuing to fill in the fitter he gets. So glad I continued with him as he has turned out to be a super jumper and hunter.

 

[quarian]

Hi, I know it's been years. But how's your horse doing? I have some qns as I have a current sweeney's shoulder case (pony slipped and fell and hit the fence). How often did you do the faradic therapy?