crazycoloured
Well-Known Member
Have found out my mare had a ' sweeney' shoulder what's the best treatment.I have rested her for about 3 months and had her re shod and she seemed worse
Sweeney shoulder treatment
- Thread starter crazycoloured
- Start date
be positive
Well-Known Member
I had one years ago so treatment may differ now, from what I remember he had loads of physio combined with plenty of work to try and build up the muscle but he never came totally right although he was sound and moved levelly his shoulder restricted what he could do so was sold on as a hunter in a non jumping country.
crazycoloured
Well-Known Member
It's really strange as when I first noticed it I rested her for about 2 months.there is no swelling on the shoulder.then 3 days ago I had her re shod and started hacking her out and it got worse.iv got a chiropractor coming out 2 moro to check her over.
pennyturner
Well-Known Member
I thought Sweeney only affected harness horses working in a poorly fitting English collar, or else a serious physical injury. Is this a riding horse, OP?
be positive
Well-Known Member
Mine was a riding horse and very unlikely to have been driven, he was an irish sport horse that I bought in the rough and lacking muscle, it only became obvious once he started to build up as the effected shoulder failed to do so, I guess he had an accident at some point although there was no scarring and he was sound on it he just lacked any real freedom so jumping/ dressage was never going to be an option, he was fine hacking or hunting.
crazycoloured
Well-Known Member
No she has never been in harness..she was really fit and in regular work when it first occurred there's no swelling on the shoulder.then I rested her for 2 months got her re shod and took her for a small hack and it got worse
crazycoloured
Well-Known Member
she dosent have a swollen shoulder or a unusual gait she isn't lame that's the strange thing
be positive
Well-Known Member
Has she been properly diagnosed by a vet? sweeny shoulder is basically nerve damage within the shoulder that causes muscle wastage so there will be no swelling unless the injury is acute when there may be some if it is due to a direct kick or impact to the area, they will not usually be lame unless it is at the acute stage, the muscle atrophy is the most obvious sign along with some limitation of movement depending on how bad it is.
Leonie polo
New User
Hi, I am posting our successful recovery story here for everyone to not lose hope when your horse is diagnosed with a sweeney shoulder.
My polo mare of 11 years was diagnosed with it 2 years ago. She either got kicked or a coconut fell on top of her (quite literally – we’re located in South Florida). First she had an enormous hematoma along her neck all the way from behind the ears down to her chest. It was huge and looked horrible! The vet recommended to let it abate naturally which it did over many months. A few weeks after the occurrence of the hematoma and lameness I clipped her coat and I then only did I notice a pointed vertical line down her shoulder which was quite visible. The vet gave the diagnosis: Sweeney Shoulder. He recommend eletroacupuncture to prevent the damaged nerve connections to completely die out. I noticed the shoulder had began to atrophy already when we started the eletroacupuncture. In total we had 7 sessions over the course of 4-5 weeks where the acupuncture specialist stuck the needles in different areas of her neck, shoulder and chest and then fired up the needles with electric waves. She said she had never put such high electricity into a horse, which consequentially meant that my mares nerves were pretty dead at that point… it was about 5 weeks after she got kicked/hit. My hopes weren’t very high and the sessions were expensive to the point that I would never spend that kind of money on myself (400$ each session) but we are all willing to open our wallets widely when it comes to our beloved horses, aren’t we? But the fantastic thing is that it worked! The muscles started coming back little by little and we also started doing light work with her after a few weeks. I would have liked to continue longer with the sessions and in the end the therapist didn’t get to work enough on the chest area so still today I can tell that the left side of her chest is a bit pointy because of the muscle atrophy. But where she had mostly worked the needles – along the neck and at the shoulder – the muscles came back beautifully! My mare was also pretty patient (eating hay mostly) and cooperative during the sessions which each lasted about 20 min, at that point in time she got too annoyed feeling the electricity flowing through her muscles. So whoever stumbles upon this forum asking themselves desperately how to cope with the diagnosis of a Sweeney shoulder, I highly recommend electroacupuncture! It can work wonders, even weeks after the injury occurred, but the sooner you start the better. Also don’t put your horse on stall rest, keep it on the pasture so it can move around freely which will support the recovery. My mare went back to playing light polo 3 months after the injury and is totally sound today.
Good luck!!
My polo mare of 11 years was diagnosed with it 2 years ago. She either got kicked or a coconut fell on top of her (quite literally – we’re located in South Florida). First she had an enormous hematoma along her neck all the way from behind the ears down to her chest. It was huge and looked horrible! The vet recommended to let it abate naturally which it did over many months. A few weeks after the occurrence of the hematoma and lameness I clipped her coat and I then only did I notice a pointed vertical line down her shoulder which was quite visible. The vet gave the diagnosis: Sweeney Shoulder. He recommend eletroacupuncture to prevent the damaged nerve connections to completely die out. I noticed the shoulder had began to atrophy already when we started the eletroacupuncture. In total we had 7 sessions over the course of 4-5 weeks where the acupuncture specialist stuck the needles in different areas of her neck, shoulder and chest and then fired up the needles with electric waves. She said she had never put such high electricity into a horse, which consequentially meant that my mares nerves were pretty dead at that point… it was about 5 weeks after she got kicked/hit. My hopes weren’t very high and the sessions were expensive to the point that I would never spend that kind of money on myself (400$ each session) but we are all willing to open our wallets widely when it comes to our beloved horses, aren’t we? But the fantastic thing is that it worked! The muscles started coming back little by little and we also started doing light work with her after a few weeks. I would have liked to continue longer with the sessions and in the end the therapist didn’t get to work enough on the chest area so still today I can tell that the left side of her chest is a bit pointy because of the muscle atrophy. But where she had mostly worked the needles – along the neck and at the shoulder – the muscles came back beautifully! My mare was also pretty patient (eating hay mostly) and cooperative during the sessions which each lasted about 20 min, at that point in time she got too annoyed feeling the electricity flowing through her muscles. So whoever stumbles upon this forum asking themselves desperately how to cope with the diagnosis of a Sweeney shoulder, I highly recommend electroacupuncture! It can work wonders, even weeks after the injury occurred, but the sooner you start the better. Also don’t put your horse on stall rest, keep it on the pasture so it can move around freely which will support the recovery. My mare went back to playing light polo 3 months after the injury and is totally sound today.
Good luck!!
Pearlsasinger
Up in the clouds
We have also had good results with electro acupuncture on 2 different horses for muscle problems.
rabatsa
Confuddled
It is nice to hear positive stories.
The two that I have had dealings with, one was able to continue in low level work, the other got worse and ended up pts with a completely dead front leg. The second one had slid off the back of another animal when playing loose in the field, the accident was witnessed and the vet involved the same day.
The two that I have had dealings with, one was able to continue in low level work, the other got worse and ended up pts with a completely dead front leg. The second one had slid off the back of another animal when playing loose in the field, the accident was witnessed and the vet involved the same day.
Velcrobum
Well-Known Member
We have a retired horse that went lame in front with nothing obvious found. The lameness resolved fairly quickly and horse was out 24/7 with a rain sheet on (un-clipped). The muscle wastage eventually appeared, it is still there but does not seem to effect him when he has a hoon in the field.
He also has a grade 5 heart murmur which is the reason he was retired. The heart murmur was a rapid onset murmur not there for years but was there 3 months later! He had restarted a 'Flu vaccination course hence heart being listened to and it was the same vet both times so same ears and stethascope.
He also has a grade 5 heart murmur which is the reason he was retired. The heart murmur was a rapid onset murmur not there for years but was there 3 months later! He had restarted a 'Flu vaccination course hence heart being listened to and it was the same vet both times so same ears and stethascope.
Birker2020
Well-Known Member
Funnily enough I said this on another post totally unrelated the other day but we had a horse on the yard earlier this year that presented with Sweeny shoulder, initially the YO thought it had broken its shoulder and the emergency vet came out. It could hardly move its leg, it was in a right mess. But within about a week it was 90% normal. It turned out that the vet thought it had rolled on something, like a stone or stick and temporarily damaged the nerve.