Sweeny Shoulder anyone had experience of this?

[follyfoot6]

I am taking my 9 year old warmblood to Leahurst Veterinary Hospital on Monday next to establish why he is slightly unbalanced and will only walk, he is resistant to trotting and cantering. I have had the physio out and vet on numerous ocassions and now want to investigate it further. I had an accident in my wagon with my horse in it (I came across a bridge which was 3ft too low and crashed into it!) He buckled the partition with the impact but seemed fine other than a couple of scratches but since then something isn't right. I keep trawling the internet to try and find out what it might be and have stumbled across Sweeny Shoulder and just wondered if anyone had experience of this. I know I should just wait till Monday but it seems a longway off.

 

[Birker2020]

Found this on a website - hope it helps : The term Sweeney Shoulder refers to a horse's shoulder musculature that has atrophied. The appearance of the shoulder blade once the muscles have shrunk is wide up near the withers and narrow near the point of the shoulder (at the actual joint) and the long spine of the scapula can be easily palpated the length of the shoulder blade. The shape of the scapula (shoulder blade) is obvious once the muscles have shrunk. The cause is usually trauma to the suprascapular nerve which supplies the major muscles on the scapula. Horses can collide with trees or be kicked by others while turned out. See www.landmarkfarm.com for further help.

 

[Littlestabling92]

I have a horse with a serious 'sweeny' shoulder. It is nearly a year now and he is making slow progress in recovering, however this is because he has also done something to his back and has a leaning tail.

His sweeny was caused (I think) by him running into a telegraph pole in the field. The impact on to the shoulder causes nerve damage and after two weeks I noticed (almost over night) that the muscle in his shoulder had gone, leaving a rather alarming hollow shoulder blade. He still is lame and walks in an odd gait. He isn't in any pain as he gallops around the field. With sweeny you want to build up the muscle asap by muscle stimulation machines (human ones work), you can even ride the horse (but make sure with your vet that it isn't in any pain) the longer you leave it the harder it is to rebuild the muscle; the blood stops going to the muscle and leaves the leg dead, and the leg will then begin to shrink and become v weak as the horse is not using it! The absolute worse thing to do in the case of a sweeny is to put the horse on box rest - keep it moving as much as possible!

To begin with I went to a man named Mr R Stack in Forest Green nr Cranleigh, South East Engand, who has a unique powerful muscle stimulation machine (at an expense!). My horse made major progress in a short period, however once Mr Stack saw that his tail was leaning to one side he thought it best to turn him out for 6 months. I would advise (if your horse does have sweeny) to try and contact him as he is probably more experienced dealing with a sweeny shoulder than any other vet as it is a very rare condition.
Hope this helps!

 

[Patches]

Is there an update?

We must've been at Leahurst at the same time as my horse was admitted on Monday for surgery. I picked her up yesterday.

Everyone at Leahurst was incredibly helpful and approachable.

Hope you and your lad got on ok.

 

[Monty81]

My 6 month old Hann x arab colt has a hole below his right wither and his shoulder is not in the right place. The vet has taken xrays and scan and is posting on vet forums for feedback. He has mentioned the possibility of Sweeney Shoulder.

I cannot believe how quickly it all happened. One day he was fine, the next a hole where muscles should be and a sticky out shoulder bone.

He is barely lame and the vet has put him on box rest until he is more certain of the diagnosis.

I see you say that box rest is the worst thing for Sweeney but the problem is I do not know what the other alternatives are if it is not Sweeney. It certainly looks like there has been a trauma but the muscles disappeared very quickly to make the hole. No idea whether he slipped in snow, whether the dam kicked him as earlier that day as she had been squealing and kicking out at another horse across the fence. Also, once, but this was a couple of months ago, the farrier held onto the said leg/shoulder whilst the colt backed away and I thought at the time he should let go otherwise he was likely to tear some shoulder muscles and I now wonder whether this was the trauma.
Any feedback or suggestions would be much appreciated. I was going to contact Helena Tombs (Warwickshire) who is a chiropractor for some advice but cannot find any phone number so if anyone uses her could they let me know please?
Monty81