TIE BACK & HOBDAY QUERY

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Franlockyer

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My 11yrs Old hunter had a Tie back and Hobday Op 7 weeks ago and still has a bad cough and discharge from his nose and is aspirating food. According to the vet 1 in 5 can have a perminent cough, He is so bad he is unrideable at walk, so I have now been told to put him in a field for 3 months. Before he had the op the vet said the Tie back could be reversed if not suitable for the horse. Has anyone had this done? Did the horse return to it's pre-op condition or as My vet is implying the horse will be useless after the reversal.
 
Sorry to read this and have no experience of this op. but I am sure someone will give advice. My horse has started to struggle with his breathing and when I had an endoscope test they thought he was displacing his soft palate and might benefit from a tie forward but I need to send him for treadmill tests costing about £1000 first ,which I can't afford. I was hoping they would say he needed a tieback as I thought that was quite successful but having read your post ,I am not so sure.
Hope you get some positive replies
 
Since having my horse operated, everyone has told me I shouldn't have done it. The experts are beginning to say it is not that effective, some now do Laser surgery. I have had lots of large hunters Hobdayed and they have all been fine. If your horse is quite old (over 8) I would get serveral opinions. Unless you want to race it, hunt hard or event at a high level, i'd leave it alone. I'm never doing this to a horse again!!
 
I've been through this with the coloured in my siggy. He was 5yo & we used one of the top vets in the country to do the initial & then the reversal op.
He had the op almost a year ago, after strangles had damaged his larynx nerve. He was destined to be an eventer, so at the vets suggestion he had a tieback & hobday. It all seemed to go well initially, but 5 weeks after the op he started asperating food, coughing & ended up with pneumonia.
After nearly loosing him, he looked like a hat rack, we nursed him better & I slowly started bringing him back into work. Like your boy he was coughing & still asperating food. I was told to work through it & he should eventually adapt but it could take 6 months. However in March (5 months after the op) I took him back in to be checked & scoped, & he had so much food in his windpipe that they didn't know how he was coping or how he hadn't got pneumonia again.
I was told to seriously consider putting him down
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However they did discuss the reversal, but said it had never been done on a horse that had returned to work & the best prognosis was that he'd hack & maybe do some dressage & SJ.
I decided that at almost 6yo I wasn't ready to give up on him, so agreed that he'd have the reversal. They said we'd know if it was successful with 2 weeks, but probably days. I'd also agreed that if it wasn't we'd have him put down
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All I can say is it's the best decision I've ever made
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(apart from for my bank balance
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) By the time he was standing after the op, he'd stopped coughing. No food down the nose & no revolting gunk in his water. He had 2 weeks off & they I slowly brought him back into work. The difference is amazing. He's put on weight, looks fantastic & has far exceeded mine (& all the vets) expectations.
Once back in work, he went to dressage, then SJ & finally in September we went XC....... he pulled like a train
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I'm still taking him slow 'ish XC at the moment & I wont ever event him properly like planned, but apart from that I treat him as normal, including feeding. The only concession I make is that he still has soaked hay & that it's fed off the floor.

As I understand it he is the only horse in the UK to have the reversal & come back into proper work, I had no-one to talk to about, as no-one else had been through it & everything was pointing to having him put down, but it's the best decision & money I've ever spent.

Sorry this is so long, but I hope it helps you realise that there is light at then end of the tunnel & that you're not alone in going through this. Feel free to ask anything else you'd like to know.
Good luck with whatever you decide
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Im sorry this isn't a more positive post and this is not what you want to hear but a few years ago a lovely young horse I owned had this op. Sadly it didn't work for him and infection got in. After a year of trying to get him right I made the heart breaking decision to have him put down. I was't told of any option to reverse the op but maybe it wasn't possible then or for my horse. I really hope for you that your horse just needs time and that the 3 months turn out works.
 
Thank for your reply, at least I have a good news story to fire at the Vet, when he goes all dome and gloom. It's great to here your horse had done so well after 5 months with the tie back (which will be the same as mine after the rest period) after the reversal. Have great fun x country this season!!
 
Hi
My orange boy in the sig had a tieback and hobday last may at Langford. Apart from getting a nasty infection after the op and they possibility of having to perform a reversal (turned out not necessary) he now is 10 times better than he was. Before he would weeze horribly walking to the field to be turned out and now we walk, trot, canter, gallop with no noise so must be so must more comfortable for him. He coughs when we start work but that is often to clear himself then he is much better.
 
Nearly a month after my original posting, My horse has had the op to reverse his Tie back, I cost £1,400 but he seems so much better, he is still on Box rest for another 2 weeks but we are all keeping our fingers crossed.

I will keep you posted on his return to work
 
So so pleased to hear this.
I will keep everything crossed for you & him, & hope that he improves as much as Spider has.

& please keep us posted. x.
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Gosh this is quite scarey as my horse has just had his op! So far so good at the moment though...

I have a query though about bringing him back into work - do I have to make additional allowances for his respiration when bringing him back to work?

The BHS suggests between 6-8 weeks for a horse who is taken out of the field and to bring them back into work to low level Riding Club work. My horse was fit before the op and therefore I was wondering if this would be same for him, or if I need to allow more time .. How long did you allow?
 
We had our guy done April 2008 and I walked him for 8 weeks, started trotting end of June and he had his 1st canter in September. He then went hunting at Christmas and was fantastic. (previously, you could hear him coming 2 fields away!)

Took it slowly and didn't put pressure on the new system - I'm sure he could've been brought back quicker but we never intended him to hunt before Christmas so we were in no rush.
 
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