Tie back.....honest EXPERIENCES PLEASE

[CJoe]

Hi all

Currently deliberating this one but want experiences from people that have actually had their horse operated on whilst in their ownership rather than those who have bought one who has had the op and had no issues etc, want real examples if that makes sense......

Horse is 14 next year. Low level unaff champs, not expected to jump too high but does like to put his foot down. Large chap, chunky.

Always had a whistle but developed exercise intolerance a few months ago. Was scoped. Collapsed left larynx found, had hobday. Made no difference IMHO.

Then developed asthma, treated with steroids (nebulised) along with other supplements being nebulised and much improved but still intolerant to even a basic extended canter period, puffy, although keen! This treatment still continues with a lung wash next week to see if any inflammation remains.

Following this we will do camera work while he is working as still has a degree (grade 3-4) of collapse in this throat area. Probably head towards tie back.

However....in reality he could probably just about manage to get round a course of small jumps...his spirit has never faltered but it feels mean...vet wants to be conservative with treatment due to the risks associated with tieback (he has already inhaled food without tieback!). He wont be a happy field ornament, gets very bored and likes a party........

For those who have been through a standing surgery (GA is not an option for us) would you do it again, what did you learn, what was the recovery like and any advice?

I am really torn on this one...can't bear to see my horse struggle, when his spirit is there, but, it is a risk and I don't know if I am being over cautious (heard some horror stories) or not......vet seems semi cautious, ie, it has risks, some people said its the best thing they ever did. No one answer for all but any advice appreciated.

 

[ihatework]

I’ve had direct experience of this with a horse I recently owned.

A big horse. Throughout his first year with me showed some mild exercise intolerance, not that noisy. Initially I put it down to fitness but then started to get suspicious.

Overground scope showed a grade 3 and as he hasn’t really proven himself at that point vet suggested doing a standing laser hobday, which is easy and cheap. He had that done, so easy, recovery quick and painless.

He competed the following year very respectfully. Was certainly noisy in his wind but wasn’t fatiguing until he ran an FEI and the last minute on the final uphill pull definitely hit a wall.

Re-scoped and he had deteriorated to G4. At that point there was no doubt in my mind that it was unethical to ask him to do a proper job without operating. So he had a tie-back. The operation went smoothly, had a hitch post op that extended his stay in horsepital but otherwise all went well.

He came back to work well. Noticeable difference in stamina/energy. But he still made quite a noise which I wasn’t expecting. Vets had another look and the operation was good, so the noise was in their opinion cosmetic. I however wasn’t happy to run him on to the higher levels so sold him on as an amateurs horse and he is doing exceptionally well in that job.

The op isn’t without risk. But unless I was willing for a horse to be a light hack, I wouldn’t be prepared to ask a horse to do any athletic work when they can’t breathe.

 

[paddi22]

I have one with a tieback that was done years ago that wasn't 100% successful. He is actually currently in the vets hospital because he is aspirating food and constantly gets septic pneumonia., they are trying a treatment on his vocal chords to help stop food going down. he had started coughing during exercise. he always did a bit at the start, but then it became any time I cantered.
he always had a cough during exercise so he must have always been battling lung infections with the aspirated food without me knowing it. He always made a noise and he always struggled on tough hilly xc courses. if he lost fitness at all his lung function definitely disapproved. I always had to feed damp forage from the ground, feed sloppy feeds and keep his stable spotless and use dust free bedding. Over the years he had choke and also a few lung infections and needed antibiotic treatments.

The vet hospital recently explained that tie back ops often start to not work as horses age and the tissues loses elasticity and gets floppy.

In hindsight, if I was back in your position I would take a few things into account. I would be more keen to do it on an expensive, younger, competition horse as it's worth the risk. for my own older lower level horses I don't think I'd get it done if it didn't look like they would be happy doing normal work. If I had a much loved older horse that I was happy to have as a happy hacker and I could comfortably afford it then I'd take the chance.

 

[ForeverBroke_]

Mine had both the tie-back and hobday at the same time.

Was a big horse and think he was 11yo at the time with paralysis both sides to his larynx. Was obvious at vetting but as I only wanted a low level RC horse it didn't matter/he passed the vetting as 'fit for purpose.'

Turned out he was a bit of a superstar and I wanted to event, so he had both done. Made a marked improvement and we never looked back.

 

[ycbm]

Mine was tied back and laser hobdayed. He was a changed horse. More confident in himself and much less stressed about life. The op and after care was easy. Money well spent even though he wasn't insured.
.

 

[spacefaer]

We had a 10 year old done who was fairly quiet and pleasant to ride, keen but generally a nice horse. He was incredibly loud though - definitely a roarer! You could hear him coming from a field away!
He had a hobday/tie back. Perfectly conventional recovery - all textbook.

He was a different horse afterwards- very keen, vey jolly, his jump improved and I couldn't hold one side of him out hunting ?

I'd do it again in a heartbeat - he was "only" a hunter but the improvement in him was out of this world - once he could get sufficient oxygen to his brain and the rest of his body to function