Trembling when getting down to roll

[Wagtail]

A big warmblood at my yard who has fabulous paces, and occasionally gets a sore back, trembles when he's getting down to roll. Is this anything to worry about do you think? I've never seen it before. It is just as he is bending his legs to get down, his hinds tremble. Thanks.

 

[Tonks]

Hummm, could be nothing, could be symptoms of equine polysaccharide storage myopathy which I am currently investigating as a sore back and trembling are some of the very wide symptoms. Does he have a poor canter? Dark wee? Symptoms of tying up? These are some of the other symptoms too.

If you're worried get the vet in to take some bloods to test for muscle enzyme elevations.

Good luck.

 

[Jnhuk]

My WBx does this when he rolls too and has done so for the six years that I have owned him. No back problems etc... or hints of anything else wrong.

 

[Wagtail]

Hummm, could be nothing, could be symptoms of equine polysaccharide storage myopathy which I am currently investigating as a sore back and trembling are some of the very wide symptoms. Does he have a poor canter? Dark wee? Symptoms of tying up? These are some of the other symptoms too.

If you're worried get the vet in to take some bloods to test for muscle enzyme elevations.

Good luck.

Thanks. His canter is nice most of the time but he often changes leg behind and goes disunited. On the lunge he often skips with his hind legs, changing lead and back again. His urine is normal in colour.

My WBx does this when he rolls too and has done so for the six years that I have owned him. No back problems etc... or hints of anything else wrong.

Thanks. The owner is always about to get the vet but then he gets better again (in terms of back soreness and canter lead changes). He always trembles when getting down though. Maybe it's just that he's such a big boy.

 

[MrsMozart]

Two horses I've had have had this problem, due to both having damaged rear suspensory ligaments.

The first horse the damage was primary. The second horse the damage is secondary (to pelvis damage).

 

[caberston]

hocks? we have a hunter who whenever he went to lie down he would go down with the front end but then it was almost painful to watch him struggling behind. he would tremble as you described and sometimes give up and stand back up again. his hocks have since been medicated and seems much better....

 

[Wagtail]

Two horses I've had have had this problem, due to both having damaged rear suspensory ligaments.

The first horse the damage was primary. The second horse the damage is secondary (to pelvis damage).

Hmm. I've been suspecting things are not quite right for a while now. But when I have had two 'crippled' horses myself, he looks great in comparisson and I think there is a reluctance by his owner to go down the investigative route. Her other trainer (competes eventing for his country), thinks he is just stiff and nothing to worry about.

 

[janei]

My boy does this, has back checked regularly and although he has tenderness issues no major problems as far as aware (touches nearest bit of wood!)

 

[ihatework]

The skipping behind, disunited is classic hock issues, often PSD.
A horse with hock issues will often show muscle soreness over the back which gets better with rest.

If my horse was skipping behind/going disunited which wasn't cured with a short course of physio/osteo then the vet would be up doing a lameness examination pretty pronto.

The tremor when getting up & down I do not know the significance of, but I would be mighty concerned with the canter gait.

 

[Wagtail]

hocks? we have a hunter who whenever he went to lie down he would go down with the front end but then it was almost painful to watch him struggling behind. he would tremble as you described and sometimes give up and stand back up again. his hocks have since been medicated and seems much better....

He is definitely short behind on his right hind in walk, but he is 100% sound in trot. It's strange.

 

[MrsMozart]

Hmm. I've been suspecting things are not quite right for a while now. But when I have had two 'crippled' horses myself, he looks great in comparisson and I think there is a reluctance by his owner to go down the investigative route. Her other trainer (competes eventing for his country), thinks he is just stiff and nothing to worry about.

The skipping and the disuniting were symptoms my first horse displayed, along with, at times, a serious unwillingness to go forwards. If I remember right, trot was difficult.

The horse isn't right, no matter what the underlying cause, and should be investigated.

 

[be positive]

The skipping behind, disunited is classic hock issues, often PSD.
A horse with hock issues will often show muscle soreness over the back which gets better with rest.

If my horse was skipping behind/going disunited which wasn't cured with a short course of physio/osteo then the vet would be up doing a lameness examination pretty pronto.

The tremor when getting up & down I do not know the significance of, but I would be mighty concerned with the canter gait.

I agree with this, the canter is more significant in my view it would need investigation if it has not improved with the usual physio and schooling work.

 

[Wagtail]

The skipping behind, disunited is classic hock issues, often PSD.
A horse with hock issues will often show muscle soreness over the back which gets better with rest.

If my horse was skipping behind/going disunited which wasn't cured with a short course of physio/osteo then the vet would be up doing a lameness examination pretty pronto.

The tremor when getting up & down I do not know the significance of, but I would be mighty concerned with the canter gait.

Thanks. I'm going to suggest she gets the vet to him, as I have done in the past, but then he suddenly seems to get better. I became more concerned last week whilst I was lunging him. He is having a rest from ridden work due to some nodules coming up on his back after the fitting of a new saddle. I decided to vary his lunging with some pole work and a small cross pole fence. He was really stressed and rushing. He has competed at intermediate eventing in the past and so a small cross pole should have been a walk in the park for him. But his jumping style was awful and so I stopped.

 

[Wagtail]

I agree with this, the canter is more significant in my view it would need investigation if it has not improved with the usual physio and schooling work.

We've had the physio three times now and no change. Will check with her this afternoon to see if he's any better.

 

[be positive]

If the horse has not responded to physio the physio should really refer back to the vet and not continue to treat.

 

[ihatework]

In my non-vet, non-expert opinion, I would put money on spavin or PSD.

 

[Batgirl]

Ignoring the other symptoms it could be an eccentric loading problem, muscles work to contract, hold and they also control lengthening of the muscle which is called eccentric loading. Commonly in humans muscles such as the quads display poor eccentric loading capacity and if you raise your leg and try to lower it smoothly you would get a juddering if you have poor control, then imagine doing this while controlling your weight you would tremble too.

I doubt it is this with the other symptoms but perhaps something to ask the physio about in relation to the other issues.

 

[cyberhorse]

One possibility could be a back problem or old back injury. This would come to light most during canter and jumping and it can be accompanied by issues in the back legs that can appear to be slightly similar to shivers due to some compression on the nerves. I knew a horse that displayed similar symptoms and had been diagnosed with an unconventional presentation of stringhalt, later investigation showed an old back injury and light compression of the nerves in that region.

 

[partypremier]

As caberston said.
My boy does this due to bilateral spavins he almost falls on shoulder to avoid hock flexion.
Got worse now he his older.
He never ever has laid down in stable & I have had him 13 years. It never stopped him winning Bsja or dressage when he was younger though.

 

[budley95]

Bud did this when I first got him as a 5 year old. But he had failed his vetting on one side of his pelvis being higher than the other. And because he was incredibly unsupple had an awful cold back. Lots of schooling seems to have helped, although when he stands square you can still see the left side is a tiny bit higher than his right side behind, he's sound and I've only ever had him foot sore, never actually lame (touch wood) in the 7 and a half years I've had him. Might be stiff? Vet, and if nothing shows up glucosamine and msm?

 

[caberston]

As caberston said.
My boy does this due to bilateral spavins he almost falls on shoulder to avoid hock flexion.
Got worse now he his older.
He never ever has laid down in stable & I have had him 13 years. It never stopped him winning Bsja or dressage when he was younger though.

its not nice to watch is it ours would get desperate eventually and just sort of topple over without really flexing hocks.... his jumping out hunting went a bit sticky but since being injected he's flying!

 

[Auslander]

Another one jumping on the PSD/Spavin bandwagon. Everything you describe is the same as my big dressage horse, who has djd in his hocks and stifles, and PSD - plus sacroiliac soreness as a result of him guarding his sore hindlegs.

 

[Goldenstar]

I have seen this trembling in a horse with a hock issue I thought at the time that rolling hurt but the desire to roll was so strong he just has to do it anyway .

 

[Wagtail]

Thanks, all. Obviously something isn't quite right. I will have another chat with the owner.

 

[Wagtail]

Just an update. Vet has been and found low grade bilateral hind leg lameness. He'll be havng further tests next week.

 

[MrsMozart]

Fingers crossed that it's something easily treatable.

 

[Wagtail]

Yes, I'm hoping it's something a couple of steroid injections can keep at bay rather than PSD.

 

[Morgan_horse_lover]

Two horses I've had have had this problem, due to both having damaged rear suspensory ligaments.

The first horse the damage was primary. The second horse the damage is secondary (to pelvis damage).

How did you help them? My Morgan mare has done this for the entire 9 years I’ve owned her. She doesn’t lie down often, only to roll usually.

 

[MrsMozart]

How did you help them? My Morgan mare has done this for the entire 9 years I’ve owned her. She doesn’t lie down often, only to roll usually.

I couldn't help either horse.