tying up

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hharri1

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My horse today unfortunatly tyed up, first time that we know of, and i was wandering if anyone can help me out, as i don't know much about it. Will she ever be able to return to her usual schedule of riding, she is an event horse. Thanks in advance
x
 
Did the vet attend to her? How bad was the tying up, like was she able to move but was very stiff or did she completely tie up? The mare at our yard tied up this summer (they think it was due to heat and lack of fluids over a prolonged time) She was completely stuck in the field, vet gave drugs and she was able to hobble in after 45 mins. The vet said it would take between 6m to a year to get her muscles back to normal but in that time there was a major risk it would happen again. You're vet should be able to give you an idea of how long it will take and anything you can do to help.
 
Yes the vet got to her straight away, she was so stiff she could not walk, and was sweating alot. But the vet did say she should just rest for a few days, then gradually back into work so.. thankyou for your help. x
 
I suppose you have to go with what your vet said. The mare at our yard is an older horse (like 26) so I suppose she will take longer to mend. But I thought it took at least a week before you would start to work them and even then it's supposed to be introduced very slowly...like walking for a month or something. My horse tied up before I got her and I'm sure she was a months or 2 before she was back in normal work and she didn't tie up completely, just really stiff and no happy to move.

Might be helpful...

http://www.equinehospital.net/azoturia.htm
 
It does vary depending on the horse and how severe it is. My old horse tied up last winter, fortunately not too badly, vet came out straight away and gave him some muscle relaxants. Said to rest him for a few days then gradually gop back to normal work over next few days being very carefull to warm up and cool down thoroughly. He's been fine ever since and is back jumping, schooling hacking etc quite happily. From what your vet said I'd imagine it wasn't a very bad case so your mare should be fine again in a few days, just be carefull to always warm her up and cool off properly with lots of walking. It may also be worth looking at what you feed her, and how much time she gets in the field etc aswell.
 
our 4* eventer is very prone to tying up. he's had it most of his eventing career, he's now 16 and completed 5 4*!!! we got caroline at baileys horse feeds to put him on a feeding programme, which excepting for 2 or 3 bouts has worked for us. our horse's tying up is triggered by too rich grass. he is never allowed to graze on rich grass, the poorer the better! a blood test is a good idea as that tells you the levels that are affected by tying up, and it gives a good indication of when they can return to work. ours tied up 2 weeks before burghley and still completed well! good luck it can be managed as long as you are vigilant with feeding and try to find out what triggered it so as to avoid.
 
My girl had her first attack of this over 2 years ago and during her first attack, was not allowed to come off box rest until her AST and CK levels (found from blood test) started to come back to nearly normal....took 2 months...but then her levels were extremely high. Did your vet take a blood test to check these levels? They are the only real indicator as to how bad the attack was and how much damage (if any) was done.

Once a horse ties up, they do usually become prone to it unfortunately...things like lack of electrolytes, prolonged stabling, too rich pasture, not warming up or cooling down sufficiently etc can all cause another attack.

Its important to feed a controlled diet (restricted starch and sugar)....I'm currently feeding high oil diet, with rosehips, seaweed and half a spoon of sodium bicarb and *touch wood* she has been doing great on it.
Sodium bicarb reduces the production of lactic acid (an excess of which is a factor in tying up), however if you are competing, it is a banned substance if fed in too great a quantity, so take care of that one!

Also the CK and AST levels rise dramatically the more a horse is moved once they have 'tied up' so mega important to immobilise the horse ie: stable as soon as possible.

As others have said, it can be managed.

Good luck!
 
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