Tying up

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corkhorse

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Hi Guys, I hope I get this right it's my first time using this forum.

Anyone have any experience with Tying up????? We have a 15.2 lightweight cob strong hardy mare, 5 years old. I've been told by vets and others that it is very unusual for her type to tie up.

I have her nearly 2 years and the first tie up was November 2012, we have her on Resolve since then which is designed for helping horses who tie up.

She tied up again 2 weeks ago and the bloods have not yet returned to normal.

I've been told viruses can cause this and I was wondering if the presence of a mosquito type fly which I've never seen before may be the culprit?? The horses were swarmed on end of October start of November 2012. I believe they are the same mosquito that is responsible for schmallenbergin disease in cows and sheep. There has recently been an epidemic highlighted in our area.

It's something I've never come across before and having wintered and fed this mare and competed her in 2011, I do not believe it's down to her feeding or excercise.

Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Any advise and experience would be greatly appreciated!

:) :)
 
She was just hacking for fitness, some schooling in the weeks before and a couple of showjumping lessons.
Both times when she tied up she had only walked a few yards up the road on a hack when her back end seized and she was dripping (literally) in sweat.
 
Yup poor thing is right :( It's a horrible experience for her you can clearly see she's in pain.

She is being fed Bluegrass Resolve, she's only fed half her recommended which is half a scoop per day. In the 2 weeks prior to last tie up she was only fed every second day as she was full of herself and I just wanted to get minerals and oils into her.

Last year with same excercise and turnout etc. we were feeding throughout the winter, Alfa A, Speedi beet & Stam 30 balancer. We had no issues at all last year.

She's turned out 24/7 ad-lib haylage at round feeder. Only comes in in times of severe winds and rain.

She is clipped (trace clip), which is practically grown out now as it's done since last week in January, she is rugged with Heavy weight weatherbeeta rug with neck attachment.
 
It could well be ,like my own mare,the haylage sugar levels being totally different to a normal summer crop.My mare,who I have fed the same way for seven years had a sudden acute laminitus attack,due to the haylage.There have been quite a few around Kent affected the same,tying up is a similar problem. My first horse,same type as yours,tyed up one winter,but that was due to a year with virtually no available decent hay,so an Irish company called Pegasus brought out a nut feed which was supposed to need very little or no forage with it.For a while I had a mare who did indeed think she was Pegasus,then she tyed up! It was a lot easier to get over than laminitus,and she never had an attack again.
Maybe the same treatment is in order,timothy hay,bran with epsom salts?Dried nettles are another old remedy for such horses too.
 
Thank you East Kent, could be a definate consideration for reason, they would have been on the haylage 3 weeks by the time of her first tie up. We didn't have a great summer and I was told the haylage was not the same quality and slightly different to other years as we had a late cut.
We're almost to grass fingers X, if the weather will ever give us the break and let grass grow!!!!!!
Hopefully might see a resolution, have to call to vets later to get injection for her, she's been getting crystals in her feed from Vet (not sure what's in that but could be containing epsoms salts by looks of) will check with him what's in it.
:)
 
It is really hard to pinpoint the reason for tying up!
Our late horse suffered and the triggers for him seemed to be a change in routine, (like changing from in at night to in during the day), spring grass and being exercised from the stable.
He got it for the first time in his late teens so it was very odd! He had never suffered with it before.
We fed him ERS pellets when in hard work, otherwise Fibre nuts and chaff. Alfa seemed to make it worse (although it isn't meant to) plus any high starch mixes which again is starnge as when he was a young horse he usd to be competed off oats with no problem!
I can see why you are baffled as with living out ect your mare shouldn't really be a candidate. All I can think of is it might be the sugars in the haylage or the grass.
 
Can't remember where I have seen it but I remember reading of a connection with a mineral deficiency, and the two minerals I have been interested in recently have been magnesium and salt. Could be worth asking Sarah Braithwaite at Forageplus?
 
Hi there,

Firstly I really feel for you and your mare, its not nice for either of you. My boy first tyed up whilst mid way on a hack and it was terrifying. Like you say sweat literally poured off him- it was like someone turned on a hose over him! He was a similar type to your mare- hardy cob but more of a HW and like yours pretty much lived out. I was told the same by a vets and various people re uncommon for type of horse but then I read an article somewhere years later saying the opposite.

I think its really hard to pinpoint the cause, we certainly didnt manage to really with my boy and I just had to monitor him so so closely. It happened another couple of times but I did start to notice things that would signify something was perhaps up... just things that were out of character such as lack of energy out hacking and lack of enthusiasm.

I am not sure I can really help with advice as such although I would think it probably is diet related even though it may seem like changes could only have been minor in grass/ haylage I would think it probably does have a significant impact.

Good luck and keep us updated x
 
Thanks everyone, I've looked at your feedback and last night we changed her to hay instead of haylage, she's not a happy camper as she's in paddock next to the others and looks very put out by it all!!!! But all for the better cause!!
Vets gave us Dantrium (muscle relaxant) yesterday so going to start that today too, definately the hay v haylage could be be the culprit. We'll see how the bloods run again in a week or so, hopefully we'll be back on track :)
 
Also make sure you warm up and cool down properly. I know you said both time it came on just up the road so not much you can do about that, always use an excercise sheet to keep quarters warm.

It was probably haylage in your case, my horse tyed up years ago, due to me having 3 weeks off due to operation, rode him thats when he did it in school, we were trotting and he broke in to canter as he was excited to be ridden after time off, that was it, he just stopped in the corner of the school, I thought to myself classic signs, it can't be on high fibre diet etc, vet reckoned it was because he was fit when I stopped riding and then started up again and did too much.

Had it once after when I hacked out and a dog frightened him and he span and was prancing about. I was just really careful after and he didn't get it again.

Good luck
 
Thank You NoisyGirl

We've also started to bring in long warm ups and cool downs, my daughter out with her today and just called me to say she's going balooba in the field :rolleyes: Think we need to tell her about her warm ups and cool downs too!!!!!

Advise greatly appreciated :)
 
I am so sorry to hear about your mare's tying up episodes and really hope you manage to get to the bottom of them.

Just a thought. Is she drinking enough? Serious fluid disturbances and dehydration can result in muscle disorders such as tying up. And many horses back off drinking enough in cold snaps and when we have unseasonal and unusual weather patterns such as the weather we are experiencing currently.

I know a little bit about this subject as I sell one of the available products that gets horses drinking immediately, where and when you want them to, and I have customers whose horses have tied up due to lack of drinking.

I hope your mare starts to feel better soon and if I can help in any other way, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
 
Some mares are more sensitiv to it and here also breeds with prominent muscles like for an example quarter horses.

With tying up don`t give any mixed feeds also not them Who are made for it. It is more or less a fairy tale.

Give enough of hay, soak beetpulp about 1 kg, stir in some soybeenmeal if there is a need for to top up the protein and add on about 300 ml of rapeseed oil.

As well look for a propper balancer, not compond balancer I mean something real propper. You will need to make sure that you have enough selenium, Vitamin E, B vitamins and all the rest as well.

When you work the horse do a proper smooth warm up and also a cool down. No "shock therapie".

Many horses with this are managable (not all) I have had some horses tying up while they where thinking about work but after adjustment in the diet winning 3* eventing without tying up.
 
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