VERY stiff muscles. Please help.

[redredred]

Hi all! I recently bought a lovely traditional ISH gelding who has previously hunted. Was apparently completely sound and rideable. He looked ok being ridden and when I rode him, I felt nothing 'off'. The place we bought him from is a very reliable dealer so we felt no need to get him vetted.

Fast forward 2 months and he's been ridden multiple times and showed no signs of discomfort but eventually he started to degrade. He's losing muscle and goes between being unsound on his left hind to his right front and has trouble working on the bit and lifting his spine. This all felt very wrong and everytime it came to riding, despite being told he's okay to ride by other people at the yard, I felt immense guilt.

We moved yards not all that long ago and the owner of this yard is so knowledgable. She saw him moving and immediatly saw he had something wrong and was very stiff. She reccomended shiatsu, so we got someone out. The verdict was he was VERY stiff and sore in his hind end, back and shoulders. The tendons around his ear suggest he had been ear twitched so we knew then he had been mistreated in his old home , making me feel less like this was completely my doing. The next day, we had a look at his saddle and it did not fit very well (tight on the shoulders, could do with a wider gullet. also jump cut when i don't really jump), despite me being told that it did (Please note I'm a stupid teenager who believes everything I'm told, so I did not think to question this random person at my yard telling me his saddle fitted.). Saddle will never go on him again and we're most likely borrowing one of the treeless saddles when he comes back into work. Currently very unsound and only doing work in walk at the moment, much to his dismay because he loves bombing about the arena.

And so I ask: What could help him feel better? Suppliments, stretches, feeds, ANYTHING. I just want him to be alright.

Thanks

 

[Winters100]

I am sorry to hear that you are in this situation. Your first course of action now needs to be a visit from an experienced equine vet to see what further investigations he advises. Good luck with it.

 

[BaronSamedi]

The tendons around his ear suggest he had been ear twitched so we knew then he had been mistreated in his old home ,QUOTE]

Sorry but this is a really daft remark to make, a not well fitting bridle could be to blame, and ear twitching done properly is not 'mis treatment' at all. So many horses have browbands which are to small making bridles tight around the ears. Also a chiropractor would be a good idea to have a look at him, they can give you some exercises to help, but first port of call should always always be a vet.

 

[GSD Woman]

After vet checks him over and gives you treatments ask if regular massage and cold compresses would help. You can learn to massage him yourself to save $$$.

 

[Winters100]

I am actually really confused about what has happened here. You say that someone knowledgeable has seen a 'very unsound' horse, and they recommended shiatsu? Has the poor horse had any vet visit?

 

[AmyMay]

You need a vet.

 

[Elno]

Why is it that when horses are unwell first port of call seems to be to contact anyone except the person you really need? I.e - the frikkin' VET?! ?

 

[blitznbobs]

lame horse = vet ... and not riding til you get some answers... would you go running on a sprained ankle?

 

[Marigold4]

That must be so disappointing for you. You had big plans for having fun with this horse and now you've hit a problem that means you can't ride. Well done for asking for help. Lots of stories on here of adults who have unknowingly bought horses that turn out to have problems - and I'm one of them!

I agree with the others that you need to get an experienced vet to look. I know that's a bit terrifying as it could be end up being a long and expensive vet journey/bill. I know stiff muscles sounds like it could just need a massage to get rid of it, but there are other things that affect the whole horse that could cause this, so possibly a blood test would help diagnose him. There is a condition called PSSM which can affect muscles like this and a change of diet can help.

Good luck. Hope you get it sorted and letbus know how you get on.

 

[scats]

The horse needs to be seen by a vet.

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

Vet, dentist, saddler and physio in order of importance.

Shiatsu for horses is a first for me!

 

[shortstuff99]

You definitely need a vet, but tight muscles with muscles wastage it is highly likely PSSM.

 

[Goldenstar]

You describe a horse with some huge red flags that should have seen a vet earlier
Get him into a vet for a work up ASAP , be sure to pick up an experienced work up vet .
Sadly I think you may be dealing with multi causal lameness .
Being unable to raise the back is a huge red flag and you should not ride or work such a horse until you have had veterinary input .
You need to pick a vet who does a lot work ups and you should discuss costs and budget before hand .
You can easily spend 3k on diagnostics on a horse you may not be able to fix .
If a quick look round finds sore feet sore hocks and a sore back I would be thinking very carefully about my financial resource before continuing .
Its not a good place to be , it’s bad luck let us know how you get on horses are really hard work sometimes .

 

[Tiddlypom]

You describe a horse with some huge red flags that should have seen a vet earlier
Get him into a vet for a work up ASAP , be sure to pick up an experienced work up vet .
Sadly I think you may be dealing with multi causal lameness .

This.

Don't ride him in the interim. Back off trying new saddles etc until the vet has given their verdict. From what you post it he may be so broken that his ridden days are over.

 

[Goldenstar]

Yes as TP says don’t buy a saddle .

 

[Dexter]

I almost guarantee he has type 2 PSSM sadly. You are describing classic symptoms. Have a look on the Facebook group MFM & PSSM Awareness for some more information and support. Vets tend to be very limited in their knowledge of it, so best to educate yourself.

 

[PapaverFollis]

While it does sound likely that it could be PSSM I think, especially as the poster is a teenager, it would be best if the first port of call here is the vet.

By all means ask the vet about PSSM, they may not know much about it but there's a chance that they do. And do some research into the possibility of PSSM yourself. BUT I think it is really important that this is done under the guidance of a vet in this instance. The horse sounds in bad shape. The owner is a teen.

 

[paddi22]

is he getting much turnout and what's he fed? what kind of work were you doing on him? was he round and on the bit when you got him and then gradually changed? when you saying 'bombing around the arena' was he rushing and strong?

 

[ycbm]

You bought him at the beginning of March when his vitamin E levels were lowest and before the grass started to grow from a dealer who was possibly working him hard every day. I'm guessing all those things have now changed, and I agree with the other posters who suggest he has classic signs of PSSM.

I agree he needs a vet, but many vets are still not up on this disease, so meanwhile I would get him straight onto 10,000iu a day of natural vitamin E or 20,000iu of synthetic (not the stuff with selenium in) to try to help him. Don't leave him on that dose for weeks without vet supervision, it's toxic to horses who don't need it.

ETA and don't delay the call to the vet while you test this.

 

[Goldenstar]

Change of home followed by loss of back muscle and the lack of ability to raise the back are indicators for a kissing spine type issue .

If this where my horse I would take a punt on a back X-ray as this is low cost , and if the X-ray showed a lot of damage I would be considering my position at that point before costs ran out of control .

 

[Pearlsasinger]

You definitely need a vet, but tight muscles with muscles wastage it is highly likely PSSM.

It could be as a result of poorly fitting tack. It sounds as if he needs a vet, rather than just properly fitting tack now though.

 

[paddi22]

playing devils advocate, the wrong kind of riding, going rushed and hollow back in a bad saddle can wreck a horse over a two month timeframe, if the horse was bombing around a deep arena it could easily have pulled something in the back or hind. or he could have had arthritis injections at some that have worn off. what age is the horse?

your first call is def a good equine vet. when we get ones like this in they get an overall check from vet, a good physio and dentist. I'd leave the saddle fitter until hes sound again and wouldn't go near him with a saddle until physio signs it off and recommends a good fitter.

 

[irishdraft]

I can only echo what everyone has said please get an experienced equine vet to your horse asap . I'm not sure a very knowledgeable yard owner should have suggested any other avenue to go down as a first port of call .

 

[Meowy Catkin]

The tendons around his ear suggest he had been ear twitched so we knew then he had been mistreated in his old home

I just want to pick up on this because I own a horse who was ear twitched. It was witnessed by his breeder who never let the person who did it back on their yard.

There is nothing about my boy's ears that shows it ever happened. The odds of him letting a stranger feel his ears and around his poll is probably under 5%. He is very ear shy even 10 years later, needs to have his bridle put on by undoing the cheeks so you don't squash his ears and still worries about his ears being hurt.

 

[Goldenstar]

I would say 70% of the Irish horses I have owned have been ear twitched .

 

[Muddywellies]

You bought him at the beginning of March when his vitamin E levels were lowest and before the grass started to grow from a dealer who was possibly working him hard every day. I'm guessing all those things have now changed, and I agree with the other posters who suggest he has classic signs of PSSM.

I agree he needs a vet, but many vets are still not up on this disease, so meanwhile I would get him straight onto 10,000iu a day of natural vitamin E or 20,000iu of synthetic (not the stuff with selenium in) to try to help him. Don't leave him on that dose for weeks without vet supervision, it's toxic to horses who don't need it.

ETA and don't delay the call to the vet while you test this.

I personally wouldn't give anything till the vet has done a thorough investigation. I would want the vet to see the horse warts and all.

 

[Winters100]

I find this situation really sad, both for the horse and for the owner. The thing that really gets me is who gave a teenage buyer the advice that the dealer was reliable so the horse did not need to be vetted? We see it here over and over again, and it causes such heartache for these buyers.

OP, really I am sorry for you in this. Going forward remember that you always need a horse vetting unless you accept the possibility of needing to retire / PTS in case of problems. Even if you 100% trust the seller there may be issues that they are unaware of. I have in the last years purchased 1 horse from the yard owner, and 1 which was on our yard for me to care for prior to purchase. Both were vetted, even though both sellers were well known to me and I knew the history of the horses. If you buy again please do remember this.

 

[Goldenstar]

Me too , this past the stage for self help and this is issue with therapists horses can unnecessarily.
Any decent therapist should have told the owner the horse needs a vet .

 

[SEL]

Definitely a vet needed.

I have mare who can present like you describe. She does have PSSM (polysaccharide storage myopathy), but she also has arthritis and if her hocks flare up then her muscles get stiff to compensate.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I would say 70% of the Irish horses I have owned have been ear twitched .

That's pretty shocking. I'm sure that it can be done with less force than was used on mine and he was a foal at the time, but still...