What does it mean when a horse becomes "tied up"??

OMG thanks springer and allover - it sounds awful!!! So how much should feed be reduced by on rest days? Mine has a day off each week on full feed and is competing PN, I had no idea I was risking this happening!!
 
Does he still go in the field on his rest days and is it a high grain diet? If he does go in the field then he should be OK, it is more when they dont get a chance to move around and get the toxins out of the muscles.
 
He's out 24/7 at present and frisks about a fair bit too so is never completely sedentary. He is on racehorse mix which is very high grain. Do you still think I should be reducing significantly on rest days, esp if there are a few in a row? E.g. am going on hols for a week this month when he is unlikely to be worked at all.

In winter he is out during daylight hours and does less work plus is on conditioning cubes which are low grain, so not much risk then I guess.
 
I always cut my horses feed down if they are off work.

Not all horses will tie up though, and have found there are no hard and fast rules for it.

Try not to worry too much about it, remember that there are many things that can go wrong with horses and if you worry about them all you will be in a nut house quick as you like!!!:D
 
For a horse that is turned out you can leave the feed ration the same.

'Tying Up' tends to happen to horses that are stabled 24/7, fed a full working diet and are not exercised at all on there day off (once always a sunday). Hence the nickname 'Monday morning disease' as the horse had been rested on Sunday and fed a normal diet - on being back in work on the Monday would tie up.

Mares are more prone to tying up when coming into season whether they are living in or out. More to do with the grains fed than lack of exercise.
 
When I did my exams Tying up was always used to describe condition happening Post exercise, with Azutoria or Monday Morning disease used to describe conditions happening at the Onset of exercise, hence the Monday Morning reference. But things appear to have become mixed up!

Things have moved on at a pace now, these conditions are described as Myopathys and genetic links to them are beginning to be found. They are problems in the proteins produced in the body by genes and if a faulty gene is present muscle function is affected.

As would really be expected TB's being a virtually pure performance breed rarely suffer from onset myopathys but do suffer from post exercise myopathys.

A gene responsible for most onset myopathys found in the QH breed has been located and a test for Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (PSSM) type 1, a search is under way for the gene responsible for PSSM type 2 in the small number of QH's that do not have PSSM type 1 mutation but show similar symptoms. Unfortunately some of the Quarter Horses and related breeds affected have also been found to have another gene causing Malignant Hyperthermia, the two genes are linked which makes the chance of inheriting them together much more likely, together they are VERY bad news. But now tests are in place both can be avoided.

PSSM type symptoms are found in a number of breeds including Warmbloods, Morgans, Heavy horses and many other breeds and though clearly not exactly the same mutation, the horse as a species is prone to mutations of this type.

If you want to lean about this the best source is here, but basically high grain diets do not help the affected muscles to perform.
http://www.cvm.umn.edu/umec/lab/Advances_in_PSSM/home.html
 
Tying up is as described known as Monday morning disease. It came about when in the olden days hunters hunted on a Saturday and then had the Sunday off, stabled but feed was not reduced and feeds consisted of high grain. When the horse was exercised on the Monday the muscles ceased up.

Most horses can work well and compete on a balancer and the higher grain feeds added only if the work is hard. My endurance horses work up to 80k (50 miles) on Alfa oil and a balancer (Lo Cal) once they go above that distance I add an endurance mix and a high oil feed such as Outshine.

Mares are more likely to suffer as hormones can play a part in muscle changes.

Also stress can play a part in tying up.

Signs of tying up are a reluctance to move and the large quarter muscles are tight and hard.

If a horse ties up they should not be moved, a rug should be put on the quarters and a vet called. Pain killers will be given so that the horse can move. Another thing is it can be caused by an electrolyte imbalance, so in hot weather it is useful to give the horse some electrolytes and also add a teaspoonful of salt to the feed daily.

Always warm up properly so that the muscles are really working at a slow pace before moving up to faster work.

Horses are often put on a Selenium and Vitamin E supplement.

If your horse is turned out 24/7 I would not be worried about reducing the feed for one day, but if you are going away for a few days then I would cut out the Racehorse mix.

I would look at using other feeds to gain stamina etc. A high oil feed is better as It will give long time energy.
 
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My friends hunter started to tye up last season.

It had a high grain diet and very little turn out, which I am sure attributed to it.

Unfortunately when they have done it once, they are more prone to it so have to be carefully managed.
 
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