Wobbler

S

scattynuttymare

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Vet susspects my girlie has wobbler syndrome
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Anyone else had a horse with this? I know a bit about it but I'm not sure what to expect really.
 
Depends how bad it is and whether its operable or not.

What signs does she show? What does your vet say?
 
She at the moment has lost co-ordination in her back end, she walks straight and the back end swings leftbut the legs twist right if that makes sense.

I'm not totally convinced wobbler is what it is. Vet says if this is the case being 28 years old theres not a great deal that can be done for her
 
my old boy walked like you are describing, sort of like a german shepherd with it's back legs gone.
 
Wobbler syndrome can be anything from mild to very severe. Mild cases can live very happily although are not suitable for any real work. Severe cases may be cured by surgery but the operation involved is huge and very expensive. If she is 28 years old surgery would definitely not be an option. You would need Xrays to confirm. It is possible that a fall in the field may induce symptoms that will improve over time.
 
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my old boy walked like you are describing, sort of like a german shepherd with it's back legs gone.

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What was wrong with your boy?

My girlie was fine and then middle of last week looked a bit stiff and now over weekend keeps loosing her back end and just can't coordinate. She walks permenantly in a half pass kind of way and sometimes falls over.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Wobbler syndrome can be anything from mild to very severe. Mild cases can live very happily although are not suitable for any real work. Severe cases may be cured by surgery but the operation involved is huge and very expensive. If she is 28 years old surgery would definitely not be an option. You would need Xrays to confirm. It is possible that a fall in the field may induce symptoms that will improve over time.

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Definatley a no no to an op I agree.

We had a thunderstorm mid week so I am really really hoiping she had a hooley in the field and its something that will come right. Vet isn't convinced of my theory but I am holding on to that glimmer of hope
 
i didn't really know what was wrong with him about 4 years ago he rolled in the field and could not get up, when i did finally get him up the vet said he thought it was the muscle in his back end and give him an injection can't remember what. i just always thought it was an age thing as as he was happy i didn't do anything about it, say that he never fell over was just wobbly
 
Can you tell me what tests your vet did to come to this conclusion? Three years ago my mare came in one morning with lack of coordination in all four legs, throwing her head up as if startled. After a week at Bristol vets, they could find nothing. To cut a long story short, I believe it was a nasty concussion which has similar symptoms.
 
At 28 years old IMO it is not wobblers syndrome. True wobblers is caused by fast growth rate and compression of the spinal cord in the neck. Your horse is showing similar symptoms which indicate compression somewhere and most likely the neck. I would honestly suspect that she has been injured. Many vets label animals with "wobblers syndrome" as they really dont understand it very well. I wish they would say "compression of the spinal cord" rather than Wobblers! True wobblers is not really treatable but compression of the spinal cord can be eased with the right manipulation. If your horse was a youngster still growing it would be different. It is also less likely if your horse is a crossbreed as it is caused by a recessive gene that has to be in both parents.

I would get a chiropractor in as well as a physio quickly as the longer you leave it the more damage can be done.

All I can say is my dog was diagnosed with wobblers but in fact it was his neck and spine were not quite as they should have been, and needed gentle manipulation and he came right with six treatments of McTimoney chiro. I went against my vets advice and opted for chiro before surgery and it was the right decision.

It may not work but definitely worth a try!
 
Doesnt sound like Wobblers but does sound like neurological damage.
At 28 I'd question her future quality of life with a horrid condition like that.
 
Yeah sounds like an injury and maybe sadly just old age setting in. Although to say it's come on quite quick sounds like she may have had a fall and done some muscle/nerve damage so maybe a physio visit would help. Or old horse started falling and stumbling a lot in his latter years and if he fell he struggled to get up. He went on to the grand old age of 36 though but every horse is different and the signs of age hits some quicker than others.
 
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