Wobblers diagnosis... where do I go from here?

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My 6yr WB has been diagnosed with wobblers. Confirmed on xray at vertebrae C3/C4.

Its been quite a shock one day the horse was fine the next he was just not moving right, no bend one side and dragging his hind feet. He now stands with his legs placed one in front of the other.

I can see subtle changes every day. I know really what I need to do is pts but I just wanted to give him the summer in the field and feel like he's had a life. It's not fair, it really isn't. Gutted. :(

The vet graded him as a progressive 2 to 3 out of 5. He also was pretty reluctant to really do anything more and didn't speak about any treatment other than to review the horse in 4-6 weeks.

The only thing the vet did offer was a Bone Scan. I guess my question is for those that have been in the same situation what did you gain by doing one? Any experiences much appreciated and what the outcome was and those diagnosed did the symptoms get worse over time?

Thx for listening, big fat left over Easter egg chocs for everyone :)
 
Oh no, I am so sorry. Unfortunately I do not have any advice to give as i know little about this condition other than there is an awful lot that can be done. So sorry to hear this :(
 
Oh no, I'm another that's sorry to hear your diagnosis, and I also don't know enough to offer about the condition to offer any advice. I would say though that if pts is the only option then please don't feel guilty about not being able to offer your horse a 'last summer', things often don't work out as we had imagined or planned and he won't know that he hasn't had that. xxx
 
That's devastating, ruddy awful for you. The majority of horses diagnosed are PTS, it's true (friend works at the RVC and sees lots of cases, unfortunately).

A mate has just had her five year old diagnosed and has retired him. Is this an option for you? She doesn't want to send him anywhere as a companion as she thinks some unscrupulous person may sell him on as rideable. She has another horse to ride.

Only you can decide what to do. If he's your only horse, you may have to make that hard decision. Have you got him insured for loss of use? That at least will cover bills etc, although its no help emotionally. :(
 
GiddyUpGirl said:
My 6yr WB has been diagnosed with wobblers. Confirmed on xray at vertebrae C3/C4.

Its been quite a shock one day the horse was fine the next he was just not moving right, no bend one side and dragging his hind feet. He now stands with his legs placed one in front of the other.

I can see subtle changes every day. I know really what I need to do is pts but I just wanted to give him the summer in the field and feel like he's had a life. It's not fair, it really isn't. Gutted. :(

The vet graded him as a progressive 2 to 3 out of 5. He also was pretty reluctant to really do anything more and didn't speak about any treatment other than to review the horse in 4-6 weeks.

The only thing the vet did offer was a Bone Scan. I guess my question is for those that have been in the same situation what did you gain by doing one? Any experiences much appreciated and what the outcome was and those diagnosed did the symptoms get worse over time?

Thx for listening, big fat left over Easter egg chocs for everyone :)
Click to expand...

My heart goes out to you...I've been there. I posted about my boy several weeks ago. The difference between your boy's diagnosis and my boy's is age. My colt was 11 months old when he went from being a normal youngster to a horse that couldn't lift his head above the level of his back and then, in under 24 hours, becoming so ataxic I still don't know how I got him from his paddock to our pole barn. He was given a wobblers examination and everything pointed to a high grade 3. We couldn't X-ray him initially because he was too unsteady on his legs. Within a week we were able to get a series of radiographs which confirmed compression at C4/C5. I was advised to think seriously about the consequences of having a wobbler: the dangers of him falling on anyone handling him, and the risks of his condition to himself. The term wobbler refers to the horse's lack of proprioception. That is, his inability to know where are his legs and feet. He wobbles because he is unable to control their placement. I decided to give him a chance. He did not have a bone scan. The X-rays spoke for themselves. He was put on a strict diet of stringently weighed hay at a percentage of his body weight.

To make a long story shorter, he improved to grade 1, he was gelded, and I still have him almost 2 years on. What he had on his side was his tender age. Because he was still growing, there was the ability to manipulate his growth with his restricted diet.

At 6 years of age, your horse has pretty much finished growing. Has your vet suggested altering his diet? How would you categorise his weight? Is he in a position to comfortably lose weight? I am not a vet, so I could be completely off here, but perhaps a reduction in his weight could take some pressure off his spine.

If the X-rays have shown compression at C3/C4, why would you want a bone scan? What would the scan reveal?

You have my heartfelt sympathies. I know whatever you decide, it will be in the best interest of your horse.
 
I'm so very, very sorry. :(

Unfortunately my TB mare's (dark bay in my sig) second foal developed wobblers when he was three and he had to be PTS as he worsened as time went on. I didn't own her then but I was told all about it when I was given her and I could see that years later, her former owner was still very upset about it.
 
I really do feel for you....I lost my 5 year old to wobblers 2 years ago, he was graded 2 borderline 3, he was tried on a course of steroids as they initially thought it was a trauma injury, they didn't make a difference for him but may be worth asking your vet about?
 
First of all I am so sorry to hear this.

My horse Henesy was pts in August last year after being diagnosed with grade 2 wobblers. Sadly he was injuring himself badly - a lot. £10,000 of vets fees later he was diagnosed with this awful condition. (see veterinary pictures of the damage he did to himself)
I gave him the summer at grass with the sun on his back and had him pts.

My horse deteriorated quite quickly over the course of about 6 months. It is safer for all concerned if you call it a day before it gets any worse. They don't understand what is wrong with their legs and I didn't want Hen going down and not being able to get back up.

My heart goes out to you.
 
Thankyou for all your kind words. It means alot.

He passed a full 5 stage vetting 18 months ago.
The bone scan the vet says would possibly uncover OCD somewhere else sacroiliac? He said doing a Myelogram if was considering surgery would be very risky and that wobbly horses tend to severely injure themselves afterwards after GA and advised against it.

I'm not insured for LOU, only vets fees and the usual accidental/death/illness. You never think it'll happen to you till it does :(

To answer RutlandH2O the vet didn't advise any special diet. He's a very poor doer anyway. He's 17hh, 570k and losing. He's lost topline and alot of muscle over his rump where he's shifted all his weight forward and stand on one hind leg and tippy toes the other. I can't work him or do anything as he just drags his hinds in trot.
He finds backing up now difficult and can only do about 4 steps.

Its heartbreaking to look at him and how he is and oh he's fine and then you see him standing still or move and it's all wrong. He seems fine in the field at the moment as he's 50/50 stabled. But it's how long I go on before I call it a day. It's a awful situation to be in. I think that I was thinking the bone scan would be a final confirmation that it's game over. Maybe the bone scan was my excuse to take him to the vet to pts :(
 
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