Wobblers (horses) have you had one what was the outcome?

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NIKKI1974

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I have now seen four cases of wobblers three were pts and one had an operation to try and save it although it may never race it may eventually be able to be used as a brood mare.It is the first time i have ever come across one that has had an op and would like to know how successful they are will the horse ever come right and how long after do you see signs of progress.Have you had any experiences of wobblers and what did you do with yours?
 
A racehorse called Shamardal was a wobbler as a yearling - he went on to become a Group 1 winner at 2 and 3 yrs old and was European Champion 2yo. He is also the only horse to have beaten Hurricane Run!!
 
there is definate hope for horses like this then that is amazing is there some sought of grading system to determine the severity do you know? All the ones i have seen have been quite bad in that their coordination was severely compromised .
 
There has to be a difference in severity! I know of 3 TB stallions that have developed it as breeding stallions (Saint Ballado, Seattle Slew and Indian Charlie). I believe that it was thought that it was due to the number of mares they were covering in a season, as the problems were towards the base of the neck. They all had operations, to have a titanium basket put in/around the spine to fuse the bones, preventing compression of the spinal cord - a procedure developed by a surgeon called Bagley - I think it's called the Bagley Basket or Casket..... Anyway, Seattle Slews was done in his 20's and he recovered to full breeding duties, though died about 3 or 4yrs later. Indian Charlie made a full recovery and is still a successful breeding stallion - though he was a LOT younger!! Saint Ballado, however, sadly never recovered and was PTS - very sad, he was only 13 and after his death, became a very sought after sire, esp. as he was the sire of Ashado, an Eclipse award winner and she sold as a broodmare prospect fot $9,000,000 - a world record at the time!!
 
Thats great for all that info thankyou is really helpfull it is a subject that i have always wanted to know more about and now i do.Learn something new every day. x
 
hi
I had a wobbler that was diagnosed grade 1 - they are graded 1 - 5, 3 upwards ae considered unrideable, 4 and 5 dangerous to handle. I was told several grade 1 wobbler race successfully as they only have to go in straight lines. Mine only really showed signs when ridden on circles or asked to flex his neck - both fairly esential for a dressage horse unfortunately! I was told mine should be ok to hack but I didnt want to take the risk so retired him . I did explore the operation option but was advised against it .
 
I didnt have a wobbler, but my mare was diagnosed with suspected wobblers, went to Bristol Vets for a week and had all the tests. It was concussion after a run in with a tree. The symptoms are very similar.
 
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