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  Discussion on Behavioral problems vs DJD
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New Member:
uhfarm

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 28, 2007 - 11:58 am:

I really need some help! I purchased a 5 year old TB/warmblood cross last year. She was my dream horse. She had such wonderful gaits and calm and kind disposition. We placed 3rd at our first dressage horse show (just walk and trot). A quick learner that aimed to please. She was so fun to ride and show. Both my trainer and I would ride her. Her only vise was she couldn't stand having her back feet trimmed. 3 months after I bought her I started to have problems. At first she would buck every once in a while. My trainer said it was the saddle so I bought a new top of the line dressage saddle. Then she started to shake her head and did not want to go forward. I had her teeth done by my vet x 2 - her jaw was off set and she had a number of sharp points. Wolf teeth were not a problem. Seemed to help for a week until she really started bucking and getting spooky. I had her in training - did not help. Was on Ultium and switched to Strategy with beet pulp - did not help. Had her to a chiropractor - got worse. At this point she was so spooky and hypersensitive to everything. Almost hurt my blacksmith, would not let him touch back legs even with a twitch. I had difficulty picking up her right hind and then it switched to the left hind - would refuse to pick up at first then hop and put the leg down, she could not hold it. I had her tested for Lyme and it came back a low positive. Failed flexion test with hocks. Treated her with IV tetracycline for 9 weeks then 10 days of doxcy + 2 grams of Bute daily. Hypersensitivity decreased but still failed flexion test. Had hocks blocked - seemed better. Injected hocks with Adequan. Can now pick up back legs without a problem but still tossing head when riding and bucking (even with round penning and tiring her out for over an 1hr before mounting). I took 4 people to hold her down before I could mount. Won't even go up to mounting block. Hurt the blacksmith when tried to put new shoes on front - reared and struck out. Had to sedate her. I have had other brave souls try to ride her (very experienced riders and trainers) with the same results. I have desensitized her to tarps, plastic bags, and other objects without a problem but she still spooks at almost everything. Was afraid of her stall yesterday. I have tried all kinds of tack including a Western saddle and various bits and oral joint supplements with no avail. It seems the more pain she has the worse the spooking. I have a hard time accepting it is behavioral, especially when she had been so wonderful. Her past history is one of neglect. Previous owner had her from birth and lost interest in her as a yearling. Was kept in round pen without food or water per owner of barn before taking possession of horse (horse owner did not pay board bill). Can her past hx of neglect including poor nutrition cause OCD and now DJD? Is this a true joint issue vs some other disease? I am losing hope and running out of money – already spent thousands trying to resolve these issues. I am considering IV legend. Any diagnostic work my vet can do? Her advice at this point is to take her to U Penn horse hospital $$$$$.
Member:
liliana

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 28, 2007 - 12:33 pm:

Hi Trisha,

It sounds exactly like Scarlet.

It seems to me that you have two issues here, one the trauma that she has gone under through neglect, a scar that takes lots and lots of tlc and patience and a physical, could be a twisted tendon on the lower back or upper leg.

I would suggest that instead of investing lots of money you invest time, give her a good 8 to 12 months to heal completely. A broken tendon is far more painful and it takes longer to heal.

Dr. O will have the final word but my mare is perfectly normal now. Yes it took a year but it was well worth it as I used that time to heal her soul

Best wishes
Liliana
Member:
caymie

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 28, 2007 - 12:47 pm:

Hi Trisha,
If your finances allow, I would definitely recommend a trip to the veterinary teaching hospital for a full diagnostic workup. Any behavioral issues that my horse has had, have been related to pain. He is a wonderful horse with a great temperament. But pain can do funny things to a horse, and tolerance for discomfort varies from horse to horse. My horse is very sensitive to pain, so he always alerts me when there is a problem. Good luck.
Mary
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 28, 2007 - 2:47 pm:

Trisha the problem seemed to start with the hind legs but one thing you do not write about above: has the horse ever been diagnosed as lame? I do not think prior problems are likely to have been a problem or else you would have had the problems from the start. There are two articles I want you to review, the first to see are there clear signs of lameness and the second as a disease that has caused symptoms similar to your horses:
1) Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Localizing Lameness in the Horse.
2) Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Muscle & Tendon Diseases » Rhabdomyolysis: Tying Up, Shivers, PSSM, EPSM.
DrO
Member:
dr3ssag3

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 28, 2007 - 4:28 pm:

Trisha you sound just like me in regards to trying to figure out what will help your horse have as close to a pain-free life as possible.

My horse Contessa has had arthritic issues in the past, but has been formerly diagnosed with DJD after more recent x-rays revealed she has the hocks of a 25-year old (as my vet put it)...she's only 12. When winter came on, and turnout was limited, Contessa came up severely lame, and after only 9 months from the last hock injection, she was barely able to bend her hocks at the walk. It was agonizing to watch.

Contessa had some behavior issues surrounding the pain, which in my opinion is perfectly understandable. After all, when we're in pain we're not tremendously chipper or willing to please others either. She basically saw the saddle coming and would pin her ears and try to bite (not as severe as your mare, but a warning sign to me nonetheless). She'd also resort to spooking in an attempt to avoid more serious work (that's the working theory at least).

After spending a great deal of time, energy, and money with supplements, chiropractic work, etc., we decided that dressage was too taxing on her hocks so we switched to hunt seat, hoping that a more forward seat would help keep her more comfortable. We moved her to a barn 3 times farther away from our old barn, but where she can get a double-wide stall and all-day turnout. But the biggest thing I've done (in my mind, anyway) is to put aside my own personal agenda (re: showing, etc.) and simply enjoy being her partner in any way that I can...I've accepted that her body will not keep up with a more rigorous training regimen required for serious competition and decided that I'd rather have her happy than to have all the ribbons in the world. I've literally changed my world to accommodate her, and so far it's worked. Maybe someday I'll be able to have a fancy show horse, but it's just not in the stars at the moment.

At any rate, at the beginning of January, we once again injected her hocks with a non-steroidal to allow for as many injections as possible with minimal amounts of scar tissue. It had only been 9 months since the last injection, and my vet thought it best to inject all four joints in each hock. He's recommended hock injections twice yearly with x-rays taken each year to track the progress of the disease. He's also got Contessa on Adequan twice monthly and Legend monthly. When the hock injections have to be bumped up to quarterly, we're going to try a new treatment called "I-wrap" (I think). All this to keep her sound for "light work."

The costs are going to be staggering, but as Contessa is my 4-legged child I think it only fair to do anything I can to maintain her sense of well-being, especially considering how much joy she brings into my life. I'm also fortunate to be married to a saint who recognizes that no value can be placed on the kind of bond Contessa and I share. It's also helpful that he knows how to give injections, so we can buy the drugs direct and save some money by not having so many vet calls.

If it is DJD, Trisha, my advice is to really talk to your vet about what course of action is feasible for you to take. Since your horse is so young, you're looking at a lot of expense to keep her sound for showing. Find out, to the best of your ability, what her needs are to keep her as comfortable as you can for as long as you can. It may not be what you want to hear so prepare yourself for that. Hang in there!
Dawn
New Member:
uhfarm

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 28, 2007 - 7:32 pm:

Thank you everyone for your responses. DrO, I did read and re-read the articles you suggested. With lameness, my vet was out 3 times to evaluate. On all occasions, my horse had various degrees of stiffness in her hind legs ... from stiffness to "bunny hopping" in the hind legs at the canter. She also noted my horse was short on the front left at the trot but only on one occasion. She head bobs slightly at the trot when I ride her (when she isn't shaking her head). She usually bucks when I first ask for a trot or when I first get on her. Her muscles were extrememly tight but got better after the antibiotic tx. It is interesting to note that my horse was very thin w/ no muscle tone. Was on lush pasture and grained outside with other horses per second owner when I bought her. My vet said she most likely had a chewing problem secondary to her jaw being so off-set. I make my feed into an "oatmeal" consistency when I feed all of my horses to help prevent impaction colic. She would have been able to eat her feed despite the chewing difficulties before I had her teeth done. Three questions: If you change a horse's diet that has a dx of Rhabdomyolysis from low carbohydrate diet to a much higher one, how long would it take for symptoms appear? I am able to pick up both hind legs now with the Adequan injections, would this have helped a horse with Rhabdomyolysis? Blood work next?
Member:
freshman

Posted on Thursday, Mar 1, 2007 - 12:49 am:

Trisha,

One more idea to add to the above suggestions--has the horse ever had a repro exam? Granulosa cell tumors sometimes cause distinct behavior changes in mares, like agressiveness with humans and other horses, resistance to physical work, etc. It may be worth having your vet palpate the mare and do an ultrasound, just to at least rule that out. I'm sure that there are articles on this site about the condition, and Dr. O could provide more info. Here's a link to a nice article:

https://www.dvmnewsmagazine.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=90522
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Mar 1, 2007 - 7:12 am:

There is really no accurate answer to your questions on "how long following a change in diet" it all depends on the details and a diagnosis or ruling out a diagnosis should not be based from such nebulous concepts. The article discusses appropriate diagnosis.

For more on granulosa cell tumor see, Diseases of Horses » Reproductive Diseases » Trouble Settling Mares & Stallion Infertility » Granulosa Cell Tumors in Mares.

Your mention of head shaking during exercise also suggests to me, Training & Conditioning Horses » Behavioral Problems » Head Shaking.
DrO
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