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Discussion on Saggering horse
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Member:
Jewels
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 14, 2004 - 2:12 am:
Totally baffled by the behavior of one of my boarders horses. 27 year old mare that lately when you put her saddle on walks crossing over in front, when saddle is removed walks normal, tried diff saddles, loose or tight girth doesn't matter this has happened twice now and inbetween times she reacts normally,last episode one week ago. Good weight,some loss of muscle around spine but over all healthy. Any guesses????
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 14, 2004 - 8:39 am:
Does this happen everytime she is saddled? Is the crossing regular or does it vary step to step? See if you can't find a painful area that the saddle is irritating.
DrO
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Member:
Jewels
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 14, 2004 - 1:11 pm:
Doesn't happen everytime, starts out really bad, with crossing over completely and will get some what better with smaller steps, but doesn't fully recover. Almost seems like staggering. We have checked her back and can find no noticeable signs of pain or discomfort. inbetween episodes shes normal other than she stumbles but she has been doing that for quite awhile, sometimes worse than others.
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Member:
Suzeb
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 14, 2004 - 3:12 pm:
Hi Julie,
If you haven't done so already, suggest to the owner of this mare that he/she get a full evaluation from their vet. You said that she has been stumbling for quite a while. Could this be related to farrier care/infrequency or the stumbling is one of the symptoms of something more going on? Gather all the information that you can of your observations and ask owner to do the same for vet visit. Last deworming, heat cycle, shots up to date etc. etc. Given the age of this mare I would suspect some arthritis going on but you never know. This girl is unsteady on her feet for some reason and I think the causes should be further explored, after all she is in your care and you want to know what you are dealing with.
Hope this helps 
Susan B.
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Member:
Jewels
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 14, 2004 - 10:29 pm:
Local vet has suggested a possible tummor on the spine, that the saddle compresses onto a nerve. Or could be a vertabrae pinching a nerve. Owner will be trying some bute. if it doesn;t show then we will know it;s not the vertabrae pinching.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 15, 2004 - 9:36 am:
Julie did you understant the veterinarian correctly because this makes no sense: a lesion in the area contacted by the saddle might effect the rear legs but not the front, all the nerves to the front legs leave ahead of the back of the horse. Perhaps if saddling effects the horses neck carriage....
Doesn't do it everytime is interesting but I still cannot differentiate pain, ataxia, and muscular weakness from the information you provide. I too suggest a thorough exam but I would get a referral to a neurologist who is experienced at differentiating these type problems from their appearance. Could it be at 27 that the horse is just no longer strong enough for this activity and the gait a compensation for this? Perhaps some days this horse is just feeling a little better than others. On the other hand I like the bute experiment but you need to be careful of bute in older horses, see the article on bute for suggestions on treating older horses.
DrO
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Member:
Jewels
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 15, 2004 - 7:31 pm:
thanks... wow of course that only makes sense oviously someone is not understanding the problem, I will pass on the info asap once again thanks!!!
you are awesome!
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