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  Discussion on Recently diagnosed with FM-is Stall Rest necessary then??
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New Member:
Cwenz

Posted on Thursday, Jan 6, 2005 - 4:31 pm:

Here in Germany the vets have very little if at all experience in the treatment of Fibrotic Myopathy. This disease is considered very rare due simply to the fact that there are very few known cases of horses with this here in Germany. I was advised to give my horse two to three months of stall rest as he was recently diagnosed with Fibrotic Myopathy. Surgery was not an option for my vet and he did not know really further. My big question is only, 'Is this necessary?' The advice I was given did not seem to be given with great confidence. I find he is only becoming more stiff and unhappier as the days go by. And from what I understand from FM is that the scar tissue has already been formed, the damage is done. Of course I do not want further damage done, hence my question. He is only three and a half and I had noticed he had had a mild 'goose step' since November on his left back leg as I started ground training with him. It would go away and come back. Two weeks ago he played a bit too hard with his boys outside and this 'goose step' became very noticeable and did not go away anymore. The diagnoses came right thereafter. He has had stall rest for about two weeks now also... I massage him and stretch him and go walking with him about 30 min 2x a day. He is so full of energie and has no pain, so it is sometimes difficult to always go on controlled walks with him. There is no hardening of the muscles, they still feel smooth and soft on. His abnormal gait is only seen in the walk, and is noticeable, but mild. There has not been any change from what I can see. I feel he needs his normal free movement, not in the big herd, but with one or two other horses outside for an hour or so a day. I do not have the chance to let him the whole day outside. I would believe this could only be good for his muscles, and to increase the elasticity. I would like to keep on training him where I left off to eventually being able to ride him. There was great potential seen in this horse eventually becoming a great jumper down the road. Do you think FM will prevent him from getting into the equestran sports in the future? And do I need to be worried that FM will prevent me from being able to train and work and being able to ride my horse normally? I beleive I will have to accept that this abnormal gait in his walk is part of my horse now, but what is the next step for him? Further stall rest and taking little walks or further with a normal training hour with me plus freedom to go outside with a couple of friends? Thank-you for your time, I just don't know what I should do right now. Sincerely, Crystal
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jan 7, 2005 - 10:02 am:

Welcome Crystal,
First let's review the diagnosis: a goose step does not sound like FM to me but more like stringhalt or a form of EPSM. The characteristic "slapping" gait of FM is described in the article on FM. Review it and then could you better describe the gait to us or if you like we have articles on both of these diseases and you can read descriptions of the gait changes, see Equine Diseases » Lameness » Diseases of the Upper Rear Limb » Stringhalt.
DrO
Member:
Cwenz

Posted on Friday, Jan 7, 2005 - 7:35 pm:

First of all, thank-you for your time. It is much appreciated. I believe 'goose stepping' was probably not the appropiate word, but I will try to clarify. After extensive reading on all 3 related diseases I will try to give specifics. Similarities to my horse's condition were found in all 3.
Breed: Trakehner
Sex: gelding
Age: 3 1/2
Temperament: Alert, Attentive, not nervous, not excitable, people friendly
There has been no change in temperament. A lack of energy has never been greatly apparent which was a symtom of EPSM. Especially from his stall rest now, he is full of energy. Now the important detail: his abnormal gait in the left hind leg. Most apparent it is at the walk as mentioned in all 3 diseases. There is no rapid upward jerk or 'spasm' that I find as describrd in Stringhalt. His stride goes forward, is slightly shortened on the left side with his left hind leg, and as it is pulled back, I find his leg then goes slightly inward before it reaches its normal final place. It looks as if he makes a half circle. On hard ground there is also a slight 'slap' to the ground that is heard. This motion has been consistently present for the last two weeks. On the 18th of December his abnormal gait was made very apparent because of the jumping around with his boys to hard outside. On the 22 he was diagnosed with FM. It went from very noticeable to mild in a short time. Only because of the incident on the 18th I have a much more critical eye on his exact movements. Because this abnormal gait is so mild, maybe I did not notice the consistency of this before. I am not sure how long he has had this. I noticed an abnormalty in his walk at the begining of our work on the lunge in Nov. But because this was no alarm to me I did not pay very critical attention to this. Even now the most around my stables do not notice this abnormality until I point it out. I strongly believe he has not had this since birth. Trot and canter are normal. No apparent signs of pain. Sometimes a bit stiff now, but it could just be from his stall rest now; before, there were no signs of stiffness. His walk may be abnormal, but does not appear to be actually stiff . No palpable thickening, but perhaps the trauma to the affected muscles was not severe enough, which could still mean a possibility of FM. There has never been any trembling, difficulty rising, or reluctancy in moving backwards as described in EPSM. Although his abnormal gait becomes even more distinguished when he moves backwards. His left hind leg makes then a very big inward movement...a big half circle. Everybody tends to notice that, but I would say it is more a consistent even movement as being spasmatic or jerky. His abnormal gait seems to be more of a consistent problem as of a recurring one. As I can see, there is no upward flexion in the hock as described in Stringhalt. Turning also seems to be absolutlely no problem. Approximately around May I had put him out to pasture for the sommer. He was outside 24.7 mostly unsupervised with a mixed herd of 10 other young stallions and geldings just so he could be a horse for a while before I brought him back to the stables end of Oct. to start working him. On many visits to the pastures I was never aware of any apparent trauma that might have caused what he has now. He was about six months alone in his herd. I am not sure how high the chance is that he could have a toxic form of Stringhalt from the pastures. That is also one possibility. There are no related symptoms from any of the other horses from his sommer herd although in other herds we have had cases of spinal ataxie on the same pastures. His biginning training was also very easy-going in my eyes. He is still young and I was only getting him warmed up until he was then diagnosed, and I then stopped with further training on the lunge. That is why I don't believe he had any real muscle soreness or pain from our work as described in EPSM. I hope this has helped you to helping me in making my next step. I will be consulting with a few more vets in my area to get other opinions, and am thinking of getting a blood test and muscle biopsy from my horse. My biggest worry is how his future looks because he is so young. I just want the best for him, and that his condition does not worsen. I have grown very attached to my horse and would like to enjoy a long and normal life with him. How much of an obstacle will his condition give us? Thank-you once again, Sincerely, Crystal
P.S. Is stall rest actually what my horse needs right now?
Member:
Cwenz

Posted on Saturday, Jan 8, 2005 - 8:02 am:

I have to quickly change a detail again, as I was just shortly by my horse just now. Our stable horse meister agrees also that my horse does actually make a slight upward movement of his hind left leg. It can be seen also a bit in the hip when standing behind my horse and watching him walk away that the leg is lifted a bit. Stride is definitely shortened a bit, and the slapping to the ground is heard indefinitely. His stride in his walk seems unelastic, but not really stiff. There is definitely the inward movement as the hoof is pulled back into its place....this half circle movement. Thank-you. Crystal
Member:
Dres

Posted on Saturday, Jan 8, 2005 - 11:19 am:

just a question.. does you horse ever hike up his hind leg while just standing.. kind of like a spasm..?? I had a mare that had EPSM and one of her symptoms was this.. the high fat diet really helped her with this condition...


On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with SPOTS..

Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jan 8, 2005 - 1:41 pm:

Shortened stride with the foot slapping down is classic for FM. The question of stall rest depends on what happened to the muscle. Why is it developing scar tissue? If there was tearing or severe bruising the muscle does need rest to heal. Your twice daily hand walking helps to prevent motion limiting adhesions. It is a fine line between enough stretching to prevent contraction but not stimulate further damage to the leg.
DrO
Member:
Cwenz

Posted on Saturday, Jan 8, 2005 - 2:03 pm:

Hi Ann,
No, my horse never had any sudden 'spasms' while just standing. But thank-you for your info. By the way I like your quote at the end of your post.

Dr.O I just wanted to add a bit more info...It really seems that his abnormal gait is caused from the hind muscles of the rump, not from the hock. My stable vet said she has seen many horses with the other two diseases: EPSM and Stringhalt. Of course FM is also new to her, but from what she has seen and read, she also beleives FM is the correct diagnosis. Which brings me back to a few questions at the begining... Is stall rest necessary? Can I start working him normal into preparing him for work under the saddle and eventually riding? Will or can FM create an obstacle for my horses future? When there is already a fibrosis of the muscle, there is not really anything I can do, and I definitely am led to beleive this is not a new injury. That is the reason why I find stall rest not necessary. But because I am no expert I am following the vets advice with just taking walks and stall rest just because of fear of making things worse. I am not considering surgery just because of the statistics, and because the extent of my horses FM does appear to be very mild, but out of curiosity can a horse's FM be operated on when it is not neseccarily ossified?
Sicerely, Crystal
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jan 8, 2005 - 2:46 pm:

Crystal I cannot answer some of these questions for your horse because I cannot examine the horse. I can provide guidelines as I did in the last post: I have tried to explain the logic behind stall resting horses and the logic for the hand walking but what I cannot determine from your posts is the amount of damage and where in the healing process your horse is. This must be determined by someone who can examine the horse. You working with your vet must decide how these apply to your situation. My question to you is, "are you sure there is not ongoing healing at this time that would worsen with exercise?" Have you asked you vet, "what damage will working my horse at this time do?"

Yes, fibrosis without ossification can be operated on if the lesion can be identified on ultrasound but I would wait until you are sure the lesion has quit healing. It seems a bit early right now as you report recent changes in the horses gait.
DrO
Member:
Cwenz

Posted on Saturday, Jan 8, 2005 - 5:39 pm:

Dr.O you have been a great help. I will be consulting with my vet on my questions that I have. Thank-you simply for your opinion. This has been great help in simply figuring out what questions I do have to ask and sorting out my thoughts, worries and concerns. I feel I have been helped further. I am very positively amazed at your quick responses and they were very much appreciated. I think there is no more doubt on my horses diagnosis with FM. I will trust the advice of the vet who examined him...to better say 'play it safe'. Perhaps there is ongoing healing still. That is why I was advised to give stall rest and just go on small walks. I will be clarifying this up....that was something I never asked about. Now I know the Right questions to ask thanks to you. Thanks for clearing up my ignorance on this whole situation. I believe I have what I need now to make that next step with confidence. Sincerely Crystal
Member:
readjoe

Posted on Tuesday, Jul 8, 2008 - 10:41 pm:

Crystal,

how is your nice horse? did you ever get surgery for fibrotic myopathy? my horse had the surgery.

readjoe
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