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  Discussion on Tying Up
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New Member:
suenzoo

Posted on Thursday, May 1, 2008 - 5:38 pm:

I've read with great interest the other members stories of their horses episodes of tying up.
I'm currently having a problem with my daughter's 8y, TB mare. We've had Pip since October 2007 and have not had any problems at all with her. This past Saturday she had a tying up episode and another one on Monday. I am having trouble understanding why she all of a sudden would start having problems. There are only a few things that have changed since we got her in Oct.. Those changes are, we moved to a new boarding facility exactly 1 month ago, she now has access to grass for a max of 2 hours per day (I weaned her onto the grass over this past month and she's only been out on grass 4 times), I started feeding her more alfalfa hay since she was a bit thin (from 1/2 flake SID to BID) and the temps are now warmer. Her exercise level has remained the same. Her diet has been 8 to 10# Teff grass hay, 5# alfalfa hay, 1# whole oats, a joint supplement BID, hoof supplement SID, Horse Guard vit/min. supplement SID and once a month for a week psyllium SID (to clear out sand). Any ideas?

Thanks so much for your time
Sue
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, May 2, 2008 - 7:29 am:

Welcome Sue,
Did your horse tie up during exercise?
DrO
New Member:
suenzoo

Posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008 - 2:56 pm:

Hi Dr.O

Sorry for taking so long to reply. Pip was out in the arena doing her normal laps; she LOVES to RUN!! This has been a normal routine for us since I got her in October. My daughter lets her run, then we brush her, tack her up and she is a dream to ride. On that Saturday 4/26 however, Pip ran like normal, then when my daughter was brushing her we noticed she was acting lame on the left rear leg. I had my daughter lead her around so I could see what was going on and it was as if her entire body was rigid and her left rear leg was crossing over to the inside and almost lining up with her right hind leg. We barely got her back to her paddock and I gave her 2g of Bute. Sunday we just let her rest and didn't even put her out in the round pen for exercise. She has a very large paddock with a loafing shed for shelter. On the following Monday, my daughter was just leading her slowly to the round pen and she was barely able to walk; again the same left rear leg was crossing over and she seemed stiff in the rump area. This time I tried to give her some Banamine paste (my injectable was expired); it did not go well :-( I had to hide it in some EQ Sr. to get her to take it. Then on Wednesday 4/30 I drew blood and did an in house chem panel and sent out a trace mineral panel and the CBC to WSU Pullman, WA.

Here are the results: unless listed all other values were WNL

CK (10 to 350): 320 so WNL, but closer to the high end
AST (100 to 600): 1046
pH(ven) (7.34 to 7.43): 7.74
HCO3(ven) (22.0 to 29.0): 26.3
PCO2(ven) (38.0 to 48.0): 23.0
Trace Minerals- all WNL except Selenium it was high normal range is 0.120 to 0.250 and Pip's was 0.42

I did some research and got in touch with an equine nutritionist. She told me to try removing sugars from her diet and getting her switched over to using fats for energy. Here is her new diet- Mornings 5# Alfalfa hay, 2.5# of Teff grass hay, 1.25# of Timothy hay pellets (I'm low on grass hay), 1# soaked beet pulp, 1.5# alfalfa pellet, 3 scoops Cool Calories, 1 cup corn oil, probiotics, 1.5 scoops One AC.
Evenings: Everything is the same except in the evening she also gets a joint supplement, a hoof supplement and a full scoop of Horse Guard Mega Dose. She has access to GroStrong Precise minerals, about a 1/4 cup in a bucket free choice and these were just started on 5/12. She also has access to a mineral lick block w/selenium, but hasn't licked it much at all.

On 5/11 Pip had a hot swollen hock, the left rear. I gave her 2g of Bute on 5/11 and again on 5/12. The hock was still a bit sore on 5/12, but totally back to normal on 5/13. She was trimmed on 5/13 and reshod; the farrier didn't notice any swelling or heat. I'm wondering if she might have hurt that hock, back on 4/26, and was so painful from it that she was all stiff. I didn't notice the hock being swollen before and neither did my vet, but we weren't really focused on mechanical lameness so we may have missed it. Would her AST be elevated if she tore something in the hock?

Sorry this is so very long...
Sue
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, May 16, 2008 - 3:58 pm:

Hello Sue,
No hock issues would not be associated with the elevated AST and the normal CPK lets out tying up. Certainly your posts strongly suggest you have issues with the hock but it is not absolute, that assessment would require an examination.
DrO
New Member:
suenzoo

Posted on Friday, May 16, 2008 - 11:53 pm:

Thank you :-)

I had the hock looked at, by my vet, and it was totally normal; no more swelling or heat. What would cause the AST to be elevated as it was? My vet thought that from what I was describing that it might have been a tying up episode, but without actually seeing her during one of these episode, he didn't feel confident in making any sort of diagnosis.

Thanks again
Sue
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