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  Discussion on Dx Heart murmur
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Member:
Fpony

Posted on Monday, Nov 14, 2005 - 7:22 pm:

Hi Dr. O,
My pony (Foxy 21 y/o 13h 3")
Developed a grade 4/6 heart murmur while sick in July this summer. He had also just gone on pergolide and my other horse also got sick but no cardiac issue. The vet took him off the pergolide.He responded well to antibiotics (although it may have been viral) and upon recheck he was given a 2/6.

The vet was out today so I had her check his heart again and discussed what would be reasonable for exercise for him. She said the murmur was loud if you find the right spot and gave it a 3/6. Also, his cap refill on his gums was borderline but his eyelids looked good.
I use this pony for hippo therapy/ therapeutic riding. He has 4 clients 2 which are only 40 lbs the other two are under 70 lbs but will probably be trotting.I 'm not too concerned with this activity but there is a 10 y/o that must weigh 80 lb that has started riding him 2 to 3 times a week. He is perfect for her as he is very responsive and willing to do anything she asks of him. My question is how much is too much? She has been trotting and cantering in the ring and doing trotting poles to get his muscles back into shape as before last year he hadn't been use at all for 2 years. the other day she was on him for over an hour and they did a lot of cantering in the ring. She gave him nice walk breaks and he didn't seem bothered. I'm just concerned that she might go past the safe point. Also, any trail rides will have lots of hills. How does one determine the level that is ok? Will doing HR and recovery rates give us a good enough guide line. I was also looking forward to the horses having the snowy pasture to forage in(New Hampshire-lots of snow)but will that be dangerous?
Thanks, Kim
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 15, 2005 - 8:50 am:

First you have to understand there is no way to know for sure what is OK. A perfectly healthy horse, or at least one where no abnormalities can be found on physical, can suddenly collapse with heart failure. You can run an echocardiogram that helps define the nature and severity of the cause of the murmur. Without such work you take it slow and see how the horse's gum color, respiration, and heart rate respond to exercise. I would compare his values and rate of recovery against another older horse who is doing similar amounts of exercise. This will require some amount of careful record keeping. If you do find exercise intolerance, yes foraging through deep snow may be too much for the pony.
DrO
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