Ever since River’s mysterious tying up at Cuyama Oaks, I’ve been researching exertional rhabdomyolysis (aka tying up) in horses. Much of that research has been simply asking for feedback from friends and acquaintances. The take home? There are many many ways to deal with a horse tying up. These seem to depend on the cause, the desired result, and the humans and horses involved. The purpose of this blog post is to give a brief account of how I am dealing with River’s having tied up.
Jump to:
Possible explanations for River’s tie-up
What River’s been doing since tying up
River’s current state
What I have changed in River’s diet
What I will change in River’s exercise regime
And if it doesn’t work?
Above: After our first real ride in two weeks, River and I picked up the mail today!
Possible explanations for River’s tie-up
River’s case was a complete surprise to me!
This was not the first time I’ve had to deal with a horse tying up. I’ve seen many tie up on the racetrack, including a mare that tied up as I was riding her at the trot… because we were chased by wild boars! Still, it was completely unexpected. River is not the type of horse (usually mare) that usually ties up. Your typical case is a nervous, high strung filly. River is not nervous or high strung.
River was also fit, and she was not in a stall eating a full ration of grain. Even fit horses can easily tie up if they are given a sudden break in exercise on their full feed ration. This is why I always give horses a lot more feed on the days they are worked. I no longer give grain on non-work days. (In fact, River never gets grain, only ration balancer and senior feed.)
But I was not unaware of possible causes
Perhaps I was giving River too much feed on off days
River had been getting 1 lb of Purina Enrich and 1 lb of Purina Active Senior every day. She’s an easy keeper, so maybe that 1lb senior feed was too much.
Maybe I was messing up her electrolyte regime
Been there, done that, with Fantazia. (Read my post from nearly four years ago about everything I was doing wrong with Fantazia.) I have been careful to give River very little alfalfa at home and free choice at rides, and I have been e-lyting more heavily just before and at rides. But perhaps it was not enough.
Perhaps River was too sedentary between rides
River had completed back-to-back 50s two weeks before Cuyama, so I did nothing with her until two days before the ride. This had been my standard practice with Fantazia and Jazz. However, Fantazia and Jazz are both high energy horses that move around a lot. They were also out on 30+ acres most of the time. River has been on 2+ acres, because Fantazia’s pregnancy has made me reluctant to turn them out in the bigger, wilder parcel.
I might not have done enough the day before the ride… I rode nearly five miles at Cuyama, but I did no more than trot. River broke a sweat, but barely.
Perhaps I had not warmed up enough before the ride
Then on the day of the ride, I did not warm up. Oh, I made sure River moved! I hand walked her for a total of over 20 minutes that morning. But not all at once. And I did not trot at all until half a mile into the ride.
This is what I have always done with River. I like to start after nearly everyone else and walk for the first half to one mile. I haven’t been riding before the start because that’s just more miles we both have to do…
Maybe it was hormones
Two days before the ride, River was very much in heat, squatting beside the geldings. On the day of the ride, she wasn’t noticeably receptive, but perhaps she was just distracted!
Maybe it was genetic
A lot of the feedback I received on Facebook was “Test for PSSM.” Arabians are very unlikely to have the genetic mutation for Type 1 PSSM, but they can have Type 2 PSSM. I am not an expert on any of this, but you can access more information under resources below.
A much more probably genetic disorder in my estimation is myofibrillar myopathy (MFM). It occurs starting in Arabians and Warmbloods, around 8 years old, and often after about five miles of mild exercise. Bingo.
Resources:
Merck page on typing up (all varieties)
The UCD page has links to more resources.
What my vet says
At the moment, Dr. Marquez points out, we are not dealing with chronic or recurring tying up. She doesn’t believe we need to test for genetic disorders until we know it is chronic. She seems skeptical of the hormonal explanation. Rather, she believes I need to be much more aggressive with electrolyting before the ride, starting at least a week earlier with Endura-max or similar. She believes I need to increase Omega 3 acids. She also suggested more exercise the day and the morning before the ride.
Above: River (left) and Fantazia (right) in their separate pastures, enjoying the grass.
What River’s been doing since tying up
River had bute right after tying up, and three more days after my vet had seen her. Also per vet Rx, River has been getting Endura-max every day, plus free choise mineral block and white salt. For omega-3 acids, I started her on KER’s EO-3 as soon as I could get it.
Per suggestions on Facebook, I started turing River out at night to graze rather than during the day. I love this new regime. She gets less high-sugar content grass. I don’t have to feed her in the evening, I just open the gate. And she’s out more time.
Exercise?
Mostly, River has been doing nothing more than moving around her pasture.
Last Sunday my boyfriend was going to a local sorting, so I thought it’d be a great idea to tag along with River. I rode her briefly on Saturday, just to get her brain better. (I didn’t want a crazy dragon amongst all those Quarter horses!) On Sunday, saddled River up at the sorting and spent 2.5 hours sitting around. OK, we did cover a total of 2.23 miles… mainly because River wanted to be WITH my boyfriend’s geldings the entire time!
On Monday I rode for about 30 minutes at the walk, just to take my saddle back to the barn.
Above: River watching the sorting. She really wanted to be with the other horses (especially her friends)… but she KICKS!! We had to keep our distance.
River’s current state
All results from last week’s analyses and assays are back. There was never really any worry about River’s vitamin E levels, as I have been supplementing all along, but it was good to know that her Selenium levels are also good.
This morning I took a vial of River’s blood to my vet to check her muscle enzyme levels. Her CK levels were good, and her AST levels were a bit high still (which is consistent with a resolved incidence of tying up). My vet said we’re good to go for exercise, and to aim for the Treasure of the Sierra Madre ride next weekend.
River is feeling good. After coming home from the clinic, I saddled up and rode. We did one mile of walking, two miles of trotting (with 1/4 mile walking and rest in between), and two half-miles of loping. She was very enthusiastic at the lope, to the extent of bolting off the rail and bucking.
Above: Despite appearing very calm in this picture, River was feeling her oats today. (Metaphorically! She doesn’t actually eat oats.)
What I have changed in River’s diet
As mentioned above, River no longer gets to graze during the day. I let her out around 7pm, and she goes straight to the grass. In the morning, around 7am, I bring her in. She gets a handful of equine senior top-dressing a pound of Enrich, plus two very full scoops (2000IU+) of KER’s Elevate vitamin E, a scoop of Endura-max, and a serving of EO-3 (6,500 mg omega-3, 1,600 mg omega-6, 5,5000 DHA and EPA). For forage during the day, River gets half a small flake of alfalfa (`3 lbs), and all the Bermuda grass hay she wants.
What I will change in River’s exercise regime
This week I will ride every single day. Normally I would ride around 5 miles tomorrow and Sunday, then do our steep 5-6 mile loop at speed on Monday, then give her Tuesday and Wednesday off. Instead, I will gradually build up all week. On Friday morning, I will do a short version of that steep loop before heading to Huasna for the ride.
At the ride, I will do an easy pre-ride Friday afternoon, and make sure to warm up thoroughly Saturday morning. I plan to do the 50 on Saturday, and if all goes well, the 50 or LD on Sunday, depending on how we feel.
If we finish both days, then I’ll think about a long term exercise regime.
And if it doesn’t work?
If River ties up again this next weekend, I’ll test probably test for MFM. I already plan to try Regu-Mate after the semester ends. (During the semester I live out of town 3-4 days a week.)
Above: River and a very pregnant Fantazia! I hope to be posting about a new baby soon 🙂