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ladysarah
New Member
1 Posts |
 Posted - 31 Jul 2010 : 3:32:02 PM
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PLEASE - any advice regarding AZOTURIA.
I own an arab gelding, vet thinks its azoturia, does anyone have any experience with this condition ANY advice or help gratefully accepted.
My boy has gone from a quite laid back gelding to a nervous wreck literally overnight! his hind quarter muscles are hard and he seems in pain, and doesnt want me to touch or do anything with him.
I had him out for a little in hand exercise today, hed extremely nervous and panicked almost knocking me over!
Hes generally a laid bakc chap, but i noticed a differance after moving him to a yard nearer, he wasnt the same since the move.
Can anyone offer any help or advice, the vets advised painikllers, taken blood sample, bicarbonate of soda, but cant say how long this will continue.
Im at my witts end, its been 3 months and no change or improvement.
ANY help, advice ANYTHING would be helpful!
PLEASE ring me if you have any advice that could be helpful, as the vet has said in severe cases euthanasia is the only solution!
07594 570584 or text your number i'll call you to have a chat.
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Rui
AL Admin
6761 Posts |
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lehla
Silver Member
United Kingdom
336 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jul 2010 : 5:02:28 PM
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| hi there i had a horse that had a couple of attacks of tying up do you mind if i ask what do you feed him lehla |
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templars
Platinum Member
England
1852 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jul 2010 : 6:37:31 PM
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Just after we got Heron, he had a very bad attack at an event. The vet gave him a shot of painkiller and muscle relaxant and then we got our own vet out at home and had more pain killers and bloods done. Meanwhile, I gave him crushed garlic and black sunflower seeds in cider vinegar - about a half a mug full with each feed. The results of the blood test showed potassium deficiency - we phoned one of the feed merchants and asked for assistance and they were brilliant and told us what to feed and how often.
Main thing is complete rest otherwise they rip the muscles and do even more damage and it becomes a vicious circle. Heron needed about a week complete rest and then gentle work - he was very scared when he started work so we had to go at his pace and give him confidence.
One thing to watch out for that will help you work out when he's improving is the colour of his wee. When it's bad, the wee is a really, really dark colour and as they get better it goes back to normal.
When Heron tied up, we stopped immediately and the pain killers were administered in about ten minutes of it happening so we were very lucky because we limited the further damage.
If it's bad and movement causes more damage it can take months to repair. Heron was back in work after two weeks and (touch wood) hasn't had another attack, although we always make sure he has extra minerals and we feed electrolytes regularly. One well known event horse tied up at Burghley last year (Sept) and is only just returning to work now.
Like Lehla says, check the diet - you'll probably find it's an over supply of one mineral and not enough of another.
If it's a magnesium shortage, get him some of the syringe based calmers to give him a boost and then add the powdered form to his feed.
I hope your boy improves - take time and patience and don't rush it otherwise you'll undo all the hard work. I'm sure he'll recover, the analysis of the bloods will tell you exactly what he's short of and once you know that, you can start to help him. |
   www.eviepeel.com    |
Edited by - templars on 31 Jul 2010 6:38:02 PM |
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Ziadomira
Platinum Member
England
1635 Posts |
Posted - 01 Aug 2010 : 3:41:50 PM
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We used to have a little Welsh Mountain. He moved to a new home and had an attack of Azoturia the next day. He was unhappy in his stable so they had to move him. He never suffered from it again. Vet I believe said the distress caused an inbalance of chemicals or something in his system and gave him drugs to compensate. I gather it was very painful.
Zia |
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shah
Gold Member
England
1356 Posts |
Posted - 01 Aug 2010 : 5:02:04 PM
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My lad also had a bout of azoturia last week. We gave hime some painkillers (danilon) for it and he had some rest in the stable before turning out again. And just a couple of days after he's back to his normal routine again.
Azoturia can be a symptom of EPSM - which I'm pretty convinced my horse has got and the tying up just confirmed my thoughts. Please read more about EPSM on www.ruralheritage.com, go to the vet clinic and see all the articles about it. This is a much more common disorder than we think and it often goes un-noticed, even the vets don't know much about it. Your lad sounds very much like he could have EPSM so I urge you to read all about it ASAP.
EPSM can be managed successfully by the right diet (low sugar/starch and high oil, they need 500ml of oil every day plus extra vitamin E) and exercise routine (they need to be exercised every day, days off can give them azoturia), so is not a big problem. But once he's on the right diet it can take 4-6 months before you see improvement.
If he's recently moved yards and the stress of it caused the tie up, again this could be an indication of EPSM, so please have a really good think about it. |
West Sussex |
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janice
Silver Member
United Kingdom
373 Posts |
Posted - 01 Aug 2010 : 9:54:22 PM
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"Simple System" Horse feed is likely to suit your horse. They offer superb advise via their website / e mail / phone. Good luck, I know how awful this condition is but my horse has never suffered one attack since I changed to Simple System  |
you can't kid a kidder!!
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Edited by - janice on 01 Aug 2010 9:54:56 PM |
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Minty Arab
Silver Member
England
482 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2010 : 1:44:28 PM
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Ive been having a nightmare with this myself  sunne tyed up in April we are still baffled as to why! she is fed simple systems blue bag grass nuts and herbs for her hormones (from Hilton herbs)vit E & selenium & lysine supplement and msm supplement, she is always walked for the first 15-20 minutes of a ride & properly warmed up before anything fast and even then its not like we just pelt about all over the place!, she spends minimal time in the stable at the time she was living out and has been since apart from 3-4 hours in during the middle of the day when its hot & the flies are bad, she wasn't dehydrated and she has a mineral lick in the stable and field which she uses (she drinks quite a lot,more than the other two)she was fit and being ridden 6 days a week.
Since then we have had her bloods taken every two weeks and her levels have been reducing slowly (but it has been slow!) i have kept her ridden at walk for 20 Min's increasing to about 45 Min's as advised by the vet we carried on with this for about 6 weeks then began introducing short bursts f trot again gradually increasing the length of time then short controlled (ha!well sort of controlled)canters, anyway as i said we were having bloods done every two weeks to check the levels were still decreasing, well 3 weeks ago the bloods came back an her levels were through the roof again although she didn't Tye up thank god! so the vet came back and took MORE blood to check if she had an underlying virus or infection which could be the cause and to check her vitamin levels especially selenium. The bloods came back fine there is no virus etc and her vitamin/mineral levels are fine! so we are back to the beginning again!! Ive got a feeling this is all connected to her hormonal problems (that's another very very long story) she is coming into season every ten days at the moment and they can last over a week long and yes i have had her scanned and investigated and lots of independent vets opinions as well as my own vet and they were all baffled by that too!
next step is creatinine (sp?)levels and maybe muscle biopsy. I'm sorry that i cant offer any useful advice but i do know what you're going through and my heart goes out to you, pm me if you need a friendly ear and keep us updated with your progress i have all my fingers and toes crossed that your boy feels better as soon as possible  and that you manage to get to the bottom of what ever is causing it.
Emma x
if anyone has any ideas on anything i could try for sunne i would be very grateful I'm at a bit of a loss as what to try now and it seems the vet is too!! I do love her to bits and would never ever part with her and i knew she was special from the first time i saw her......but i do sometimes wish she wasn't quite so "special" with things like this |
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shah
Gold Member
England
1356 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2010 : 4:42:40 PM
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Emma - if I were you I'd try her on a high oil diet for 4-6 months. She *might* have EPSM and in that case her muscles need the oil (and no sugar, so the grass nuts are probably too high in sugar for her, she might be better on the lucie nuts) to function properly.
If you want to talk (has she got other symptoms?) feel free to pm me.
Ladysarah - by the way I'm surprised your vet thinks euthanasia is the only option for azoturia. All cases of tye up that I know of have been solved without going that far. It could also be a virus so would be worth having bloods taken.
Low sugar/starch and high oil is very often the best diet option for azoturia and in some cases this is the only change that's needed. |
West Sussex |
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saddlebred
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
1706 Posts |
Posted - 03 Aug 2010 : 09:29:42 AM
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Hi Sarah
So sorry to hear about your boy but the vet should know whether it is any form of tying up from blood tests and then a biopsy will confirm for definite if it is an ongoing problem such as ESM, PSSM or RER.
I have not heard of anyone recommending euthanasia in such cases  . My filly started tying up as a 4 year old - one big attack and then a couple of little ones each year. She has had a biopsy and was diagnosed with RER.
Generally, if they "tie up" it lasts 20 minutes or so but they should be kept in for a minimum of 24 hours as further exercise can cause long term muscle damage.
We have managed to control Jazz's condition by diet and stable management. There is a specialist in Kentucky (Dr. Stephanie Valberg) who has done loads of research on tying up. I found an article "untying the knots" by Dr. Valberg and others, really helpful.
Her research says it is all based on diet and depending on the diagnosis of your horse you can adjust the feed accordingly. Generally low starch diets are best. The closest feed that we have to the feed developed by Kentucky Research Centre is Stamm 30 which is a saracen feed available from most merchants.
We have managed Jazz by 24x7 turnout, keeping her back warm and dry at all times, Stamm 30, and adding Selenevite E to her feed. Once you know how to spot the signs it is a manageable condition. Dont give up on him and get a vet who is prepared to go the extra mile to diagnose and support your boy.
Keep us updated and best wishes
Debs |
Based Bewdley Worcs |
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Minty Arab
Silver Member
England
482 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2010 : 1:14:36 PM
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thankyou so much shah, i will pm you but probably wont have time till after the weekend ive only just seen your reply, im having a mentally busy week this week....dont know whether im coming or going at the moment! but i would really appreciate any advice or ideas at all, trouble is i cant feed anything with alfalfa/lucerne cos it seems to bring her out in hives and she gets really itchy, she certainly is a difficult marebut i love her to bits
Emma x |
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Minty Arab
Silver Member
England
482 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2010 : 1:17:56 PM
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| sorry forgot to say what is the best sort of oil to feed and is it quite fattening? cos shes a bit of a chubsterxxx |
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AZOTURIA
