Though I’m not going down the surgery path, it is nice to hear a success story. Can you share some details? IE how old is the horse, what was he doing prior to surgery, what are you using him for, how much “rehab” did you do after getting him, etc.
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Happy to… I did not know him before surgery. He’d been doing some dressage and jumping w his owner ( early 20s). Supposedly he’d gotten loose where he was in training and got hurt somehow to the point he was falling down. The family elected to do surgery. He was returned to the trainer for rehab, but over a course of a year, did not improve. The veterinarian who did the surgery called and asked if I would try to rehab him- he said the surgery was very successful and didn’t know what the problem was. We took him and started walking over one pole- ad he got better, we added poles until he was walking 6 poles in a straight line. Then we started over raising the poles and adding one at a time. Then we started walking (same routine) on a circle. When he did that easily, we started the entire process over again at the trot. When he was successfully trotting raised poles, we made a little gymnastic…2 trot poles to a x, which over time became a small square oxer. His owner began riding him and was cantering small jumps when they left. We were very diligent about the work we did and it paid off, at least for this horse and family. He was also turned out regularly.
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Hello all - I just thought I’d post a 2 month post-op update on Rose.
She has continued to improve every day. She is carrying her head at a “normal” height for her, and is able to bend her neck laterally more and more every day. She is able to lower her head to the ground to scrounge for hay scraps, but is still being fed out of a neck at muzzle height. She is off all pain meds, and only remains on high dose Vit E (which will be transitioned to a maintenance dose).
She is hand-walked 10 minutes a day - she was stocking up a bit in her hindlimbs so we had to end her strict rest at about a month. She is able to navigate normally over poles, and her recheck neuro exam yesterday looked good as well. Waiting to hear from her surgery team about her neck x-rays, which were also taken yesterday. If she gets the ok she will be able to increase her exercise and/or go outside on turnout!
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Glad to hear she is doing well! Keep the updates coming.
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Just checking in to see how your mare is doing?
Hi! Thank you for checking in - it’s much appreciated. Rose is doing very well. She is trotting 10 minutes 5 days a week or so on the lunge line.I have videos I might be able to PM, if anyone is curious. I also hand walk her over poles, do carrot stretches after she is lunged, and do belly lifts/butt tucks. She goes out on her regular turnout schedule. She is not on any medications, just her routine regimen, which is Purina Outlast, ration balancer, EO3 oil, and Vit E.
She improves every week with regard to her neck flexibility. She does not seem painful, just stiff. She is still figuring out how her “new” body works, and is pretty cautious with exercise, but I think she is slowly realizing she’s ok!
We are increasing her trotting duration by 5 minutes every week or so. I assume we’ll add in some cantering next month, or tack walking? Unsure, but onward we go!
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Glad to hear the continued good news. Thanks!
It works if you don’t want to continue jumping, tho it is not for the feint of heart
For horses that are minimally neurologically impaired, they can return to jumping. It just depends on the neurologic improvement of the horse and how the horse rehabs.
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I had a horse with neck compressions who was res ch in US in green incentive- he got a tremor and we found compressions so explored the idea of surgery but the problem wound up being EDM- I just remember the caveats as explained to me at the time but top surgeons in the industry (before it progressed to where he had to be euthanized). I will add that at 18.1 and as a 3’6 hunter, the prognosis was dim - but it is moot now. Also the recovery is tough from what I was told. Each of us makes the best decision we can for our horses. I wish you the best and please keep us in the loop- It is a very interesting and relevant topic
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my almost 13 y/o 3rd level wb schoolmaster, whom I’ve owned for 3 years, had always been a stiff horse, esp in his neck. the ppe vet felt neck stiffness was musculoskeletal, no need for rads. I did lots of osteopathic work w him, which helped some. After several years of only mild improvement in stiffness, my vet x-rayed him, diagnosed arthritis in c5-6 and c6-7 and injected his neck. That helped quite a bit, but only for 3 months. Shortly thereafter, he began swapping leads, had trouble picking up left lead. Then one day he stepped on himself turning to the left. I got him up to new bolton the next week for a neuro eval. He was 1.5 on neuro scale and was a good surgical candidate. They do not do basket surgery at new bolton. Rather, they use locking plates, a relatively new technique and felt to be more biomechanically correct than the basket. He is now 7 months out and doing wonderfully. He passed his 6 month neuro exam w “flying colors”. His neck is much more flexible than before surgery (he can get it almost to shoulder) but limited compared to a non-fused horse. He is no longer swapping leads or having trouble w correct lead. He is tracking up symmetrically which he wasn’t before surgery. He movements are more fluid w much more animation. No more gaping his mouth or rooting under saddle. I board at a place where stall are open 24 hrs and horses can come and go into their pasture. Prior to surgery, he stayed in his stall most of the day. Now he wants to be out w his herd, all the time. It was a scary surgery to do (15-20% mortality) and long and daunting rehab, but so worth it. Rosebud, your horse will continue to improve and you will start to see big changes around the 6 month mark. I know some on this board have commented on the possibility of adjacent segment disease (asd), however, according to the new bolton surgeon, asd has not been a big issue in horses, as it is w humans and dogs.
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Thank you so much for sharing your story! I am thrilled your horse is doing so well - please continue to update us 
I really appreciate your encouraging words and support - it means a lot!
Could you share what your rehab program was like, or what was recommended by NBC?
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Thanks for your story…Interesting re the different surgery approach and yes the surgery is scary for sure! Glad to read some positive stories.
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Hi there. rehab: first 2 mos strict stall rest except they wanted me to hand graze him several times daily. Daily carrot stretches, butt and belly tucks for the entire rehab. month 3, still on stall rest but added progressive program of walking 5 min twice daily, then 10, then 15, then 20. added ground poles once we were up to 20 min. month 4 he was turned out to be a horse. month 5: Continue turnout but introduce lunging 4-5 times per week. Begin with walk and light trot for 20 minutes total. Increase the amount of trot over a period of 3 weeks so that he is trotting for 10-15 minutes and walking for 10 minutes. Add canter in the last week. He also stood on balance pads daily for month 3-6, for proprioception.
month 6: Continue turnout. begin walking under saddle 4-5 times per week.
- ● 15 minutes once daily for 1 week. Walk long and low.
- ● 20 minutes once daily for 1 week. Walk long and low.
- ● 25 minutes once daily for 1 week. Walk over ground poles, 4 poles in a row, 5 passes. Warm up long and low but add 5-10 minutes of a more gently collected walk.
after his 6 month check up he was to continue ridden work and I was to treat him like a horse that had been out of work for 6 mos and bring him gradually back into real work.
Unfortunately, I injured my shoulder and had surgery around the time he started longe work. I can’t ride for another month, my trainer has been riding him for me.
Rehab has its discouraging moments and feels like you are getting nowhere and it will never end. It goes fast and you will also deepen your relationship w your horse, spending so much time eye to eye.
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Wow! This is so great - thank you for sharing
Our rehab plan started out similar; she was supposed to be stalled for 2 months, but after the first month she began getting hindlimb edema that resolved with handwalking, so we were cleared to start for 5 minutes after that, increasing by 5 minutes each week up to 20 min. She had her recheck rads at the 3 month mark, and was cleared for turnout. Month 4 we started lunging and she is now up to 10 minutes this week for the second week in a row, doing her stretches (carrot, butt/belly tucks too!) and walking over poles.
I haven’t minded the process at all once she was home, finally got some sleep, and seemed comfy. I enjoy seeing her daily improvements and spending time with her. My trainers have been very supportive and helpful, and lunge her for me when I’m at work or can’t get there. I miss riding, but this whole process has just reinforced that it’s not about the shows or the ribbons or how high your horse can jump or how fast. It’s just about your horse and making their health/comfort a priority. Refocusing is not a bad thing! We have fun meandering around the indoor sniffing all the jumps and doing a big grooming session.
Thank you for your thoughtful replies and insight - it’s nice to know there are more of us out there and that our horses are on the right path 
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Thank you so much for sharing your story. It gives me hope. I am trying to find out everything I can about the options for my 4 year old Andalusian with neuro deficits. Find out he is ataxic 2 weeks ago and my personal roller coaster started.
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hi. do you have a diagnosis yet? I understand the roller coaster. it’s devastating news but, depending on diagnosis, there is definitely hope.
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This roller coaster does suck in a major way, especially in younger horses. My first experience was on a 23 yr old horse, cervical injections helped him enormously for about 18 months, after which I stopped riding him. My current experience was on a barely 10 yr old quite talented Lusi/WB cross. There is lots of discussion on this forum, also articles and studies online if you google various combinations of ataxia, cervical arthritis, and similar things like EPM, muscle diseases, etc. Hopefully you have access to good vets and either insurance or a decent checkbook…sadly the work adds up.
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Hello all! We’re at the 4 1/2 month mark, and we just got approval to start walking under tack! Rose has been consistently WTC on the lunge line, has no turnout restrictions, and is still keeping up with her PT exercises. Stiffness is our main issue, but my vets are thrilled with her overall progress. They also updated me that another horse that was in-hospital at the same time for the same surgery has also moved successfully to tack walking Hooray!
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