Anyone been through THO before? If so please share your experience as I had never heard of this before yesterday. Thanks!
I had never heard of this either until I just googled the Rood and Riddle info. The only thing I would suggest is going to the best large animal clinic possible for a recommended surgical option.
Hopefully, someone knowledgeable will chime in shortly. Keeping you and your horse in my thoughts and prayers. {{HUG}}
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Thanks, yes, he is at one of the top clinics so definitely getting the right care. Vet and I are going to talk more tomorrow so I am trying to learn as much as I can. Haven’t discussed surgery yet.
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Have not seen this on any horses, but a few thoughts: There are various articles online re the surgery and it obviously has some risks, like any surgery. Read a few so you are not in the dark…
Also, I would push for information on whether the surgery will resolve or improve the hind end problems. The articles mostly address neuro signs in the head/face area and say they improve.
Glad to hear you have a definitive diagnosis; wishing you luck with your boy, and please share follow up info for educational benefit.
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I’ve seen a few. Without surgery, the care is intensive and the prognosis poor.
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She still thinks I need to test for EPM as well. Not sure how far I want to go as she is being honest already that he may not improve enough to be a riding horse. I have one retired horse already and I board, so not sure if I want to risk having 2. Thanks so much!
Can you elaborate on this? I know the treatment is antibiotics and she has not brought up surgery yet but with it being the weekend she may be waiting to consult with surgeons tomorrow.
As I remember, THO may be caused by a guttural pouch infection. That has not been definitively proven and may not be true in all cases. That’s likely why your horse is on antibiotics. In some cases the boney changes may be similar to the arthritis found in other areas of the body.
Either way, if a horse has progressed to showing neuro signs, there is probably now a fracture. That area has a lot of distractive forces and removal of part of the hyoid apparatus is the only way to stabilize the area.
They may want to do a CT before recommending surgery. I assume the diagnosed with endoscopy and/or X-rays?
Endoscopy showed 25% enlargement in one hyoid. No gutteral pouch infection. The enlargement in and of itself can mean infection from what they have told me. They are concerned with something else going on as well (EPM, WNV) as his neuro status has not improved at this point. He is not a surgical candidate, unfortunately.
sorry to hear that he is not a surgery candidate…That sucks.
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