Jingles
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This. It is more of a symptom than an end point.
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After the bone scan, we started to wean him off all the meds and he deteriorated. He started leaning against his stall wall and walking got even more scary looking. He was put down not long after as I couldn’t risk him falling or hurting someone. Dr. Johnson had a horse who had lived a while with it, but generally the prognosis is not good. I believe it is possible that some horses stabilize at a place where they can go on from for a longer time, but it was not the case with mine.
I hope your vet is helpful in finding answers. Two experienced local vets did not recognize what was going on with my horse initially. I’m very lucky to be so close to New Bolton Center and have access to a neurologist. Best of luck, OP.
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Jingles and please let us know what happens.
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I’m so sorry. I hope this isn’t what’s happening to her. Our appointment is tomorrow. My concern is that she is a rescue and was in a “bad accident” with damage to her pelvis before my friend got her. No details though. She has always moved a bit wonky behind, but she is mostly a pasture puff, so it wasn’t a big deal.
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Looks neurological. Poor baby.
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Vet says no neuro. Pinched discs. Dex is helping tremendously. She will be on dex until it doesn’t work any longer. At least my friend will have her for awhile more.
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Wow, interesting.
I’ve know of veterinarians who have used IV DMSO for this. Perhaps it could be another option, at some point.
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I guess I’d personally consider pinched discs resulting in sidewinders to be neurological. I knew a mare with a similar DX and meds worked for quite a few years although she was never safe to ride again. She eventually deteriorated to a point where she could no longer control her movement and was euthanized but had two or three good years of life after her diagnosis. Glad the meds are helping and wishing you guys best of luck!!
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Glad the dex is helping!
I’d love to know more about the diagnostics. I hadn’t actually heard of pinched discs in horses before and I’ve heard of a wide variety of issues over the years.
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I didn’t want to throw the discussion off before your vet visit, but we had a horse where I board present pretty similarly. Rushed him to UF vet hospital. The verdict: a bee sting on his neck. How crazy is that?!
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I had one that looked a lot like this with what ended up being a tumor of some kind pressing on the spine. She lived for several more good years with high dose steroids during occasional flare ups. She also had a history of pelvic trauma (race injury as a 3 y/o). I lost her to a major hemorrhage at 29.
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Wow that is crazy! A couple years ago, we had africanized bees at the ranch and they were stinging everyone and everything.
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It was so crazy. He just spun in circles. Neck bent way to the side. We thought he was done. Two days later, he came home normal as can be after steroids.
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I’m terrified of stinging insects so this sounds absolutely awful 
oh my goodness.
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I would pull up in my car and wait. They would be buzzing around my car and I’d have to cover my head with a shirt and run for the tackroom. I first noticed them as one of them was insistant on getting into my ear. I thought it was a fly on crack. It didn’t sting me surprisingly as I swatted at it madly. They are so aggressive, it is actually legal to kill them in California which is what we ended up doing.
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That would be hard for me to deal with!!! I’m glad that you were able to kill them and not deal with that anymore. Yuck 
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What’s Dex?
I believe it’s short for dexamethasone
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