Hello, I have a 8-10yr old quarab pony gelding that has always been super healthy. He had hematuria a few days ago for the first time as far as I know, he had been on TMS to treat scratches. We think he may have had an episode of tying up however not sure if that was the cause or not as he did not show any other symptoms of RER. He is currently being rested until completely recovered. Are there any supplements or feedstuffs I should try giving him to prevent a reoccurrence and to restore muscle? Since he is a QHxArab should I have him testes for PSSM or other genetic conditions?
With the QH in him, I would test for HYPP and PSSM.
If he has either, the key is going to be management through diet and regular exercise. I have a PSSM mare (TB/Perch) and it took us quite a while to find the right diet for her, but now that we have it seems to be fully under control. LOW starch, HIGH fat. Magnesium and Selenium to support muscles (careful, though, there is such a thing as selenium toxicity). Talk to your vet! Mine did a custom diet for my mare and the most exotic element in it is alfalfa pellets (meaning that it’s all easily available and not too out of the ordinary/expensive),
You can also do a blood draw to test for a tie-up episode–though typically you want to get that within 24-36 hours of the acute symptoms if you can. If a tie-up is confirmed, conventional wisdom is now to do light exercise regularly after an episode, once the acute symptoms have subsided.
This might be difficult, given the recent hematuria, but you should also keep an eye on his urine for a dark brownish color (myoglobin), which indicates muscle damage from tying up. That can be an important factor in the process of going back to work.
I had a horse tie up on me. She was an extremely difficult horse to keep weight on. Pouring feed into her- good hay, added 1 cup oil twice daily to feed. She never seemed quite right. I treated her for ulcers because i thought maybe that was the problem, but none of her symptoms were specific. She looked sluggish and like she didn’t feel good, but was still eating and riding like a normal horse. Until one evening she was quite bad off. Looked like she was going to go down at any moment - her abdomen was so tucked up i immediately thought severe colic and had the vet on the phone. Temperature was elevated and she was having mild muscle spasms. I called her owner and her owner refused to get the vet out and opted instead to go pick her up. I don’t think she knew the horse was sick- i believe a boarder abandoned the horse. I will say that mare was the quietest horse i have ever met. Zero spook but i suppose she didn’t have the energy.
I had already incidentally put her on the diet for a pssm horse. If it was PSSM, then she would never be a normal riding horse and i was rather relieved because I could have bought her with the condition. Sad thing is her owner was planning on breeding her. But the timing worked out just right for me and i got two wonderful horses practically given to me that very same week. I was feeling a bit burned, and definitely not wanting to take on another horse without a trial. The two horses i got were from a friend of a friend and she let me take them home for several months before I finally sent her a check in the mail.
Anyhow, i would check out the Animal Genetics site. You could do a five panel test but you probably don’t need to test for herda. You may be able to test for individual diseases, rather than do the five panel.
There are two forms of PSSM and one requires a muscle biopsy for diagnosis.
