Quiessence is a really nice supplement.
Yes and itās important to keep horses with SI issues fit. Let them go and it can be like starting all over again.
My gelding had to get muscle relaxers for a few days before the chiropractor could even work on him initially. He was just that uncomfortable. I do like to follow up his chiro appts with massage therapy. I find that helps alot. And keeping him on a regular schedule for his bodywork appts.
You may also want to have him tested for EPSM/PSSMā¦ much more common in TBs than most folks realize.
Whatās his current diet? Considering he came off the track, where theyāre fed HIGH STARCH, HIGH SUGAR feeds, his muscles may be coming off the Crack Addiction and are tight as all get out.
Going for no-sugar, low NSC (like 11% or less), with high fat, high Vitamin E and a Magnesium chaser might be worth a consideration.
Just something to add into the mix as you figure him out.
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Not for nothing, but I really would like to see some qualitative research on this and look forward to the several studies I understand are in the works being released. Youāre not the only one Iāve seen say this on a forum space, FWIW, so itās not a dig at you.
Iāve dealt with a lot of things in TBs, but never PSSM - so Iād love to learn more about the variants (excluding PSSM1) and whether they seem to have a management component. Thatās not to suggest my management is superior (there are a lot of better places), moreso wondering the whys and when for this disease.
I understand many use the Equiseq panel in good faith, though no clinical studies have been done backing the panel results with clinical symptoms. For that reason I canāt get behind it.
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Not to mention some of Vahlbergās work shows a disconnect between muscle biopsy results and EquiSeq results 
I DO think there is something PSSM-like in TBs. I have one friend in particular whose TB changed a lot when she got his protein levels higher (and they werenāt low before), and REALLY changed when she started adding whey isolate protein. He went from unworked but looking over-trained (tight, atrophy, striations, thin) to looking ready for the Hunter ring in terms of weight and muscle look (still looks unworked, but he IS unworked).
there are more stories like that. Maybe these types simply have some different protein needs? I donāt know.
So SOMEthing is there. And maybe the biopsy-hair analysis disconnect isnāt as dismissive a factor as some think. I donāt know.
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Valberg has found PSSM type 2 in TBs but it doesnāt seem to be prevalent. Probably RER is more commonātying up is known at least among TBs in race training.
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The 3 magnesium supplements I tried were all pelleted but I can certainly pick up some Quiessence to try. Heās just a bit picky about some things (Iāve never met a horse that didnāt like a peppermintā¦until him!).
He was definitely on the crack addiction diet when I got him! Per the person I got him from, he was on 2 scoops of a 12/6 feedā¦twice a day 
However, I have had him for 5 months now and he is currently on Sentinel LS, a ration balancer, beet pulp and 24/7 access to good quality pasture. His muscles were definitely tight the first few weeks he was here but have certainly relaxed since then.
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I think there is definitely something pseudo-PSSM in TBs.
What I canāt decide is, if it is a result of the racing they did at a young age, or something else.
I love my OTTBs. I will never not love racing and the breed. The more experience I have with them, the more I think that most of them are far more stoic than we let on and that many of their issues stem from baggage from racing and long-term issues from the way they were shod. I have watched and seen a lot of people blame PSSM for their TBās discomfort - but then I watch a video or see their management and see that the horse is barefoot on awful angles and only fed hay 3x a day and stalled 16hrs a day. None of this would make a normal horse happy or comfortable in their body. As much as it sounds like I am throwing these owners under the bus or dismissing the legitimate experiences of owners struggling with a PSSM-like diagnosis, I do believe that many of the pseudo-PSSM symptoms are a red herring for something else - feet, management, KS ā all share symptoms that overlap with non-PSSM1 variants.
Iāve had many that sound like your friendās horse. Iāve found such a big difference feeding alfalfa.
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No high performance athlete whose evolution is to MOVE, should be standing for 16+ hours a day. Add to that yes, the often terrible hoof conditions (never assume that just because someone is paid a lot of money, means theyāre doing a good job), the issues caused by jumping out of the starting gate, and itās just all a perfect recipe for whole-body issues, back to front.
There seems to be a lot of " this is just how weāve always done it" out there, and because the vast majority of the horses people get OT are the rejects, the owners/trainers never get to understand how their management plays a role in why some of those horses donāt do well.
I have friends who rehab OTTBs to re-home them, and they rarely have issue because they do it right - fix the feet, fix the TEETH, get them properly dewormed, get them on a good diet, do the body work, and in relatively short order, they have a perfectly happy horse.
Iām not dismissing real physiological issues either, like you arenāt. I just donāt think they are as major a player in these ADR TBs as some think.
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I am so with you! As a part-time Trimmer, most of my work has been rehabbing the long-toed/under-run-heeled out of shoes OTTB. When the owner is able to provide near 24/7 turnout on varied terrain, trimming on a 4-week cycle, etc. the hooves change and so does the body.
Iāll ditto the up in protein from alfalfa etc.
I try to stress a holistic approach: Diet, Environment, Exercise, Trim in coordination with vet, chiro, etc. Find the root cause and let the body heal.
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I have an elderly TB (supposedly, he doesnāt have a tattoo but his conformation supports the claim). He was thin and āsucked upā looking when I got him. It seemed strange to me as his body (top line, neck, and hind quarters) seemed so scrawny compared to his rib cage. Iām not explaining it well, but while he had ribs shining I would have expected more pronounced ribs based on the rest of his body. He was super body sore too, poor guy. At any rate, Iāve been chucking alfalfa hay at him like a mad woman along with his TCS and supps. His body looks more normal now. Still can see a few ribs, but his neck no longer resembles a toothpick. I dunno if he has some sort of condition or if he was just plain starving, but he looks and feels better now.
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just ordered some whey protein isolate from Horsetech to try my mare on-- how much do you feed? (I have emailed my nutritionist as well, just curious as I havenāt heard back yet!).
The website didnāt give me a whole lot of information but if anything like human whey protein isolate Iād start around 60g and increase if necessary.
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