I sent samples on a new horse this spring: sample received at UC Davis 4/29, report in my inbox on 5/3. That doesn’t count the 2 weeks+ it took our sad USPS system to get the envelope there.
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I sent one in recently and got my results in around 10 days. They tell you it will take 15 days or more but I guess it depends on how busy they are. I recommend doing tail hairs. I just pulled the shorter ones along the side high up and they came out so easy with bulbs attached.
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I have an early retiree. In the early days of his retirement, we had a bit of a drought and he ended up staying in the dry lot for about 5 weeks, instead of his normal pasture turnout time. During that time I noticed him standing parked out a lot. There didn’t seem to be anything else wrong with him, but again always parked out. Obviously he was retired so it wasn’t like he was evaluated for symptoms of lameness, but he would trot sound across the pretty hard surface dry lot, so he wasn’t obviously lame or anything.
I had my vet look at him, and we were both thinking something bladder/ urine, so the first step was a urinalysis which was perfect. So the next step was to do an ultrasound of the bladder. When I took him in for that, he had no issues. Out of desperation the vet doing the ultrasound, who was also the one that worked on him for his retirement inducing unspecified neck/back issues, decided to palpate his back. He pretty much dropped like a rock. Significant back pain response, which wasn’t what anyone was looking for, since he had been comfortable for about 4 or 5 months and hadn’t been doing anything other than walking and grazing. So he went on about 10 days of Bute during which time the pastures had recovered enough that he was able to go back out on pasture (and walk around) and the problem went away forever, but I sure did put that one in my toolbox for signs of back pain! I also figured it was a done deal for his retirement if just hanging around in a 50x75 ft. dry lot could induce back pain in him!
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Motion is lotion!
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Truth! But it takes a special kind of bad back to go south in that large of a space, god help him if he needed to be on stall rest!
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Right!
Do any of you have some suggestions on feeding PSSM horse/a horse with exercise intolerance
I’d like to feed him for energy, top line, but not weight gain. Some kind of fat??
And is there any supplement out there for PSS horse? I want to do everything I can help him. 
There is a protocol for feeding a horse with PSSM 1 and PSSM 2 that are easily found if you google it. I know there are threads on here about the diet and what to feed as well.
If there are specific supplements to help they are here somewhere too. A new thread asking the question may be helpful.
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My understanding is PSSM1 is more about fat and 2 is about getting more protein. There are folks who say they see results with the MFM pellets by Kentucky Research at a cost of $300 every 5 weeks. I haven’t tried them.
I pulled blood for the basics and then also E, selenium, iron, insulin, ACTH, also tested my water, FECs, we went to the dentist, found big ole beans in his sheath, a bad tooth, and then there was the root canal on an incissor. I found no problems in the blood or tests and glad I did them all. Good to know. With all the other issues I kept thinking this and that and then that is the reason for all the reluctance. 
And he has slowly improved. Oh, and the first FEC came back at 2100! That was a journey. He had so so many reasons a guy might not want to move.
Over the years I’ve done a number of pro diet consults and have done two with this gelding. The latest was with a pHD level nutritionist. I do test my hay to know protein, sugar, starch and the minerals and think that is very worthwhile.
It’s common to see people feeding BCAAs and I feed Santa Cruz for that, and Vitamin E, for me also the natural E by Santa Cruz - 4000/day. I feed a high protein ration balancer - ProElite Grass Advantage - 1 lb/day. And a half serving of KIS Trace vit/minerals twice a day. 1 TBL salt twice a day too.
Between my hay - 20 lbs/day and the feed - he’s getting 1265 gms of protein and he weighs 1100lbs.
Does that help?
Do you test your hay?
I will say, all my efforts over time have helped my guy a lot but man, there’s been a lot. I’m also doing regular bodywork with his tight muscles in the back end and that’s helped too. My guy has been a puzzle and slowly peeling that onion to find what all bothers him.
You are a wealth of knowledge! Thank you so much for your help!!
What is the NSC of your hay?
You’re amazing! 
You’re sweet. My Arab was dx’d IR back 24 yrs ago so got on hay testing train long ago. Wish I didn’t know about PSSM. What a lousy lousy dx and so sad for all the suffering of horses and owners.
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Hugs !
Update
-Pssm hair sample from uc davis came back negative
-we took pics of his feet and back and that was clean
-starting him on misoprostal to treat possible hind gut ulcers
I might start a new thread on his laziness/exercise intolerance. 
But
I took him to a dressage show. Did 1 first level test and felt like I was going to vomit after from working so hard. I scratched the rest of my tests.
Maybe it IS his personality.
If I can’t find anything physical with him, I think I am going to sell him. He’s not my kind of horse sadly
I am glad that he is PSSM1 negative and I have known several horses were just that lazy & quiet by nature. One made her older owner so frustrated as she liked to trail ride with other ladies who owned gaited horses!
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It can still be pssm type 2. Or laziness. If it is pssm type 2 or MFM, I would be looking closely at his ability to canter correctly. Can he canter after 20-30 minutes of consistent exercise? Does he maintain the canter? If he is resistant under saddle, what about on the lunge or in the field.
I have a young 4 yr old that is lazy in an arena. You could beat her with a whip and are lucky to get a trot. She isn’t afraid and just doesn’t care if you smack her. The first time I asked her to back up on the ground I tried every trick in the book- had to put her in the corner, get the lunge whip and snap it in front of her face. And then and only then did i get a few steps. Finally switched to food motivators- if she works even a little she gets cookies.
She definitely lacks in motivation. When she feels good, she gallops and plays, but it has to be on her terms. Getting out of the arena is the only way she will work for you. If I trailer off property, she’s even better.
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If he’s lazy but you feel like you’ve really investigated sound, I’d find him a new job. Fighting to create forward is miserable for everyone.
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It is and I hate being frustrated with him. It is no fun!
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When I first got my mare, we really struggled with forward. She would go, but it felt like maybe a 35% effort. I feel like we struggled with this for years. She sounds a lot like yours. Not motivated by all the usual stuff. Happily, I now have a horse who - once she hits her zone - willingly goes forward and has plenty of gas in the tank. I joke she’s like a diesel engine - she takes a long time to warm up but when she’s ready, she can go forever.
Here are some things that helped along the way:
- Riding her with no game plan other than to get her going forward (we called them cowboy rides)
- Longing her before riding to get her motivated to go forward, using caveletti as incentive to go more
- Using LOTS of positive reinforcement. Kicking, using a whip, chasing with a longe whip - none of that worked. But rewarding even the smallest tries helped and it has a snowball effect.
- Trying to make things seem like her idea, not mine.
All of those helped, but I have to say that the most effective thing of all was to be ridiculously disciplined and work on getting her perfectly straight. Once that clicked into place (and it took me years to figure this out), she literally feels like she has all the power behind her in the world AND SHE CAN ACCESS IT.
I know that sounds crazy, and I feel like people may think this is ridiculous and can’t be true, but that is honestly our story. And I am someone who does NOT like a kick ride, so as someone who understands your frustration, I felt like it was worth sharing just in case it helps.
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