Questions regarding Roaring...

[relocatedTXjumpr]

I came across a 9yo TB gelding that is essentially a free-be. Needs lots of TLC but is just a good all around guy.

Was supposedly a fox hunter and low level dressage horse and then a beginner schooly. I’ve seen and ridden him and thouroughly enjoyed him. Seems to be a good solid citizen. Has been sitting in a pasture for the past year or so and not touched.

I was told he is a roarer, and I did hear it when cantering, (but not while jumping).

I’m wondering, not having ANY experience with roaring, if his condition would not make him suitible as a lesson horse. I’m thinking ridden a few times a week, not jumping over 2’6. He would live outside, if that matters. Would a local horse show be out of the question?

I’m also wondering how this illness progresses…is the surgery always a necessity in the end…or can they live out their lives painfree without it?

thanks.

[altjaeger]

I have roarers in my group lessons, and roaring lesson horses. They enter the local shows.

[NancyM]

It’s not really an “illness”, it is a conformational problem in the throat where a flap does not open and close normally. It does not progress. The surgery attempts to correct this malformation. In heavy work, racing, and probaby foxhunting, or high level three day eventing, the amount of air they can get to their lungs is impared and performance is decreased as a result. For just about everything else, including most quite high level show jumping, it does not effect the horse’s performance, because it is just not as physically demanding over an extended period of exercise. It’s just noisey loud breathing. It is considered an “unsoundness” in the hunter ring, but jumpers have often competed for years with the loud breathing of a roarer. Sometimes the surgery works well, sometimes it does not work. This guy may have already had the surgery, and it just didn’t work for him.

So if he seems to be a suitable guy for what you are looking for in every way other than being noisey, and he’s certainly priced right, he sounds like exactly what you have been looking for.

[relocatedTXjumpr]

Yes, he fits the bill in the areas we need.

My concern is causing him pain that can be avoided by simply letting him be a pasture horse…but his age and his abilties would fit perfectly into our program. The shows would be local 2ft and under stuff…not rated.

He is def. out of fitness too.

Thanks for the input.

[whbar158]

I have known many roars and while they didn’t compete at the high levels, they were great for schooling shows and lessons. While a judge may pin them behind a non roarer all other things equal, often at schooling shows it isn’t a big deal.

[atr]

I have a roarer (or should I say, an ex-roarer.) He started exhibiting symptoms when he was 8, which is not unusual. He had tie-back surgery when he was 10. He is now 19.

The larynx is controlled by a ridiculously long nerve that actually wraps around the heart (same as in humans, interestingly, apparently one of the risks of open heart surgery is larngeal paralysis.) Sometimes, particularly in very large horses, this nerve is impinged upon as the horse and it’s heart grows and matures, resulting in a paralysis of usually the left side of the larynx.

The surgery is pretty straightforward, btw, and usually very effective, but as with all surgeries there are risks.

My horse went from being extremely exercise intolerant, noisy and rather fearful, and impossible to put on the bit, to being a normal horse again–he’s still slightly noisy, but you have to be listening really hard, and people at the side of the arena can’t hear it… He was pretty much fully paralysed on the left side when he was “done.” It does tend to be progressive but with an obvious end-point once the flap is fully paralysed. I’d have no hesitation about doing it again if I had a horse that needed it.

Roaring is considered an unsoundness in hunters, so he probably wouldn’t be a candidate for a show horse unless he had the surgery.

[texang73]

I had :sadsmile: a horse who was considered a mild (grade 1) roarer… I evented him. Though you could hear him at the canter, it caused NO problems. I found that you heard him more if he was nrevous/ tense, but heard him less if he was in better shape…

No reason not to consider the guy you’re being offered. A mild roar is really just an auditory inconvenience in most horses.

[lizajane09]

@atr;4712262

The surgery is pretty straightforward, btw, and usually very effective, but as with all surgeries there are risks.

The primary risk with this particular surgery (other than the general risks associated with any surgery) is the aspiration of food or water while eating or drinking, since the horse is less able to close off his trachea completely while swallowing. Some horses seem to have very little problem with this post-surgically, some have more issues. If he seems comfortable (and to me it sounds like he should be fine for the level of work you intend), the surgery’s really not necessary for him to be functional. atr explained pretty clearly what the issue is, it’s paralysis of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (usually the left one) that is the issue.

[Bacchus]

I have a roarer. He was a young girl’s hunter, but the roaring made it impossible for her to show him, so she gave him to us as my husband’s trail horse. He was 6 (7 now), and he’s fabulous.

He didn’t make it to the track because of the roaring. Had tie-forward when he was 2 and tie-back when he was 5 or 6, neither worked.

We haven’t ridden him hard enough to notice it, but you can hear him sometimes when he’s galloping with his friends. The saddest part is that he can’t whinny:(

I don’t think mild roaring, or even worse, would hinder a lesson / low-level show horse at all.

This horse’s main problem is when he’s collected. We did promise never to show him, and we aren’t going to.

[Percheron_X]

It depends on the severity and if there is any effect on the horses ability to perform for the desired activity.

I have known roarers that had difficulty coming round due to head position aggravating the restriction in the larynx.

My concern about using a roarer as a lesson horse would be if the horse is capable of teaching riders to the intended level.

If you put a student on a horse that can’t take them to the level they are working towards, you will likely frustrate them, and possibly jeopardize your standing as a trainer.

The horse should first be evaluated to ascertain it’s abilities, a vet may offer a valuable opinion as well.

[Cielo_Azure]

[QUOTE=Percheron X;4713056]
It depends on the severity and if there is any effect on the horses ability to perform for the desired activity.

I have known roarers that had difficulty coming round due to head position aggravating the restriction in the larynx.

My concern about using a roarer as a lesson horse would be if the horse is capable of teaching riders to the intended level.

If you put a student on a horse that can’t take them to the level they are working towards, you will likely frustrate them, and possibly jeopardize your standing as a trainer.

The horse should first be evaluated to ascertain it’s abilities, a vet may offer a valuable opinion as well.[/QUOTE]

Percheron X is very correct. Some roarers: it is just nothing more than a sound but for other horses, the airways might be completely paralyzed and they can’t get enough air into their lungs to do any amount of exercise what so ever.

A DVM should be able to work up what grade roarer he is. There is a good explanation of how it is diagnosed below. The article also explains that some roarers are very able to continue a competitive career. It has good photos too.

http://www.horsemagazine.com/CLINIC/R/ROE_NICK/roaring.htm

Also, occasionally, horses are thought to be roarers before they are worked up but the sound is coming from the nasal passage issues or from having sinus cysts. Getting a work up could save you heart ache or could confirm that he is worth getting.

And as someone else said, it can be progressive…