does anyone have any experiences or insights into TMJ issues in horses,how this expresses itself,how it was diagnosed in your case and treated ?
Raises hand
I had a feeling something was wrong with his TMJ/poll area because he:
- did not like his face being brushed, even with a soft brush
- hated having his ears touched
- chewed on his tongue while being ridden & opened his mouth. Sometimes grinding his teeth (this was the biggest concern I had)
- insisted on rubbing his face after i took of his bridle
- resisted his first dentist, lots of rearing up and trying to escape because he couldn’t keep his mouth open for a long period of time
It was first mentioned to me by a bit fitter because she saw that he was holding his head crooked. When his chiropractor came out, she also took a look at it and did some releases and also thought he might have some TMJ issues. Then, I found a new horse dentist who specialized in TMJ issues. She took a completely different approach than the first dentist; gave my horse lots of breaks and did the first half of the floating without a halter on in his stall. But, dentist recommended that I have a vet come out - since she has seen issues with the TMJ so much, she recommended that I go straight to injection whereas with other horses she usually recommends other treatments that aren’t as drastic.
Vet came out and took xrays. But, the xrays weren’t accurate. Xrays showed inflammation on the left side and no inflammation on the right side. We injected both sides so my horse would not end up compensating because one side felt better/worse than the other (best decision I made for him).
Turned out that the left side had no inflammation and the right side was inflamed.
To help maintain the injections, I used CetylM muscle cream and massage his poll and TMJ area before and after my rides. I had the generic brand of Surprass on hand as well.
After the injection, he was lighter in the bridle, loved having his ears scratched, and no longer pulled his head away when I was brushing his face. The tongue chewing didn’t go away sometimes, but I think that may have been a learned habit because he was doing it for so many years. I also used a TMJ wrap on his bridle so the bridle leather didn’t rub into his TMJ.
1 Like
thank you for sharing !
Our vet checks TMJ as part of their dental exam, (she is also a chiropractor). One indicator of a TMJ issue is the horse struggles to eat apples/thicker carrots, or twists to chew hay. Crookedness can be a TMJ issue, but can also be a dental issue or a pole issue, among many other things.
2 Likes
thank you,we’re still investigating.poll stiffness is definitely an issue here ,we’ll be doing more x rays now,of the teeth as well.got a lead from a nice COTH member on a FB page that deals with TMJ issues.
I have a client horse with bad TMJ. Started with trouble eating carrots and a head tilt. Eventually we noticed that just having a bit in his mouth would cause his jaw to no longer line up.
We originally managed with massage/Chiro, eventually also switched to bitless, and have now injected the TMJ. She also only gives my sliced carrots, and we never give him hay cubes or anything large/crunchy.
Chiropractor says he is an extreme case, and feels he lacks cartilage in the TMJ.
Our vet says both ultrasound and x-ray can be misleading.
1 Like
You’ve got the James Carmalt DVM link? Saskatoon Veterinary College study (and facebook page).
1 Like
yes thank you again !
I was about to recommend Dr James. My friend gelding is back to being ridden after his surgery. Night and day difference. Gelding is Julio - the one who is on the fb page.
P.
