Update post 60 - Now he’s barefoot - Incredibly tight back muscles

[Fiesta01]

@Feathered_Feet

Otherwise, I think it’s worth trying the usual suspects - chiro, massage (you might have to try several people until you find one your horse likes), and a physical therapy approach,

This. Find a good massage therapist. Watch her work closely and ask for some techniques that you can do daily. One of my mares had a back injury at 5. I found that doing about 30 minutes of massage daily made a huge difference in between appointments.

Also, get a copy of Beating Muscle Injuries for Horses by Jack Meagher. It’s available on Amazon. Along with understandable explanations of different massage techniques, it has detailed drawings of the musculature and where the pressure points are for each muscle group. It describes the symptoms that you see for injuries to the various muscle groups to help you pinpoint exactly where your horse is sore when they aren’t quite right. It also lists various rehab techniques (hand walk, hill work, etc) for each injury location.

I kept my copy of this book (spiral bound, so stays open while you’re working on the horse) at my barns for decades and used it very often. It’s definitely a book that every horseowner should have in their library.

[fivestrideline]

I’m always down for reading material so I’ll check this out!

So far he’s hated every massage therapist. He also hates it when I do very light stroking type motions (I can get away with things he won’t let anyone else do), but he will tolerate a very soft curry used firmly. Chiros are a HELL NO, and I think maybe detrimental for him. I haven’t tried acupuncture but he is one that we have to be strategic with needles (for blocking or shots) because you get about 3 pokes before he’s leaving the county. Even when drugged out of his mind. So, I’m not optimistic.

[Fiesta01]

Oh no. I just saw that Amazon says there is limited availability. I knew it was out of print, but thought it was still readily available. Maybe someone who is more computer savvy than I knows ways of tracking down books like this (ebay or something?).

[starsandsun]

You might explore myofascial release. Will he tolerate you placing a flat, relaxed hand behind his withers and in front of his SI? And just let your hands relax into him? This simple thing really helped my horse, and it connected us in a truly lovely way.

[IPEsq]

I use a bodyworker who is a trained Rolfer but she mostly does this sort of mix of Masterson type energy work and cranio-sacral therapy. It’s great for those who want more “hands off” approach. Maybe something like that?

I used FES some and Robaxin and mesotherapy for my super back sore horse. His muscles were like rocks.

[Mersidoats]

Have you looked for a bodyworker that does ortho-bionomy? It’s less massage work and more gentle muscle releases and osteopathic manipulation - much less movement than chiro or osteo work. If you are in the central Florida area, I can give you a recommendation.

I’ve also soaked a towel in warm water that is loaded with epsom salts, and laid it across my mare’s back, with another towel over it. I’m talking tons of Epsom salts - I could see the crystals on the towel. Biomats also seem to be soothing for tight back and hindquarter muscles. They are plugged in, so the horse has to be tied to use one, but even just 20 min is soothing.

[fivestrideline]

I do have a contact with a myofascial (sp?) practitioner. I may try them after I get him on some Robaxin, just to see.

Sounds like mesotherapy and shockwave are worth discussing with the vet if we don’t see improvement with methocarbomol and bodywork. He loved the PEMF enough that I’ll keep that in the rotation as well. I just want him to keep improving enough so that he can get out on regular turnout and work.

[stargzng386]

It might be worth seeing if anyone local rents out a bemer blanket or something similar. We have a local tack store that does a week long rental. If you could use it 2x a day to get the muscles relaxed enough for massage or something similar it might be worth it.

Also just tossing this out there has he been tested for Lyme or EPM? I had a horse who never held any chiro/massage who had chronic Lyme. I had another who wouldn’t tolerate any massage or bodywork who had EPM

[fivestrideline]

Oh good call. An old barn had a Bemer but I never got to try it. A week of daily use would be nice…

He’s been tested for Lyme, twice, and was negative. Vet didn’t seem to think EPM was the culprit, since he had a lot of other things going on to make him uncomfortable.

[fivestrideline]

Well, updates for fun. The vet was out yesterday, and says the suspensory shows great healing. We are cleared for trotting next week (fingers crossed and prayers to everything and anyone for progress). I have Robaxin coming in the mail.

Front (currently wedged) X-rays show improvement, vet wants to continue the wedge a bit longer. Hind (flat shoes) X-rays show a PA of 0 or 1 degree. Vet says they think it can be remedied with aggressive trims and setting the shoe back or wedges, depending on what the farrier prefers. I have the farrier coming out at the end of the month so I’ll have them look at the X-rays then.

I’m guessing the back tension is a lovely combination of stall rest + cold snap + flat PA behind, so a lot of y’all were right on the money. I’m still exploring PEMF rental and Mag supplements, but I think I’ll start with the Robaxin (7 pills at 750mg, going up one pill every few days until we hit a level that he responds to). If that doesn’t work, I’ll try one thing at a time. I’ve learned with this horse that changing too much just muddies the waters for the next time he pulls dumb stunts

[Feathered_Feet]

Since you mentioned the cold snap, I might share that this year, for my mare with NPA, suspensory desmitis, and mild KS, who is also prone to back and muscle tightness, I’ve been keeping her a little over-blanketed. I’m ok with this because I know she doesn’t grow much coat and very clearly runs cold, and she seems ok with being a little warmer than your average horse. This is the kind of horse that I’ve found shivering on very cold days, even when “appropriately” blanketed by any reasonable standard. So although she’s not clipped this year (due to low work from her suspensory rehab), I’m blanketing her as if she were, and she seems happy. Unless your guy runs hot, you may just try keeping him a little on the warmer side this winter and see if he’s more comfortable.

Good luck and thanks for the update!

[fivestrideline]

Oh yeah he’s Mr Frozen. I will see if the barn has been bundling him up, as I’ve always had to. Funny that he seems to be cold natured like your horse with similar issues

[IPEsq]

How much does the horse weigh? 7 pills once a day is not much at all from a therapeutic standpoint for an average sized horse. My horse gets 16-18, and 2x a day for therapeutic dose for 2 weeks then 1x a day for 2 weeks (or for maintenance)

[fivestrideline]

He weighs 1100-1200lbs. What I don’t know is if it’s once or twice a day. I’ll have to check with the vet

[floppyammy]

Agree with @IPEsq

To give you an idea of how low a dose you have him on, my vet had me start my horse start at 16 pills, 2x per day. For an 1100lb horse.

[fivestrideline]

Well that’s interesting. I told my vet we were on 7 pills and saw no difference, but they want to start him on 7 and work up if it doesn’t show improvement.

[luvmyhackney]

My 600 lb pony was on 8 pills 2x a day when he pulled a muscle in turnout. Seems like a really low dose.

[crthunder]

My OTTB has trouble with tight back muscles and it is definitely critical he is warm. I have gotten calls in September when he was shivering and everyone else’s horse is naked and happy…

So whatever everyone else wears, he gets more… I have more blankets for him than my first two horses combined!

I also found he LOVES a massage with a massage gun on the low setting. He almost falls asleep in the cross ties…

[Feathered_Feet]

I’ll agree that FiveStrideLine’s dose seems low, even for the 750 mg tables.

As someone who takes methocarbamol and a variety of other muscle relaxers for muscle tightness/cramping/dystonia, I can attest to methocarb being a very user-friendly muscle relaxer. It’s nowhere close to being as sedating as most other muscle relaxers, and the safety upper limit is pretty darn high. You can give a lot with low risk of/few adverse consequences. That being said, higher doses can make them a bit drowsy for the first few days, so it makes sense to start low, especially if anyone is riding the horse (can’t remember if FiveStride is riding the horse yet or not, but in case anyone else is reading…).

I would certainly bump this horse’s dose up a lot before writing it off as ineffective.

[fivestrideline]

For what it’s worth, I’m not the one riding him but he’s been… well frankly an idiot under saddle, so I may soon be the one riding him as we go trotting u/s.

Good to know about the dosing and options there - I’ll just keep upping the dose as needed. Tbh a sedating/drowsy effect would actually be nice