Agree, that dose is very low for a 1100lb horse. Not surprising to see no results. My vets usually prescribe a very high dose to start and then back off after a couple weeks. It’s not really a titrate up kind of drug because it doesn’t build up in the system, and as someone else said, is very user friendly for most horses. Humans can take 2 of the 750s up to 4x a day, for comparison.
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Ha! Our horses really are very similar! Mine is also 100% prone to spicy shenanigans. I’ve had mine on a daily dose of trazadone for most of the post-surgery period, and I was very grateful for that when we started back under saddle. Maybe the methocarb will function similarly. We are 2+ months under saddle, at about 12 min trotting, and we’re just now starting to wean her off (mostly due to wanting to keep her quiet in turnout, not undersaddle necessarily, but in retrospect I’m very glad I had the chemical help!)
Also worth pointing out that I’m the weirdo keeping a quarter sheet on her even on “warmer” days - both for her back comfort as well as keeping the “winter sillies” at bay. Since your guy also runs cold, I’d recommend liberal use of a quarter sheet (or two, on very cold days).
Finally, I forgot to mention earlier, I just ordered this heated back pad for use pre- and post-ride. It hasn’t arrived yet so can’t say how I like it, but from my own personal experience with a heating pad, I think this will be a nice pre- and post-ride body treatment. It was surprisingly hard to find battery-powered heating pads that I could safely toss on her loose in a stall, horse or human 
, so I just went with this one (note that the plug is EU, so U.S. shoppers will need a converter).
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Noted on the dosing. I did ask the vet about it but 
. I’m not against using way more than prescribed, since I’m looking into side effects and stuff and it seems fine. I’ll probably go ahead and do 7 2x daily to see if he will eat it, and up it rapidly until we hit results or he stops being cooperative to taking it.
As far as the sillies, I should dig out my quarter sheet. He gets sweaty on the handwalks (he’s MARCHING up that hill) but the puttering around the ring I’m sure he can get chilly. The heated back pad is intriguing 
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Dredging this up with updates and looking for more ideas 
My horse is still all kinds of wonky. The barn says out of 7 days, he will have 4 that he’s good, 2 wonky days, and one where he’s just falling apart. Not head bobbing lame, just the least comfortable horse you’ve ever sat on, all sewing machine and out of wack. It’s so all over and NQR I don’t even know where to start!
Here’s what we have done:
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Robaxin, 12 750mg pills 2x daily. Definitely helped, he came off it last week cause my shipment was late and he started getting tight and tripping again. He’s back on it as of yesterday.
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Trazodone, 15 pills in the AM, marked difference. He’s manageable now, thank god.
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2 degree wedges in front, flat full frog pads with pour-in behind. He’s tracking up much better.
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expanded turnout. He’s getting a full paddock with run in as of today, now that his neighbor went home. We will up the drugs as needed to keep him quiet.
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trotting 10 minutes under saddle, with cantering on the radar. We are trying to do more lunging and hacking out on the road - I’m saddle shopping since nothing I have fits
and I think using an ill fitting saddle isn’t helping.
It’s at the point where the feet are improving, he’s getting turnout, and I’m trying to figure out what next to do. I suspect the kissing spine/an undiagnosed SI issue is causing the continued wonkiness, plus an ill fitting saddle. I’m not made of money, so I do have to be strategic.
I can’t determine if I should have the vet out for a lameness exam and try to pinpoint his symptoms and pursue injections/shockwave ($$$$), or have the body worker first and then the vet (bodyworker is 2+ hours away so schedules aren’t easy to coordinate). I also have to either buy a temporary saddle or bump the horse down to lunging only with a few road hacks. I’m not sure I can afford to buy a saddle and then need a new one within the year.
I just don’t know what to do, and I feel like I’m just throwing money and time in all directions
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I don’t have much of a suggestion, but I will share we had one get really sore w frog support pads. Neither the farrier or the vet thought they were the problem, but he got much better very quickly when we took them off. I am both sympathetic and empathetic.
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That’s fair, and I was warned about potential soreness. He seems to have improved in his feet and tracking rather than devolved, so I’m hoping they are helping rather than hindering.
I do appreciate the sympathy. He’s a special one for sure!
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If this were my horse I’d be spending the $$ on a full work up at a top notch clinic or hospital. This seems to be the consensus on COTH for these complex cases. I’d hold off on expensive tack purchases until you know this is a horse that will eventually be sound.
I hope things work out!!
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I’ve thought about that - and while I’m sure I can find the cash to do so, it’ll be a while before I can drop all of that at once. I should crunch the numbers and see what the initial cost is to take him down there and do a lameness exam + expect them to order a bone scan. In the meantime I have to decide what I want to do here at home.
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You should ask your farrier next time to check if the frog is sore. My mare got sore with full pads and you could see her flinch in response to hoof testers, then she was much happier with the pads with the frog cutout. I’m paranoid about further caudal/heel collapse since she still lacks enough P3 angle so had the farrier put full pads on again (we’ll see if she’s sore again next time).
Long story short- you can check if his foot is sore with hoof testers 
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I wonder if it would be worth trying some Magic Cushion hoof-packing with the shoes rather than a full pad.
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Last trim cycle he only reacted to testers on one heel, this is after having full pads and pour in. The heel was the opposite of his suspensory injury, and on his flat foot. I’ll have them retest him next week when he gets a reset!
Just for fun, here’s my horse enjoying his first day in his expanded paddock. Finger crossed his brain stays installed.
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I’ve given my clinic a budget for a work up and found that to be a good approach. Hope you can find answers as I know how frustrating it can be.
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I think we have a sort-of plan. The biggest thing is, my goals have deviated from what this horse is capable of. I would love to show him in the 2’6” (with his front suspensory injury, IF he can jump, I’ll be capping him at 2’6” to protect his legs. His innate scope would max out at 2’9”-3’ hunters anyways), but my heart is in the adult Eq and bigger jumpers. As I said earlier, he’s going to stay with me regardless, but I’m not sure where I’m drawing the line with finances for him yet.
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check for footsoreness this week at farrier time, maybe convince farrier to try soft packing vs pour in. $0 invested
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bump down from under saddle every day to lunging in the EquiCore and maybe a chambon most days, with handwalking on the road and occasional hacks in the field. See if he’s better without a rider. $0 invested
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pray he can handle the bigger turnout. He seems thrilled, and we have allll the drugs on hand to make it work. See if we notice a difference in his body with more space to putter around. $0 invested
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get the bodyworker out. She does light touch work like myofascial release and masterson I think. He may tolerate that better. $ invested, and I’m curious anyways
From there, based on his response, I’ll decide if I’m hauling out to the big clinic, just going for shockwave (which was prescribed but I tabled due to finding the other 567 things wrong with him), or just calling it and retiring him. I won’t be buying him a saddle until I have more confidence he will be sound.
Oh the frustration and the saga continues! He’s dang lucky he’s cute
Just a small suggestion that isn’t going to magically solve all you issues, I’m afraid, but I find the BOT saddle pads nice for tight backed horses in the winter. Especially if they aren’t working very hard.
Good luck.
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Let me tell you - I would if I could. If I was with my old farrier (now 2 hours each way from my horse) I would go barefoot like yesterday. I like this current guy well enough - not perfect but MILES better than the others in the area. But, I’ve seen the barefoot trims he does and I don’t love them. In fact, one horse is going back into shoes soon because he’s tender and I’m looking at that horse’s feet going “it’s the trim!!!”. The shod feet look much better. This area isn’t ripe with good hoof pros, and with my 9-5 I can’t be hauling out on Wednesdays to the clinic to use their podiatrist or down to my previous farrier without burning a whole day.
Also, I board, so I can’t easily control the footing. He’s in a great spot now with a dry paddock and the best barn owner on the planet. I wish I could find the best of all worlds - good care, good facilities, good vet and good farrier. A pipe dream!
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Well now you’ve got me on a research kick - looking back I pulled the shoes off this horse YEARS ago after lots of weird issues (and a lot less diagnostic work). I turned him out and left him alone for a semester - and he came back sound. Now, he’s got a lot more years on him, some identifiable NPA issues, and vet prescribed wedges on.
I won’t do it yet, not until I at least have new tires on my trailer (in case I’m forced to haul him to my old farrier). But I may just do it if I end up deciding to go the “cheap” route and not pursue new saddles/more major diagnostics/etc.
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Well y’all - the horse is barefoot. The farrier suggested it actually.
He had no reaction to hoof testers, but his back and hind end are so incredibly sore. Like buckle to the ground sore. If he falls apart I’ll have shoes and pads put back on him, but we are giving this a shot.
I feel so bad for him. The poor horse hurts, and I don’t know what to do. I’m going to talk to my vet, maybe take him down to the clinic, maybe chase rabbits down holes for the rest of my existence. I don’t know if he even counts as pasture sound right now. He’s definitely not going to get ridden, we will reevaluate lunging and stuff after a couple days to get used to his bare feet.
I’m a bit heartbroken about everything right now, if only because I can’t stand the thought of my goofball of a horse being so uncomfortable.
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I’m so sorry. I just had my own boy present with incredibly painful back - it’s been pretty awful but it’s only been a week. We did an xray and ultrasound to find out what was wrong. I see you’ve had xrays - have you looked at ultrasounds? We injected the incredibly tight muscles with IRAP to get them to release. Is that something you could ask your vet about? Also, I am doing shock wave. It’s been (I think) a very good option.
*ETA - you probably know this but with xray and ultrasound we were able to see the back ligaments, and muscle. Found a pancake of edema that I didn’t notice. Fortunately nothing structural was wrong.
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This won’t help to address any of the bigger issues that you’re diligently working on, but here’s a little bit of anecdotal experience that helped my horse when we had to pull hind shoes. Short sessions on Sure Foot pads helped my horse get more comfortable while he transitioned to bare hind feet (we pulled hind shoes after a PPID/IR laminitic event). I’ve used them for about 2 years- we usually do a session after exercise. He really relaxes his hind end when he stands on the slant pads and they help him self-adjust his posture. He’ll even shift a pad himself with his hoof to give more support in heels, etc. I also make a little “ramp” of shavings at the back of the stall so he can rest his hind feet on it while he snoozes. Your equine professionals can tell you if it’s an appropriate time in his rehab for things like Sure Foot, but I was really happy with how it helped my horse. Just some info to keep in mind if it’s appropriate for your situation. I hope your guy is more comfortable soon.
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