How to spot, prevent and treat those
ailments which can keep you and your horse
By Dr. Henry Cook, DVM
TYING UP SYNDROME (Myositis)
This condition occurs after active muscular
exertion on the first part of the ride.
Horses affected are usually on a high grain
ration and have been rested two or three
days before a ride. Heavier muscled, poor
conditioned, nervous, and female horses
are more prone to this condition.
It is a painful condition of a group of
muscles over the croup and loin. These muscles
will be very tight and hard and sensitive
to the touch. The horse shows stiffness
of the hind limbs, and the back is rigid.
This is caused by acid buildup in the muscles.
There may be trembling and sweating and
sometimes dark urine is seen when the horse
urinates. This is a condition called hemoglobinuria.
Prevention: The grain ration should
be discontinued or at least significantly
reduced on days of non-riding. Supplements
containing selenium and Vitamin E should
also be given. There are many supplements
available today that would suit your specific
needs. Contact your veterinarian to discuss
what may be best for your horse.
Make sure your horse is in top condition
with no excessive fat, but this does not
mean a thin horse either. Muscles, heart
and lungs must all work together for a horse
to perform at peak levels. Conditioning
practices will vary depending on your specific
If the horse has had a history of this condition,
common household baking soda at the rate
of 1/4 lb three times daily in food or water
can be given a few days before the event.
"Thumps" is a spasmodic contraction
of the diaphragm synchronous, with the heart
beat causing the flanks and sides of the
horse to show flutter or thumping motion.
This condition is caused by low calcium,
potassium and alkalosis. There may be underlying
disorders such as exhaustion, muscular or
Prevention: The horse must have careful
conditioning, judicious management during
a ride, fluid, and electrolyte replacement
before, during and after rides. Electrolytes
can be purchased in pill, powder or paste
form from your veterinarian and over the
counter. Begin administering just before,
during and three to four days after the
ride. Do not give constantly between rides.
This may produce electrolyte imbalance when
the animal is stressed.
Top physical condition is again a must.
LAMINITIS (Road Founder)
Laminitis is an inflammation of the laminae
of the foot. Severe pain results from the
inflammation caused by pressure on the sensitive
Road founder is the result of concussion
to the feet caused by hard or fast work
on a hard surface. Unconditioned animals
are especially subject to this phenomenon
as are animals with thin hoof walls and
soles. Also, the hot, stressed horse can
get founder from ingestion of large amounts
of cold water.
Prevention: Top conditioning is a
most important factor, as is judicious care
during rides over rocky and hard surface
terrain. Silicone or oakum under acrylic
pads may help thin walled and soled horses.
It is not uncommon to have a few nicks and
scrapes after miles in rough terrain. There
are several types of wounds seen in endurance
horses, such as incised, lacerations, and
Criteria for disqualifying a horse from
competition would include:
Excessive blood loss or potential continued
Open tendon sheaths, joint capsules or exposed
Potential disfigurement if not sutured.
Significant soreness or lameness associated
with movement of the limb. This may be aggravated
Prevention: Using a "sure-footed"
animal, proper shoeing, and slowing down
in rocks, rough terrain, branches of trees,
and down hills may help prevent wounds.
Contusion is a closed wound in which not
all the layers of the skin are broken, but
the blood vessels under the skin are broken
and subcutaneous hemorrhage develops. This
is caused by trauma, such as falling or
being kicked. This may or may not lead to
a blemish, but may lead to disqualification
if pain or lameness occurs.
Prevention: Using a "sure-footed"
animal, proper shoeing, and slowing down
in rocks, rough terrain and down hills are
preventive measures. Stay away from known
kicking horses. Riders should put a red
ribbon on the tail of a kicking horse.
Friction, due to improper fit, is the main
cause of cinch sores. A dirty cinch, a worn
out cinch, or a cinch placed too far forward
next to elbows contributes to soreness.
Open cinch sores or swollen, painful areas
may lead to disqualification.
Prevention: Use a clean cinch at
all times. Make sure the cinch fits the
horse, such as correct length and width.
Move the cinch back far enough from the
elbows to keep from interfering with leg
movement. Use of a saddle with a 3/4 or
7/8 rigging would be best. Do not have the
cinch too tight. You may use a breast collar
or crupper which allows you to have the
cinch looser and still keep the saddle in
the proper place on the horse's back.
Some horses may arrive at the pre-ride exam
with increased sensitivity over the withers
or back. These may develop during the ride,
so it is important to evaluate the back
and withers at the longer rest stops without
The signs which would disqualify a horse
are a fresh open wound, and fresh or hot,
The cause of a saddle sore is due to improperly
fitted or maintained tack. A saddle may
fit a horse properly at the beginning of
training and be unfit when back muscles
have trimmed down. The improper equipment
causes the saddle sore by spot pressure
or friction. Another cause is the shift
from side to side by a tired rider. Warbles
or insect bites may start causing trouble,
Prevention: Clean and proper saddle
blankets, a properly fitted saddle, and
a lightweight saddle with at least three
fingers between the withers and gullet should
When going uphill, take your body weight
off the loins and sit forward. Hang onto
the mane and pull yourself forward and up
out of the saddle. Loosen the cinch and
leave the saddle on for 30 minutes after
riding. Then leave the blanket on for 15
to 30 minutes longer on a hot horse.
Treatment: Rest the back and keep
the saddle off. Eliminate the source of
irritation, and use cold water over the
horse's back. Wound ointment may be used
for open wounds.
Some horses have very sensitive and thin
skinned backs and are plagued by troubles
in trying to get the back toughened up.
All sorts of saddles, blankets, pads, etc.,
are used and no one has the exact answer
for the problems. Sensitivity over the back
may be due to muscle soreness. These problems
require different evaluation and treatment.
SHOEING AND PADDING
Horses should be adequately and properly
shod with shoes that are in good shape to
make a ride. Plan your shoeing so the horse
is shod 10-14 days before the ride.
If the horse has excellent conformation,
then there will not need to be any special
shoeing. If not, your farrier will need
to shoe the horse so it will not forge or
The nails should not be filed off to look
pretty, only bent over to prevent losing
the shoe. This is especially important with
horses that have a tendency to lose shoes.
Acrylic pads with silicone or oakum may
be used if the terrain is extremely rocky
or the horse has thin soles and walls. Hooves
should keep enough moisture in the foot
so they will stay pliable at the heels.
A small amount of borium may be used on
shoes to make them wear longer. The use
of a wide web shoe relieves concussion.
Choke in endurance and trail ride horses
is due to dehydration and fatigue caused
by lack of saliva and feeding dry food such
as dry grass, hay, small pellets, etc.,
before hydrating with plenty of water and
electrolytes. Call the veterinarian immediately
if this happens.
Prevention: Conditioning is very
important. Keep the horse hydrated with
plenty of water and electrolytes before
allowing the horse to eat dry food.
DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS (Colic)
The intestinal tract may suffer in the stress
of an endurance trail ride. For the digestion
and intestinal function to proceed normally
there must be adequate hydration and blood
flow in the intestines. These may be absent
or diminished in the stressed horse.
Colic develops most frequently at rest stops,
from drinking too much water too quickly
at one time, or too cold water, excitement,
or eating strange foods. This causes spastic
contractions of the intestines with gas
build-up and pain. A horse, having been
heavily parasitized in the past, may have
a weakened intestinal tract, resulting in
rupture, or the blood vessels may be weakened
by blood clots or aneurysms, thus preventing
normal blood flow. These conditions will
be fatal. A veterinarian must be contacted
Diarrhea may develop from horses getting
excited at pre-ride activities, or may occur
during the ride. Electrolyte imbalance may
occur or stress letting bacteria, etc.,
may invade the intestine.
Prevention: Keep your horse wormed every
two to three months for strongyles and ascarids,
and once a year for bots. Conditioning is
once again very important. Do not change
feed all at once. Gradual change is always
At rest stops, have your attendant put water
in buckets out in the sun so it will warm
up before your horse takes a drink. Give
the horse a few sips, walk every five minutes
and give a few more sips. Keep this up until
the horse has enough before feeding. Put
electrolytes in the water at all the rest
stops. Horses need to be completely hydrated
at all rest stops.
EXHAUSTED HORSE SYNDROME (Fatigue)
There are four body systems involved in
the "exhausted horse" syndrome.
Cardiovascular - shows increased heart rate,
cardiac irregularities or thumps.
Muscle - shows tremors due to anoxia to
muscles, myoglobinuria (blood in urine)
and or stiffness.
Respiration - showing rapid shallow breathing,
failure for respiration to recover within
30 minutes after exertion, harsh respiratory
sounds, thumps or inversion (respiration
is higher than pulse rate).
Hemic and lymph system - affecting fluid
and electrolyte levels. Shows dehydration,
sunken eyes, elevated temperature, shock,
lack of urine, maybe over-heated without
sweating and or irregular heart.
The general look of the horse is dehydrated,
depressed, lack of desire to drink and eat,
gaunt appearance, glazed eye, elevated temperature,
unwillingness to continue, possible uncoordinated,
lack of bowel sounds, elevated pulse and
respiration, relaxed anal sphincter and
Prevention: Conditioning is a very
important must. Maintain fluid and electrolytes
just before, during and three to four days
after the ride. Avoid high environmental
temperatures, especially with a horse that
has not been properly conditioned. Avoid
over-training; there is little or no energy
source reserve, as this horse is tired before
the ride starts. Usually these horses are
Lameness is a major cause of failure to
start or continue on a ride because of pain
to the horse which will cause further complication
if the horse is allowed to perform. The
horse may over-compensate for a painful
limb and cause secondary muscle fatigue.
Stone bruises - stand the horse in cold
Tendonitis - heat and filling occur. Apply
cold water to the legs after rides and during
long rest periods.
Conformation defects, shoeing, trauma, and
over-extension on hard ground are also causes
The most common cause of dehydration is
lack of water and electrolytes. It is believed
that horses require 10 to 12 gallons of
water per day and much more in rides under
high environmental temperatures. These conditions
are those under which horses have the most
problems with muscle cramps and exhaustion.
About 3% of body weight will be lost before
dehydration can be determined clinically.
Therefore, a horse that weighs 1000 lbs
can lose about four gallons of body fluid
before dehydration is noticed. A good method
of determining the degree of dehydration
is to raise a fold of skin and observe how
quickly it returns to place. This is best
done on the side of the neck. The eyes are
sunken and skin stays out when pulled, and
mucous membranes and cornea of the eye are
dry when 6% of the body weight has been
lost. Most animals die when 20% of the body
weight is lost due to dehydration.
Prevention: Again, conditioning is
a must. Allow animals that can and will
drink to have free access to water when
riding. Give electrolytes just before, during
and three to four days after ride. A dose
syringe of concentrated electrolytes can
be given along with electrolytes in the
If the animal is getting extra dehydrated,
a veterinarian must give fluids and electrolytes
by stomach tube and/or intravenously.