# Wobbler Syndrome - What are the signs?



## 3Beasties (5 April 2009)

As Title - What are the signs of a wobbler? What causes it and how can it (if it can!) be treated? Any information would be gratefully received.

Thanks 

Also posted in NL


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## Battyoldbint (5 April 2009)

back legs shake, no balance horse sways in stables and cant back up, its caused by a narowing of the spinal canal, its very expensive to treat and most need to be PTS, i knew a young shire with this and he was PTS


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## Battyoldbint (5 April 2009)

forgot to say, it sometimes can be fixed by op but unless the horse is worth mega money, vets dont recomend


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## Universal (5 April 2009)

I lost a extremly well bred youngster and there was nothing i could do also this week the girl accross the road lost her 7 month old foal to it.

I found simple things like picking his feet out turning him in a circle other days he would look drunk in the field. The day i had mine PTS and the girl accross the road they were really bad which made the decision so much easier.


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## cjdjivanovic (5 April 2009)

I've had 2, both about 7yo when it came out.  Both had to be PTS.  Put one front hoof on top of the other while horse is standing still and reasonably relaxed; if the horse just leaves it there or takes a while to put it back where it should be, that is bad.  Do the same with each hind foot.  The horse should be reluctant to let you put one foot on top of the other and should remove it immediately.

While walking the horse on lead in a straight line get assistant to pull the tail to one side, how much resistance is there or does the horse just keep walking with its quarters out to the side?  Resistance is good.

Walking down hill with head held up, do the front feet hover before hitting ground?  If so, bad.  But slope must be right angle - not too steep.

My horses were both diagnosed at Willesley by Svend Kold using above tests.


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## Box_Of_Frogs (6 April 2009)

Typical presentation is in young horses. Friend of mine had her vet out to her 10yr old gelding and after a 10 second watch of it walking, the vet diagnosed wobblers and complete box rest. Well, after a few days, the poor horse was so stiff he could barely hobble. 2nd opinion diagnosed a badly healed broken shoulder which initially responded quite well to deep steroid injections and daily turnout in a flat paddock. Not too much difference in diagnosis there then. If in doubt, ask for a 2nd opinion/referral.


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## bailey14 (6 April 2009)

My horse was diagnosed with Wobblers at 10 years old at Liverpool Hospital where I was insisted he was admitted after vets had been messing around for months trying to reach a diagnosis.  Rommy had fallen over backwards in the field hurting his neck in the process some months before the symptoms came on.  As soon as he was brought in from the field to assess the damage to his neck the emergency vet attended as he was unable to lift his neck.  Thus followed a recovery period which was pretty uneventful but a few months later he developed a strange action in canter, and started rubbing his inside hind fetlocks together.  Then he has a period of ataxia which made him look very weak on his back legs (like he was drunk).  The sway test I did on him was positive and I did research on the net that showed his symptoms as being a classic wobbler - he also fit into the bill of long neck, gelding, and a warmblood (these are more typicaly BUT NOT ALWAYS what wobblers horses are like).  I asked for an xray which proved negative to changes in the neck bones (I found out later that a portable xray m/c will not pick up the detail that a large veterinary animal hospital machine will pick up as it can't penetrate the vast expanse of neck muscle that a horse has).  The vet was so convinced it was EHV (Equine Herpes Virus) as symptoms of ataxia are similiar to that of Wobblers, and said excitedly in front of me that she would be able to write her thesis on it as she would be the first one in the area to discover EHV!  Despite numerous blood/swab tests which didn't really prove a fat lot - only that he was a carrier of EHV (which 33% of horses are) they finally listened to me when I demanded he was referred to a hospital.  Within two hours of arriving at Liverpool he was tested, diagnosed using xrays and put down (there was nothing that could be done for him as he was too badly affected).  The vast majority of horses are diagnosed early (aged 2-3) as it affects fast growing young horses, but there are also a minority (as in my horses case) who have late onset wobblers due to injury of the neck.  The veterbrae become unstable and the spinal column fuses at the point of injury thus making the spinal cord unable to pass through the gap in the spinal column unhindered.  This touching of the spinal cord and associated nerves causes problems with the legs and the horse is not aware of where to put his limbs, and loses co-ordination.  My horse was not affected all the time and had good periods and bad periods.  Two months before beign put down when recovered from his neck injury before his ataxia episodes began he was happily competing at BN and Disco level BSJA without a problem, except for a very unusual canter.  I would have done anything to keep my horse alive even if he'd been kept just as a field ornament but the consultant at Liverpool deemed him too dangerous to keep as he could have fallen on someone at any time due to his ataxia.   Please PM me if you want further assistance. x  RIP Rommy x


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## bailey14 (6 April 2009)

further to my previous reply please try this website - he is a specialist in Wobbler Syndrome and was very helpful when I emailed him.  http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/horses/facts/info_wobbler.htm


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## Box_Of_Frogs (7 April 2009)

Oh applecart - how you fought for him! You couldn't have done more. Hugs. RIP Rommy x


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