tying-up...monday morning disease a horse of course


to “tying-up” in horses, we


overload. may


too much information and no “authoritative” solutions! (I have a “it hasn’t


failed me yet” solution; not authoritative, but effective.) Tying-up is by muscle in


characterized stiffness, especially


hindquarters and loin, at times profuse sweating, reddish brown to almost black urine and obvious signs of severe pain.


be known as Monday Morning Disease and was incorrectly called


originates French


indicating an abnormal amount of nitrogen in the urine. That is usually not the case in horses tying-up, hence


should have a different name. And it does today. research recognizes basic


Storage Myopathy (PSSM) and Recurrent Exertional Rhabdomyodysis (RER). Both are names for horses exhibiting the signs up tying up, but RER is usually associated with Thoroughbreds, while PSSM is directed at most other breeds.


evidence that the malady is inheritable.)


Minnesota research suggests RER is caused by an abnormality


calcium regulation.


no specific diagnostic test. PSSM on the other


(glycogen) stored in muscles. Tying-up occurs being occur


when horses are exercised.


within minutes of the start It can of sugar University of


in intracellular There is


hand is generally thought to be caused by an abnormal accumulation


(There is some forms: it Polysaccharide


Medical two


“azoturia”. word for


from azote, nitrogen,


Azoturia the


The malady used to the Too many names,


When it comes have


information


of exercise or when a horse becomes exhausted or sweats excessively, resulting in the addition


imbalance. called


Disease because work horses suffered the affliction when they went back to work following a weekend of rest. Those work horses


were the performance horses of the


up occurs on any day and at virtually any time in horses getting consistent amounts of healthy


simple, we could call it the “performance horse” disease. It is rarely, if ever, seen in horses not being used in some form of performance. My experience with


tying up has always been associated with race horses, both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds,


California and Arizona, states in which a lot of alfalfa is fed. Alfalfa has a lot of


primarily in


drawbacks when it comes to being used as a horse feed, one of which is an over-abundance of calcium. In addition to the calcium from the alfalfa, many high performance horses are given


contain high levels of calcium. Considering


RER suggests an intracellular calcium


it is highly likely the horses I was dealing


the


working with at the track, the


leads veterinarian According regulation problem,


being affected by the feeding program…high amounts of calcium.


I was


the parathyroid gland which regulates the calcium level in


overdosing of calcium to


the suppression of to with were


A friendly group of riders taking a break at the old silo. From left to right Marci Harrison and Cinch , Makenzi Wells with Check, Fred Burgeson on Summer, and Hal Peltier on Freckle


McCown Valley


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Park off the shores of Lake Whitney in North Central Texas near Waco is managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers and consists of approximately 3,000 acres of fine trail riding. We spent the long Thanksgiving weekend at the Equestrian Campground. McCown has three areas in the park just for equestrians! They are the day use area, group camping site, and eques- trian campground. The group campsite was put in by TETRA (Texas Equestrian Trail Riders Association), a strong resource for trail development and im- provement in Texas. The facilities at the


29-site gated equestrian camp- ground are nice. Each site has water and electricity (50 and 30amp), picnic table, fire ring, barbeque grill, lantern hangers, and two tie posts.


pants legs, on the horses, on our poor dog, on tack, in the trailer, and in my skin – ouch! Hopefully this situation will improve, but I’d recommend a campsite under the trees and not out in the open grassy areas.


The ground is a Pens are


available on a first come, first serve basis and are located on the west and east ends of the campground. The pens are identical on both sides and consist of four large side by side pipe pens which can be sectioned off to form eight smaller pens, providing a total of 16 small pens for the entire campsite. Half of the pens are covered. At the center of the campground is a restroom facility with flushing toilets, hot and cold running water, showers, and a handy hitching post. The only downside to the campground is a very heavy preponderance grass burrs. It seems that within the park, the equestrian campground is the worst and thickest area of grass burrs. The burrs were unavoidable and easily stuck everywhere; in lead ropes,


sandy surface which is deep in spots with very few rocky areas; most horses will not require boots or shoes. The trails weave through thick forests and follow along the outer boundaries of open meadow-like pastures. The terrain is level throughout the entire park with the excep- tion of one small area. Two trails running parallel to each other nearest the equestrian campground on the west side offer a break from the flat terrain. One of the trails is at a higher elevation and the other trail lies in a low wide ravine with many smaller spurs branching off, going up and out of the ravine and then back down into it again. You can chose to go straight down the ravine and gradually ride out up a hardly noticeable slope, or weave in and out of the ravine riding between the two parallel trails, which is lots of fun by the way. Over Thanksgiving weekend I rode 13 miles of trail mostly on the west side of the park and 10 miles of trail the following day mostly on the east central section of the park. During this visit I saw most of the park, missing only a small portion of trails. Although the trails are not marked at close intervals, there are 18 points identified by numbered signs. Each point is also located on the


map with longitude and lat- itude coordinates. I did not use the coordinates but I was able to navigate fairly well by referring to the map as I came to a sign.


I found two water


sources on trail -- large puddles of water and a stock tank. Do not ride your horse into the lake or close to the shoreline at McCown Valley. Warning signs are posted in the park and on the map giving caution not to ride into the lake or close to the shoreline as the ground is unstable and may not support your horse. I’d advise staying clear of the lake beach. There is a two-track road that runs along the lake’s shore but is well enough away from the beach to be safe. You can see the two tracks and it looks as if a vehicle, maybe a park ranger truck, has driven down this path. This is a nice long flat path with good footing and a decent view of the lake. It is a great trail for a gallop.


Park use is shared


by equestrians, hikers, cyclists, hunters, wildlife, and cattle. ATV and motorized vehicles are not allowed. I saw several bow hunters tracking deer. The hunters were friendly and allowed me to snap a picture of them. I also ran across other friendly riders enjoying the long Thanksgiving weekend. To learn more about


this park and other places to ride pay a visit to www. wherethetrailsare.com or if you want to share information about your favorite trail just send an e-mail to: hurdkn@ gmail.com. To get notifica- tions of new trail posts then “like” Where The Trails Are on Facebook.


Visit us at: www.HorseGazette.com


which that


supplements it time. Today, tying-


exercise and plenty of feed—in other words, “performance horses”. To make


Monday Morning the blood.


of an electrolyte Years ago it was


parathyroid is unable to replace the large amounts of calcium used by nervous energy and muscle usage, and the muscles suffer tetany (sustained muscle contraction).


may seem, controlling As simple


amount of calcium in the diet eliminated tying-up in several cases for me. The first success


as it the


was with a mare sent to me from New Mexico. She was in perfect health, but tied-up almost instantly upon entering the race track for morning exercise. Of course she was well fed and she was “excited” about going out to gallop, so her nerves were on edge. We stopped feeding


her alfalfa (she was being fed alfalfa in New Mexico) and provided no supplements.


The suppressed


Within two weeks she stopped typing up, and while she didn’t have a stellar racing career, it wasn’t because she tied up. A trainer across the


shed row from me complained constantly about a mare he had that tied-up on a regular basis. He wanted to get rid of her, so I bought her for a very few dollars.


supplements which contained calcium, the mare was ready to run in just under 30 days. She won her first race for me, and we sold her for a lot of dollars the very next day. A trainer friend was


having trouble with an Arabian mare that tied up. I suggested the same remedy…no alfalfa, no calcium supplements. The mare was back


showing within 3 weeks and never tied up after that.


By Kelly Hurd © 2013 Mccown valley park where the trails are Off all alfalfa and


THE HORSE GAZETTE horse health


By Don Blazer © 2014


the breathing may be hurried, muscle


and complete lameness of the hindquarters may occur. The horse will not


When a horse ties-up stiffness is evident,


want to move. Don’t move the horse. Start to help the horse by leaving the horse right where it is. Get a blanket over the horse if possible and get a veterinarian as soon as possible.


for


tying-up with a tranquilizer to relax muscles and then with medication to reduce pain. Today’s medical


research has no cure, but change


always recommended, along trail riding of diet is almost veterinarians


It’s pretty standard to


with light controlled exercise. The problem with the medical recommendations is that none are considered “solutions”… just somewhat preventative. And the changes


in diet are often somewhat complicated,


is really singled out as the factor.


mineral


in too much distress, walk the horse very slowly to his stall or pen.


treat If the horse is not so nothing


quality grass hay, free choice salt and plenty of fresh water is the basis for a good feeding program.


is recommended, be sure to “consider” limiting calcium intake.


many names and too much information is too much!


Course on the Internet www.donblazer.com


Visit A Horse, Of at


Sometimes


If a diet change the too


Providing a vitamin/ supplement, good


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