I have seen pictures of him Jumping and apparently won a reserve champion in special hunter and has done cross country and trail riding etc ...
I noticed some days he is more willing to work and other days he is more slugish.
With that said, he sometimes trips and today when I rode him and the 2 days earlier he would only really walk fast and trot a litle bit. Not like how he use to when I first got him.
I had the vet come out today and get a general check up on him .. and they said he had a heart murmur ... I listened to it myself cause they said a normal heart beat is a "lum bum" and they said it was a "lum woosh" I listened to it and it sounded normal .. and then one time it sounded like it was a mixture of the two.
But here's the thing that catches me. He has no signs at all of his heart problem ... He'll run around for a while in the round pen .. he jump and have that high spirited kick in the air .. he doesn 't cough or anything like that. Just some days I notice that not long after I lounge him his norse flares ... but everyday is different. I've just known he's been "lazy" the past couple of days and maybe should just give him another day or 2 off.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com One time. Not long after we fed him grain (he eats 10%) he had energy and not still sluggish. He kept wanting to go for a while ...
Anyway, the vets said that also his stifles are real loose but I've been doing research and some light cases of horse murmur, all you have to do is just get them into good shape and it went away? The vet said that he is way out of shape ... so maybe he is just sluggish because I am not exercising him right? So do you think that maybe I should change my exercise routine up a bit? Maybe he'll be more interested? I know he wants to please me, he loves me and always follows me around like a puppy, but some days he does tell me he wants to relax ...
Also, the vet said that he would be a good trail horse but as far as eventing, no. A few days ago we lead him over some jumps and I think he is willing to jump just like how the previous owner said .. I said I wanted to do dressage with him and she said dressage would be great for him. then I said some jumping and she said yeah he could. I said te previous owner jumped him 3'6. and she said really? ... does that even make sense? She just told me he cant do eventing but he can do dressage and some jumping? Isnt that pretty much eventing? Except for cross country, but the previous owner did with him ... I mean I can tell its not bad to where you can see it externally ... and they say its common in the TB breeds .. so is it something to really worry about? Does the vet even really know his exact condition?
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com You know, the vet can give an approximate grade of his condition at the time of the horse's check up and she didn't really tell me anything. She told me all possibilities and that he must have light work, not ride all day long, to watch in the winter and when its hot in the summer .. she told me that there's no treatment for horse murmur and that the only thing they could do to help was do an echo or an ultrasound to get a better understanding of his heart.
I just also want to know if I can trust this vet. Do they really know what their talking about? After doing this research, they just made it sound a lot worse than what it is. I mean, Its not that bad if he shows no signs except sometimes his nose flares not too long after lounging.
Diesel is a calm, sweet natured horse by heart .. they were trying to say that he is lathargic and thats the reason why he is so calm for being an exracehorse ... and thats just crap because there are a lot of other TBs like Diesel who is a good natured horse ... does that mean all those other TBs have the same problem? Maybe some but not all .. actually another horse at the barn is the same way. Another TB .. exracehorse and sweet, calm, good natured horse ... so he has heart murmur too?
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
I think maybe it was just because he was so fit and raced and did a lot that when we wasnt ridden in a while he got sluggish and his heart may have become a little irregular from going from one extreme to another, kind of, and that he just needs to get fit again, get that heart going again and it will go away .. but an outside perspective would be greatful.
I think your in a bit of shock and trying to digest all the information, it is a lot to take in and deal with. I would suggest two main things to you.
- Get a second opinion
- Try not to be a Google vet (LOL usually doctor)
Get a second opinion, because your obviously not happy with the first one. Any time you don't believe or understand then it is time for another opinion.
It will never hurt your horse and will either confirm the original diagnosis or possibly raise more question if you get conflicting information. Just be sure to get a vet who specialises in horses and preferably cardiac issues.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
Where I live we only have one vet clinic within an hour from me and only one vet there is a horse vet and all the rest are cow or small animal vets. So I actually phone an equine vet centre in the next state and talk to them on the phone. They have always been more than happy to answer my questions or concerns in the past.
