AQHA Magazine July August 2019 AQHA July-Aug 2019 Final | Page 27

PG.25 imbalances and vitamin deficiencies. Electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium) are crucial for proper muscle function, and must be provided especially when a horse is sweating excessively and working hard. Supplementation with L-carnitine or acetyl-L-carnitine has also been shown to reduce the excessive muscle glucose storage. Adding vitamin E (up to 5000IU/day) increases the muscle membrane integrity and has been shown to decrease muscle enzyme leakage out of the cells. It can also prevent post-exercise elevation in muscle enzymes and clinical episodes of tying up within 3 to 6 months. Improvement in attitude, stride, energy, exercise tolerance, and muscling are also noted by most owners. Dietary alterations must be combined with regular exercise, minimizing stress and regular routines. Access to a paddock is really beneficial for gentle exercise, but because we want to keep starch/sugar intake low, pasture should be equivalent to what you would use for a horse prone to laminitis. The return to exercise should be very gradual – initially just a few minutes of uncollected walk on the lunge or in a round yard (horse walkers are not recommended). If ridden, the ride should be short and small circles and steep hills avoided. Over 3 weeks, uncollected walking and trotting can be gradually increased to 30 minutes a day. Quarter horses with PSSM may have elevated blood CK levels for 4–6 weeks as their exercise increases and once fit, regular daily exercise must be maintained. Hand walking can worsen the condition and should be short (5-10 minutes) and slow, and preceded by free paddock or arena exercise. Exercise should be increased by a few minutes every few days. Once horses are capable of trotting for 30 minutes on the lunge without difficulty, work under saddle can begin. Horses should be in a small, quiet paddock for most of the day. Once horses are on a regular exercise schedule and the diet is adjusted, improvement can occur within 1 week, while in others it may take weeks to months and a prolonged spell or even a permanent paddock may be required. Figure 1. Figure 1. A normal biopsy (top) and a biopsy from a horse with PSSM (bottom). The darker areas in the PSSM biopsy indicate the accumulation of excess abnormal glycogen. In the middle of last century we thought that all tying-up was due to lactic acid. But late last century, and despite some internet sites failing to realise this, we found that lactic acid has nothing to do with tying-up. There is no single procedure or set of procedures that guarantee against further episodes of the ERS. However, appropriate management helps to reduce the likelihood or frequency of future episodes. The most basic aim of equine veterinary clinical nutrition is to design diets that help manage or prevent diseases. Recently equine veterinarians have applied nutrigenomics where nutritional requirements are matched to the horse’s individual genetic make-up. Knowing exactly what form of ER a horse has makes management considerably easier. This article is intended to help you understand more about tying-up, as well as the causes, diagnostic, and management of the condition. This information is not a substitute for veterinary care; if you suspect any problem with your horse you should IMMEDIATELY contact your veterinarian.©J Stewart 2019 BOOK YOUR AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE Lot 13 Jack Smyth Drive, Hillvue NSW 2340 T: 02 6762 6444 www.aqha.com.au PROMOTE YOUR STALLIONS • SALE HORSES • BUSINESS ALL IN ONE SPOT BOOK YOUR ADVERTISING TODAY 0416 063 204 • [email protected] JULY/AUGUST ISSUE 2019