How can I tell if my horse has wobblers?
The most obvious clinical sign is an abnormal gait characterized by wobbling, or a horse that looks like he’s had a fair amount of tranquilizers. Mild cases may only present an inability to change leads, stop smoothly, or a negative change in behavior that results in poor performance.
Is wobbler syndrome in horses painful?
A normal horse will not react but a “Wobbler” will withdraw by depressing the spine in a squatting position. This is not a sign of pain but a sign of weakness as a result of nerve damage.
How are wobblers diagnosed?
Wobbler syndrome is caused by pathology associated with the intervertebral discs between the bones of the vertebral column or a malformation of the bones that make up the cervical vertebral column. The diagnosis is confirmed using an MRI scan to examine the spinal cord and the discs between the cervical vertebrae.
What is shifting lameness in horses?
Shifting lameness may suggest a bilateral injury or infectious cause of lameness. Duration and progression the lameness: Acute injury is more common with soft tissue injury. Chronic, progressive disease is more common in cases such as osteoarthritis and navicular disease.
Can wobblers disease be cured?
There is no cure for Wobblers, and depending on how advanced the symptoms become, sometimes treatment isn’t effective.
What is wobbles in horses?
Wobbler syndrome in horses is caused by damage to the spinal cord. This may be caused by a range of different factors, including injury due to a fall or a blow from an object.
What is wobbler syndrome?
Wobbler Syndrome. What is wobbler syndrome? Wobbler syndrome is the common term to describe a gait seen in dogs with spinal cord compression in the neck, where they often take short or “floating” steps with the front limbs and have a swaying or “wobbly” gait in the hind limbs. There are two main forms of wobbler syndrome.