I have a 15 year old horse mule, that my young daughter rides. For some reason he can no longer reach the ground with his head. It started about 9 months ago. He is otherwise in excellent health, and gets ridden frequently. I keep hay in his rack, and make sure his feed and water are within reach. I have also not observed him laying down or rolling during this same time period. I have taken him to many vets, and he has never actually been diagnosed with anything. Has anyone on this forum ever encountered such a problem. He can only reach the tallest of grass in the spring, so I feed him all the supplements that I can.
Posted 2010-12-26 4:05 PM (#128287 - in reply to #128284) Subject: RE: mystery illness
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 447
Location: cedar rapids iowa
I thnk it might by advisable to have a chiropracter look at him. Something could be out of alignment or he could have tore a muscle or something. Have you palpated him from his pull down to his knee to see if he is sore?
Posted 2010-12-26 4:35 PM (#128288 - in reply to #128284) Subject: RE: mystery illness
Regular
Posts: 79
Location: Hopkinsville, Ky
Thanks for your response. He does not appear to be sore at all. The chiropractor is an excellent idea, but I don't know of any in my area. It still puzzles me about the mule never laying down. I know they largly sleep standing, but surely they must lay down sometime.
Posted 2010-12-26 5:45 PM (#128290 - in reply to #128284) Subject: RE: mystery illness
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 376
Location: Missouri
We've had a couple of these. In both cases it was a hole in the trachea. Look for a softening of the tissue, usually on the under side of the neck. The air will leak out and case a softening, or might even be a small bubble.
I causes them a lot of discomfort when they try and reach down.
Posted 2010-12-26 7:27 PM (#128294 - in reply to #128284) Subject: RE: mystery illness
Regular
Posts: 90
I had a gelding with a sacral injury who could not reach the grass without spreading his front legs wide (and then only a few bites)...he did not lay down either(I think because it was so hard to get up). I did four rounds of Chiro, some anti-inflamm meds(Adequan) & 14 months of rest. I'm riding him again now. Don't know if this is your problem...
Posted 2010-12-26 7:44 PM (#128295 - in reply to #128284) Subject: RE: mystery illness
Regular
Posts: 79
Location: Hopkinsville, Ky
Both of those explanations seem to make sense. The mule stretches out like a colt to try to reach the ground. My daughter is small for her age, and doesn't weigh 40 pounds. He showed no pain from letting her ride, and all she does is walk and trot anyway. If it is the mules back I will feel terrible. The vets that have examined him are really experienced with dogs and cats more than large animals. Does anyone know of a vet within driving distance of western Kentucky that could give him a good all inclusive exam?
Posted 2010-12-26 7:53 PM (#128296 - in reply to #128284) Subject: RE: mystery illness
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 368
Location: Georgia
I am a firm believer in the benefits of using an equine chiropractor. I googled Equine Chiroporactors near western Kentucy and came up with this: http://www.rockequine.com/bio.html Don't know if this is near you or not.
PS:
It doesn't have to be just a "spinal" problem for the equine chiropractor to help. The one I used also used accupressure points as well. Not with a needle but with his hands. He was awesome.
Posted 2010-12-27 11:59 AM (#128301 - in reply to #128300) Subject: RE: mystery illness
Veteran
Posts: 201
Location: Lincoln, NE
A few years ago both my MFT and mule developed big abcesses in the site of their yearly vaccination on the side of their neck.
Both experienced similar problems to what you describe - unable to graze or eat off the ground, unable to get down and up, and the MFT even started limping, too.
The mule's exploded and healed after about ten days but the MFT's went on and on for ten weeks. Finally the fourth vet to see him treated it agressively with injections of antibiotic and antiinflammatory and an antibiotic ointment.
From this experience I'd guess your mule maybe has a neck or back injury of some kind.
Is Hopkinsville near Madisonville? I drove Madisonville to Cynthiana, KY in about four hours. Seems it's about 200 miles. It would make a long day for you but you probably could do Versailles and back in one day.
Good luck. It's hard to see your furry family members ailing.
Posted 2010-12-27 2:23 PM (#128303 - in reply to #128284) Subject: RE: mystery illness
New User
Posts: 3
Location: Lobelville Tn. 37097
Here is a website that I have read about on another forum. I have never used him but he is highly reccomended. Shouldn't be too far from you and he travels too, I think. I hope you can find what the problem is.
Posted 2010-12-27 9:04 PM (#128309 - in reply to #128284) Subject: RE: mystery illness
Veteran
Posts: 186
Interesting post. My two bits worth. I live in the boonies also, until a couple of years ago it was a 150 miles or 250 miles one way to an equine vet facility. In summary between myself and friends we found out it was usually quicker and less expensive to go straight to a specialist when something strange came up, than to dink around with the local vets. By the time you added up farm calls and wrong diagnosis wrong meds. Even if you have a local vet diagnoses a hole in the trachea - do they have the ability to treat/fix it or will you still be spending another day hauling to an equine facility? I have seen some really wonderful things done by equine chiroprators. IMO A safe mount for a child is worth the trip. Good luck let us know the outcome thanks.
Posted 2010-12-29 1:38 AM (#128347 - in reply to #128284) Subject: RE: mystery illness
Elite Veteran
Posts: 610
Location: Northern CA
I had a friend who had a horse that had a fracture at the wither that was doing the same thing you are describing. Never did know how the horse did it.
Posted 2010-12-30 4:05 PM (#128382 - in reply to #128284) Subject: RE: mystery illness
Regular
Posts: 79
Location: Hopkinsville, Ky
OK I hate long post on a forum, and I know I am a new comer, so I will try to keep this short:I took the mule to an equine chiropractor today. I will not post his name as I forgot to ask his permission. I was a little skeptical, but willing to try anything. Let me say without this forum I would have never tried. He watched the mule walk to and from for a little while. he decided the problem was not in his back. He pulled his head from side to side feeling of his neck. he said which vertebrae where out of line. He placed the mules head on his shoulder, and did what I would describe as a super fast reverse full nelson. I paid him, and loaded him on the trailer for the ride home. When I got home I could already tell that he was better. Before today there was no way for the mule to turn around in the cow trailer. It was just impossible because of his stiffness. I prefer one to back out any way, but he was old and set in his ways, and always wanted to turn around. Today he turned around and headed out before I even knew what happened. He rolled out in the pasture for approximatly 25 minutes before stopping. His gate is much more fluid than before as well. I wouldn't say he is 100% better, but I do think he will make a full recovery. He said bring him back in a couple weeks If I thought he could still benefit from more alignments. Thanks to everyone for your post. I never be skeptical again.
Posted 2010-12-30 7:50 PM (#128387 - in reply to #128284) Subject: RE: mystery illness
Expert
Posts: 1205
Location: Arkansas
So glad to hear this good old boy is feeling so much better......glad that help was so useful, and such a big change! Good for you for being willing to try something out of the ordinary and glad it worked so well!