Monday morning is a muscle condition in performance horses, which can be associated with exercises that cause stiffness in hind limbs. The condition can affect any muscle of the skeleton. Veterinary product manufacturer term this condition as acute myopathy, azoturia and exertional rhabdomyolysis. A few even call this condition Tying Up, muscle disease.
Earlier, experts suggested that all horses that were tied up after exercise could suffer from the same disease. A few solutions like dichloroacetic acid injection and prevention practices could prove to be effective for a few equines. Confusion persists in the researchers. Studies signify that tying up could be a symptom of various other health conditions.
The main reason for the confusion is that horses that work regularly can also suffer from this disease. A high energy diet or other dietary deficiencies could be the reasons behind the Monday morning issue. In certain equines, they can be sensitive to a slight reduction of exercise intensity. A few studies have shown that if such horses could have a problem with their hormonal cycles or a family history of the condition. There is no complete confirmation of these findings.
Many equine medicine manufacturers are investing money and time to find the exact reasons for the condition, which would allow them to launch products that could help the equine owners and care-takers.
A few horses show sporadic tie-up, mainly because of excessive exercise, electrolyte depletion or dietary imbalances. In such conditions, rest for a brief period could bring a welcome change. Care-takers can expect the animal on track gradually. They can even choose some energy boosters supplied by Veterinary feed supplement manufacturer. The condition of recovery for a chronic case could differ from one animal to the other.
What Are The Symptoms Of Tying-Up?
Tying-up is one health condition that most horse care-takers experience. As per studies and vet experts, the common symptoms that care-takers should look out for in the horses are:
• Stiffen up: The most common symptom that the equine show is stiffening up. At times, the animal would become completely immobile, in a very short time.
• Shortening on strides: The condition is known to affect the muscles in the hind limbs, pelvis and back. As the animals experience stiffness in muscles, they start taking shorter strides.
• Excessive sweating and high heart rate: As the condition worsens, muscles become painful. So the horse begins to sweat profusely and start pawing the ground. The heart rate could also be on the higher side.
• Can’t lie down: The equine could try to lie down, but the muscles’ stiffness would not allow it to do so. This symptom may be confused with colic. A few vets suggest the use of Flunixin Meglumine Injection as they get confused with the symptoms.
• Dark red/brown urine: The oxygen-carrying pigment in the muscles start leaking out of muscle cells and come out of the body through the kidneys.
The signs can be due to exercise, even by activities like walking or trotting before exercising. In rare cases, the horse would show signs, after a hectic exercise routine, by just a drop in the performance. If the care-takers have few doubts or the animal is not showing any significant symptoms, then to confirm the condition, a blood taste may help.
The tying-up condition would release enzymes into the blood, which could be retained in muscle cells. A higher percentage of these enzymes in the blood could be confirmation of the health condition.
What Should You Do When The Horse Ties-Up?
The best thing that one can do is to stop the exercise immediately. Continuing exercise, even a simple walk, would worsen the condition. If the conditions are not severe, one can take good care of the animal and monitor its condition.
If the condition is serious, one should consider using other modes of transport.
In most cases, a renowned vet manufacturing company’s pain killer could be beneficial, but seeking guidance or visiting a vet would be the ideal solution.
