Champ's Story by Bonnie Sussex
Peruvian Paso Mare ZDC Sueno de Champana
Champ's story started approximately 3 years ago.
I have known Champ since the day she was born (Oct 2, 1994) and I bought
her when she was only 2 days old. We had an instant connection and she
has been my best friend ever since. I didn't start riding her until the
summer of 1998 when she was almost 4 years old because I wanted to make
sure she was ready and didn't want to risk riding her too young. The
first time I rode her it was like nothing new was happening at all. She
was quiet, calm, relaxed and seemed to really enjoy it. It was like that
on every ride after as well. She truly enjoyed being ridden (as long as
it wasn't in a round pen, she gets bored) and was always eager to go out
on the trails...until the Fall of 2002.
In the Fall of 2002 I started to have questions about something bothering
Champ. Something was off; I just couldn't put my finger on it. She
became less eager to go out on the trails, wasn't gaiting properly (more
of a pace than a paca-paca), started to pin her ears just slightly when I
was tightening her girth, and seemed to be slightly depressed and
withdrawn.
One day in early winter (I think it was November or December of 2002) my
friend and I decided to go riding. I remember that morning as clear as
crystal because that was when I truly knew something was WRONG with Champ.
When I got on her to go for the ride she bucked. It wasn't a big buck,
it was just a little one really, but she had NEVER bucked with me on her
back before. I knew then and there that she was trying to tell me
something was WRONG. I got off immediately and our long saga began.
Initially, I thought she might have a sore back. I had the vet check her
out but nothing turned up and she said maybe she had just pulled a muscle
somewhere and needed some time to heal. I gave her a break and then tried
to ride again but she made it perfectly clear she did not want to be
ridden head tossing, snorting, and refusing to go forward. I called the
vet out, who again could find nothing wrong. This cycle pretty much
continued through the winter repeated vet visits that yielded no answers.
Finally, I decided to just give her some time off, hoping whatever was
troubling her would heal up on its own.
In May 2003, I started to notice that Champ appeared very stiff in the
hindquarters. I called out the vet, again, and she found nothing wrong
with Champ again.
In July 2003 I again tried to ride Champ and it was the same as before
head tossing, snorting, refusing to go forward. Called the vet again?who
by now thinks I'm insaneand am told I simply have a moody mare. I didn't
believe it, but put her on some hormone medication the vet recommended
because she thought her ovaries might be bothering her during her cycle.
It was also at this time I noticed a patch of white hair growth on her
right side so I had the vet check my saddle to make sure it fit her
properly (even though I already knew it did as I had it custom made for
her). Needless to say, the medication didn?t work or make any difference
in Champ's disposition. She was still moving stiffly and refusing to go
forward under saddle, but I couldn't determine if it was because of her
legs or if there was something wrong with her back.
The vet really came out too many times for me to count. I know she
checked her thyroid and the results were normal. She also did an
ultrasound of her ovaries to rule out tumors, results were normal.
In late May of 2004 Champ was still no better...in fact that was when she
really got worse. She was still stiff in the hindquarters and didn't want
to be ridden. She was not interacting with the other horses in the
pasture like she used to and was mostly found standing off by herself,
moving as little as possible and constantly resting one back hoof or the
other. When I picked out her hooves she was very reluctant to put weight
back down on her legs, and it would take a couple of minutes before she
would put the foot back down on the ground and allow me to pick up another
one, predominantly in the rear. And I really panicked when her mane
started falling out in clumps.
The farrier was scheduled to come out right when this was all happening
and he tried to trim her feet but Champ couldn't hold her legs up for him.
Her legs were shaking when he picked them up and she had a really hard
time keeping her balance.
I called the vet again and told her something was seriously wrong. She
came out and at that point it was obvious that Champ was not well. The
vet ordered a full blood workup on Champ. When the results came back
everything was normal except her selenium was severely low and her white
blood cell count was elevated. The vet said she had only seen one other
horse during her career with a selenium level lower than Champ's.
Thyroid, insulin and everything else checked out okay.
The vet said she needed to give her 3 selenium injections over the course
of 3 weeks and that then Champ should be okay. I took her word for it.I
didn't know any better at the time. I asked the vet if I should start
giving Champ oral supplementation as well to prevent this happening again
and she said no, not unless she started to show symptoms again.
By the time Champ had her 3rd selenium injection it was early July 2004
and she was acting like a completely different horse. I shouldn't say
different, she was acting like Champ used to?2 very long years ago. She
was full of energy, holding her head high, charging out of the barn after
feeding time, I truly thought she was getting better. I even started
riding her again and she was happy to go and gaiting like a pro. The only
thing that continued to bother me was the fact she would not put weight on
her back feet immediately after I would pick out her hooves she was
putting the foot down much faster but not immediately.
About 3 weeks to the day, after her last selenium injection I started
noticing a change again. Subtle stiffness in the hindquarters, although
no where near as severe as it had been. I called the vet and asked if I
should start giving her a supplement. The vet recommended Equ-Se (or
something close) and told me to give her 3 mg per day. I immediately
started the supplementation and watched and waited for it to work. She
didn't seem to get any better but didn't seem to get any worse either.
On August 19th, 2004 my friend called me and told me something was, yet
again, wrong with Champ. She said Champ was limping and didn?t want to
put any weight on her back, right leg. I told her to call the vet. By
evening Champ showed slight improvement and was walking a little better.
The vet came out the next day and checked Champ over. After another
thorough examination my vet told my friend that she believed the pain was
originating in the suspensory ligaments and there was slight swelling in
the fetlock.
During an earlier visit I had questioned the vet about DSLD, and
discovered she knew very little about the disease. I had since that time
pulled together a packet of information on the disease and sent it to the
vet for review. She had reviewed the information I sent her and based on
that she was now able to say Champ's problem could be DSLD. Unfortunately
she did not have the equipment necessary to perform ultrasounds on a
horse's legs so there was little more she could do to help me.
I arranged to have Champ ultrasounded at Michigan State University on
August 31, 2004. When I had called to schedule her appointment I had
mentioned I thought Champ might have DSLD. Well, seeing as they are a
teaching hospital, the arrival of a horse with a rare disease was a
highlight for them and Champ was treated like a queen for the day she was
there. The head of Equine Surgery actually did the ultrasounds on Champ's
legs. Dr. John Caron, and he was very good and knowledgeable. He
indicated that since he has been teaching at MSU, he has seen an average
of about 2 cases of DSLD per year?but this was the first time he had seen
it in a Peruvian Paso. His diagnosis of Champ was as follows:
Champ was asymmetrical in gait when trotted in hand and this asymmetry was
worsened by a number of standard manipulative tests including hock/stifle
and digit flexion as well as after gentle pressure applied to the
suspensory ligaments in both hind limbs. Champ showed a painful response
to deep palpation of the suspensory ligaments in both hind limbs. There
was NO obvious enlargement of the suspensory ligament branches in either
hind limb.
There was no change in gait following analgesia of the palmar digital
nerves of the LH and the painful response to flexion of the digit was
preserved.
Ultrasonographic examination of the origin and body of both hind limb
suspensory ligaments was conducted. The fiber pattern in the origin and
body of the ligaments was irregular. There was enlargement of both
ligaments at their origin and the normal space that exists between the
ligament and plantar (back) surface of the third metatarsus (cannon bone)
was absent. Thickening was present in the mid-body region of the LH
suspensory; however the ligament was of approximately normal size in the
corresponding region of the RH.
These findings are consistent with a diagnosis of degenerative suspensory
ligament desmitis (DSLD). Unfortunately, there are few treatments
available at this time to address the problem. In more advanced cases,
with a ?dropped fetlock? appearance, shoeing with modest heel extension
has been helpful in some instances.?
I took Champ home, changed her feed to a recommended DSLD diet, and
retired her to pasture with lots of love and affection given on a daily
basis.
Update: Champ made it through the 2004/2005 winter pretty well, with no
major flare-ups of pain. In April 2005 she had her first major flare-up
since the preceding August and was in severe pain for about 1 week. Then,
again she stabilized for about a month. In May 2005 she experienced
another painful episode that again lasted about 1 week. During this
flare-up she was literally walking on her toes with her hind legs. I
began giving Champ bute twice a day, every day and as of today, June 20,
2005 she appears more comfortable.
*UPDATE- Champ is on the new treatment under Dr Kellon's supervision. Champ was unable to walk in May 2006, she had several bad painful months. On the new treatment Champ is happy, gaiting, and a new horse! No signs of lameness at this point. She will be closely monitored during the study to see if she continues to improve and stablize.
