Tying Up

So it's the last week of classes, and the semester is almost done! I thought this article that I read in Equus recently would fit perfectly.

A lot of people probably haven't heard of the word, tying up, unless you work with horses a lot. It happens a lot with racehorses, for sure. Basically, in simple terms, it means severe muscle cramping. Some signs involve profuse sweating, halting gait, refusal to move, and elevated pulse. This article talked about what to do with your horse who is tying up, before the vet arrives.

Immediately when it happens, you first don't want to move him out of it, you want to keep him in that position because any movement out of it, could cause some severe damage. After that you want to immediately cool or warm his muscles, depending on the season. If it is winter, maybe grab a blanket or cooler, and some warm water, and if it is summer time, cool his muscles.

You also don't want to try and massage the affected areas. It might cause more damage. The less you do, the better. You also don't want to give the horse any injections because it would only intesifty the spasms. The next thing to do is note the color of the urine, if the horse urinates. When cells die they are excreted in the urine, and the resulting color is a reddish to a dark-coffee urine. Another important thing to note is whether the horse is "thumping." This is also known as "synchronous diaphragmatic flutter." It is the spasmodic contraction of the horse's diaphragm in time to his heartbeat. It is the result of a severe electrolyte imbalance.

I thought that this was a very informative article, and I learned some things from it.