Equine Exertional Rhabdomyolysis (Tying-Up)

This disease is life-threatening and should be treated by a veterinarian swiftly.

Equine exertional rhabdomyolysis, more commonly known as Tying-up, causes a horse’s muscles to cramp up during or after exercise, leading to high levels of pain.

Sporadic Tying-Up – caused by over-exertion during exercise, stress, infection, nutritional deficiencies, such as a lack of electrolytes, vitamin E or selenium or other dietary issues, such as too much grain.

Chronic Tying-Up – more likely caused by underlying issues, such as a myopathy.

Severe episodes of Tying-up can be fatal.

Symptoms

More common in

Treatment

The treatment of equine exertional rhabdomyolysis depends on the severity of the clinical signs. Exercise should be stopped immediately. If the signs are severe, intravenous fluids are necessary and analgesics might be indicated for pain.

The recommended treatment for less severe cases will be rest, fresh water and possibly tranquilizers or anti-inflammatories. Once the horse gains strength, you can gradually increase the amount of daily exercise. Supplementing the horse’s diet with sodium, selenium and vitamin E may also help.

Prevention

Tying-Up can be prevented through plenty of turnout time and a high-fiber and low-carbohydrate diet with electrolytes supplementation. A long warm-up and cool-down after and before training can help as well.