Your horse has been symptomatic for a while but now after lots of trial and error you have your horses diet right and your finally seeing the results. Your horse is no longer showing symptoms on the ground, and his looking and feeling on top form. But how do you know that your horse is ready to return to work, and how should you go about it?
Returning a PSSM, MFM, or RER horse back to work can be daunting, but we are here to help you by giving you some insight on what we have learnt ourselves when bringing our own horses back into work and what we have learnt from other PSSM, MFM, & RER horse owners.
How do I know when my horse is ready to be brought back into work?
Your horse will not show any signs of exercise intolerance, exercise will actually aid them in becoming looser by gently contracting and relaxing the muscles.
What symptoms will a horse display if they are not ready to be brought back into work?
Your horse will display symptoms of exercise intolerance when asked to exercise. The more exercise they do the worse they will become as their muscles become tighter and tighter, exercise will make them worse. Horses with exercise intolerance display the following symptoms:
1) Stiff/shuffling/shortened gait behind the horse doesn't track up properly and will walk almost robotic
2) Not wanting to move forwards
3) Constant Chewing/Grinding/Drawing up the bit
4) Heavy on the forehand
6) Resistance to contact
7) Tension
8) Tight muscles
9) Stiffness
10) Muscle spasms
11) Tripping
12) Dry Coughing, sneezing, breathing heavy or wheezing
13) Sweating profusely after short amounts of work
If your horse is displaying symptoms of exercise intolerance that is becoming worse the more exercise your horse does, then stop immediately as it can cause muscle damage, or your horse could even enter a tying up episode.
My horse is running around his field and is fine yet when I exercise him his exercise intolerant how can this be the case?
Just because your horse can run around in his field it doesn't mean his not exercise intolerant. When horses are running around the field they know their capabilities, horses often run in straight lines they don't run round in constant circles, plus they can stop whenever they want to, they know their limitations.
When we exercise our horses the work we ask them to do is forced not forced by the sense of dominance or aggression, but think of it like being your horses personal trainer. We are pushing our horses that little bit more each day to help them gain fitness and to turn them into elite athletes enabling them to perform to the best of their ability.
Horses can still run round the field and be exercise intolerant when we ask them to work
What do I need to take into consideration when bringing a PSSM, MFM, Or RER horse back into work?
You need to treat a horse with PSSM, MFM, or RER that's being brought back into work like a horse in rehab work after a tendon injury. You cannot go back to the workload your horse was doing before they were symptomatic, as going straight back to what you were previously doing can cause your horse to become symptomatic again as its too much to soon- it's like taking a few weeks off at the gym from a muscle sprain then going back and training full throttle!
If your horse has been symptomatic for a while their muscles will be weakened, and they will likely have some muscle damage and muscle wastage, so its extremely important to take things slowly, it's also important to look out for any symptoms of exercise intolerance while bringing your horse back into work. If you bring your horse back into work and they display tightness that gets worse the more they do then stop immediately as your horse is not yet ready to return to work, exercise intolerance is a symptom that a horse is not yet managed enough to be exercised, or they may be one of the 30% of cases who is not manageable at all. A horse who is managed enough to be exercised will not get tight and will remain loose and happy throughout.
It's important not to return where you left off before your horse was symptomatic- as your horses muscles will be weakened, and they could have muscle damage, returning straight back to where you left off could cause them to become symptomatic again.
Instead start from scratch with just walking and not forcing them to do anything, take it slowly and build strength all the while listening to your horse he will let you know if his comfortable with the work he is doing- remember that slow and steady wins the race
Should I bring my PSSM, MFM, or RER horse back into work under saddle or on the ground?
That choice is yours you can either bring them back into work riding, lunging, long reining, or a mix of all of these together to keep things interesting for the horse.
Variety is the spice of life! And keeps things interesting for both horse and owner during PSSM, MFM, & RER exercise rehab!
Should I warmup and cooldown my PSSM, MFM & RER Horse?
Yes, yes, and yes! Warm up and cool down are vitally important for PSSM, MFM, & RER horses, you should warm up and cool down in walk for at least 10 minutes.
Warming up gives the muscles adequate time to warm up and prepare for the work ahead, along with giving you a chance to release any tension.
Cool down gives the horse the chance to walk off the exercise, allowing the muscles to fully relax at the end of the session.
How do I bring my PSSM, MFM, Or RER horse back into work?
Slowly- remember it is not a race, and it's important not to go back to what you were doing before your horse was symptomatic straight away, they need time. Also remember to make sure you give your horse adequate walk warmups and cool downs.
We have created a back to work guide for returning your PSSM, MFM, and RER horse to exercise to help you, this is a basic guide spanning over 2 months we have left the last few weeks blank for you to fill in yourselves. I have followed this guide myself each time my horse has become symptomatic and managed again and it's given me great results enabling my horse to return to his current workload at the end of the programme.
What are some good exercises for PSSM, MFM, & RER horses?
Any suppling exercises including serpentines, flexing, counter flexing, lateral work, and carrot stretches are all great exercises for these horses, as they aid in gently contracting and relaxing the muscles- when managed exercise can be a great tool in helping these horses.
Gentle suppling and lateral exercises are great for muscles!
We hope you have found this blog helpful, we will be doing a video on this topic also in the near future along with videos showing you examples of these exercises ridden on our own horses.
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