hobday

[em23]

When we bought Skye the vet thought that she might have a restricted windpipe but as we only wanted her for hacking andnot as a performance horse it didn't matter to us. However we live in the north yorks moors and it is hilly - steep, terrain, mostly up - sharpish! Though Skye is fit she finds it fdifficult going up the hills and she is puffing and panting. We stop and rest several times to get to the top to give her a break. when she is on the flat again she is fine.
I'm wondering whether we are putting her through too much strain in going up hills. Should we contemplate getting her hobdayed ( if that is what is wrong with her) and if so how much do you think it would cost, is it fair on her and is it a major thing which would put her out of action for a long time, or is it a minor op? Any information gratefully received

Em

[carrimclaren]

Hi,
I own a TB x and she's got the same problem. When i bought her the owner was upfront and explained about the problem, but as you've said it doesn't tend to affect them too much as long as they're not hard hunting, racing, hard eventing etc. I just tend to try and keep my mare as fit as i can. She's always going to sound like Thomas the Tank engine as this is part of the condition she has. I find it just doesn't affect that much to be fair. But then i'll see whether it does come cross country or hunting if i start as this will be a hard test. She doesn't however struggle that badly with hills, only when she's a little unfit and not done it for a while.
With regard to your horse, i'd really try and sit down and have a chat with your vet as some horses can be worse than others or better and each case is individual. I got told by the old owner that to hobday is about £250-500 but having seen the vets bills for other stuff i find that a very cheap price so i would expect it to be more.

Good luck and will you let us know if you do speak to the vets as i'd be interested to hear about it :)

[Stella2]

I'd discuss it in detail with your Vet. I know a horse recently that had this done, he coped very well and is recovering easily, so if mine would benefit from it, I wouldn't hesitate. Your Vet will answers all of your questions better than us. If you ring her/him, they will probably answer them on the telephone without a charge!

[Jessey]

Hobday is a pretty simple procedure and is done quite alot in the racing world I am led to believe. If you mare is seriously struggling to breathe whilst doing basic work then I would definatly talk to your vet and seriously consider it.
My friends mare has this problem but even doing a pretty reasonable ammount of work is fine, she does wheeze alot but this is not effecting her adversely at all.

J x

[andreaB]

there is hobday & tie back . although both are often done at the same time , i think hobday actaully cuts a vocal cord whereas tie back does just that on 'extra' flesh

the op is fairly routine but the horse needs complete rest for about 6 weeks then bringing back into work

in terms of vet traetment you are looking at camera down windpipe to identify problem , then op , pricey as is done under general not local , then after care/ visits ,

all in i think you would be looking at somewhere in the region of £2000

hopefully someone else will post with a bit more scientific info about proceedure , altheratively an internet search should serve you well

[Trewsers]

What is hobday then? Is it something done to ease a bad chest?

[Jessey]

Ah its tie back I was thinking of :o
Trewsers, its to do with collapse or paralysation of the larynix....I think

[Trewsers]

Trewsers, its to do with collapse or paralysation of the larynix....I think


Ah, I thought it must be something like that. So will they lose their ability to neigh??

[Jessey]

I don't think it effects the vocal chords, but not 100%

Just found this about Hobday and Tie-back
In moderately severe cases, it may help to do a ‘Hobday’ operation in which a piece of laryngeal tissue (laryngeal saccule) is surgically removed to encourage a scar to form to ‘tighten’ the larynx in a more open position. This can be done with the horse sedated and restrained in the standing position, using laser surgery, or more conventionally under general anaesthetic. In more severe cases a ‘tie-back’ operation is often recommended. This more elaborate operation places lycra sutures in the paralysed side to pull and hold it open. The ‘Hobday’ operation is often performed at the same time so that the resulting scar also helps to hold the paralysed side open, even if the sutures fail to retain their strength over time. In horses where a tie back has failed or is not an option for other reasons, a brass or plastic tracheotomy tube may be inserted into the windpipe to allow air to bypass the larynx completely. The tracheotomy tube and wound must be carefully managed to prevent infection and secondary complications and this method is very invasive and many people understandably find it unacceptable for aesthetic reasons.

[em23]

Thanks everyone. I will contact our vet but I won't do anything that could compromise our lovely little mare
em

[carrimclaren]

Ah, I thought it must be something like that. So will they lose their ability to neigh??

I don't think it affects them in that respect but i could be wrong. It certainly hasn't effected my blabber gob, vocal cords work better than everyone elses :rolleyes: I was led to believe that it's sort of like a paralysed piece of tissue of the larynx which flaps around and doens't work properly. It leads to descriptions of horses breathing as whistling or roaring in the more affected cases. In my mare it just makes her sound like an unfit horse.

[Trewsers]

vocal cords work better than everyone elses :rolleyes:


Hehe, thats ok then, I just had visions of horses not whinneying properly:D