cramp

my horse is an 11 year old 16.3 gelding. i have had him for three years, no problems. this winter he has been lacking in energy. after a ride recently he cramped up very badly, since then he is continuing to cramp during exercise, when he is standing he is lifting one or both back legs in a manner that indicates he is in pain. after he cools down he seems fine again. the vet gave me salts to add to his food but the problem persists.

While electrolyte imbalances can cause this, it's not likely unless you are doing endurance rides on this horse so looking for other causes is important.

What you are seeing is commonly referred to as "tying up" and can have different causes as well as having other conditions that look like it but aren't "tying up". The first thing you need to do is to have some blood drawn within 12 hours of an attack and have your vet run some chemistries to determine if there is muscle damage occuring. Then you start looking at WHY it is occuring. If your current vet isn't an "equine vet", I would find one that is who can see your horse.

Here is a good article:
The Horse: AAEP Convention 2006: Muscle Disorders

thank you. My vet is a specialist in Ireland. Im going to take the horse back to him again after exercising so that he can actually see the symptoms better. ill ask him to take a blood sample then. Tomas