[rottenweiler]

I rode a new horse today and noticed he was quite 'loud' with his breathing when we were trotting and cantering. It didn't seem to 'hinder' him at all and he wanted to 'go go go' once I asked him to canter. I asked the woman about it and she said that yes he had a 'roar' when he trotted and cantered but didn't think it was anything. Maybe just being out of shape, maybe just 'him'. I think I've heard of this term before but I really don't know anything about it. Aside from that, he was a really nice horse and he is for sale and I feel kinda bummed that I don't have the money to buy him but I want to understand anything and everything to do with horse health before purchasing one!

 

[masatisan]

A roar is not caused or effected by a horse being fit/unfit. Ian Miller's famous showjumper Big Ben actually had a roar. It's not attractive and sometimes even degrades a horses value depending on discipline, but it doesn't cause any health problems.

 

[maura]

There is also a surgery to correct the problem.

It's considered an unsoundness in rated hunters.

In a competition where a high level of fitness and conditioning is required, such as endurance, racing or high level eventing, it would be considered a liability.

 

[rottenweiler]

Oh, that's good to know. This is an appendix pinto gelding that has been well trained and shown in english and some jumping. They are selling him for only $1800 because the people that owned him lost interest and he was just out at pasture for a year, lost some weight etc... He did everything I asked, has a nice trot (although a little fast) and canter. I took him out on a trail ride after riding him in the arena for a while and he was great. He was a little 'spooked' by the cows in the pasture but all he did was stop and look at them and then continued on. At one point he hesitated a little because of the one cow but with little prompting he continued on. I am not looking for an endurance horse or anything, probably wont ever compete in ANYTHING I would just like a horse that is CAPABLE of walk, trot canter and some small cross-rails

 

[MyBoyPuck]

I wouldn't worry about it as long as a vet check doesn't show something more serious. My TB sounds like a freight train coming when we're galloping, but doesn't affect his stamina at all.

 

[rottenweiler]

Jeez, now I don't know what to do. I did not want to be 'rushed' into buying a horse but now I feel like this maybe the RIGHT horse and I will lose out if I don't act

 

[anita]

Hey I have a horse that is/was a roar she got stringholts and she seamed to be brething hard when she went in to trot and canter so I got the vet out... and he put a camera up her nose and found that she had become a roar, he explaned that the airway at the start of the lounge is triangled shaped and has 2 musles that put the airway open wider when the horse needs more air and that one of the musle was not working properly and not pulling the airway open wide on one side and the noise that could be herd was the air vierbrating in the airway, a bit like snoring. He also said that if the horse seamed to work like nothing is wrong then dont worry it just means you have a noisey horse but if it courses problems for the horse when in work the horse can have a opp but it is costly. so if you rally like the horse give it a good hard workout and see how it goes..he also said it seamed to go hand in hand with stringholts and I think he was right about that because when the stringholts went the roaring went.

 

[rottenweiler]

what is stringholts? Btw, this is the horse

 

[anita]

vets dont fully under stand it but know it is a toxin affects the tendent it the back legs it can be from verry mild to extrem, horse can not step back or sideway, makes the horse step high with the back leg/legs when moving forwards and the leg/legs can snap up on, when extrem both legs can snap up at the same time and cores injurys. there is no real cure though you will hear lost of them, I have found the best thing is to get them of the ground there on ie; new paddock because it seams to have to do with the toxin in the grass, and time.

 

[Hoofprints in the Sand]

Laryngeal paralysis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[tealamutt]

it is actually called "stringhalt" and here is some more info on it. The Horse | What Is Stringhalt?

it sounds like what you want to use this horse for would not be adversely affected by roaring, but always ALWAYS have a horse vet checked before purchase, as there is a gradation of seriousness with both of these conditions. If the horse is both a roarer and has stringhalt (kind of unclear on your questions, sorry!) I would pass, especially in this market. You can find some pretty great horses in your price range without any soundness issues at all. Best of luck to you!

 

[challengerandsarah]

Having ridden a horse who is a roarer i would be very careflu. On going back to his yard he came down with travel sickness brought on through this condition. Due to the fact that it is mainly down to a paralysis of the pharynx it makes the horse extremely susceptible to upper and lower respiratory tract infections. At the end of the day personally i would not buy a roarer. Hope this helps!

 

[rottenweiler]

well now I am really confused. At first I thought, oh ok it's no big deal. Then I read the wikipedia thing and thought 'hmm, he could get upper respiratory infections? that's not good'...maybe I just better not worry about this one. Was just excited because he was really the best 'behaved' horse I have ridden so far. You can tell he's had lots of training, responds to leg very well, bends properly etc...

 

[maura]

rotten,

If all you want is a pleasure/trail horse, the roaring is no big deal. If you're really concerned, and like the horse enough to buy him, get a vet to scope him and evaulate the severity of the problem and give you a prognosis. The cost of that shouldn't be prohibitive or unreasonable, or in my favorite expression, is cheap for a good night's sleep. If the noise is not loud and obvious, chances are he'll be a sound, happy pleasure horse for the rest of his life.

REALLY, IMO, it's primarily a concern for performance and show horses.

 

[Allison Finch]

In all honesty, it would depend on the extent of the paralyzed tissue. If the affected area is small, it could cause the roar, but not significantly impair his breathing. If the affected area is larger, it could affect the amount of air the horse can get. The harder the horse works, the more air he would need (and not be able to get). This could cause some bad problems.

A vet can tell you, through scoping, just how bad the paralyzed area is and give a good indication of what work he can do. One of my students event horses is a roarer. He has minor paralysis and was deemed sound to event. However, some dressage judges may question the situation, as is their right. They carry a vet's diagnosis to present in such an eventuality.

 

[~*~anebel~*~]

My mum's horse is a roarer. It has never been an issue, so it was never operated on. I knew the horse as a 3 year old and he roared then, he's in his early teens now. His stamina is slightly affected, but not to the point where he can't be ridden, shown, etc.. He is fine in the arena, outside, in dusty environments, etc..
He is treated like a normal horse and other than sounding like a dragon and needing a bit more time to "cool out" after a workout he is normal.
I've known other roarers who have had the surgery and it's been 50/50 whether it worked or not.

So, I'd like to echo the advice of getting a vet to examine it, but in my experience fixing the roaring is more of a cosmetic thing, especially for a pleasure horse! The only problem is you can't sneak up to people while riding him