Dealing With PSSM
March 4, 2010
Hope for this painful disease is due to research and education made possible by the American Quarter Horse Foundation.
Pam Melville with An Invious Decision, aka “Jackson”
By Former AQHA Intern Julie Preble in the American Quarter Horse Foundation Quarterly
After 10 years away from the show pen, Pam Melville of Bridgton, Maine, decided it was time to get back in the saddle.
Because Pam was unable to afford a new horse of the quality she wanted, she decided to breed her mother’s 12-year-old mare, Decided To Rap, to Green With Invy. The stallion is a son of Invitation Only, whose bloodlines appealed to Pam. That is how she got An Invious Decision, aka “Jackson.” When Jackson was 2, Pam noticed something different about the gelding during his training sessions.
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“I’d start working him, and after about 10 or 15 minutes, he’d start pawing the ground, refusing to go forward, being totally obstinate,” Pam says. “At the time, I thought he was just being a naughty 2-year-old. It got to the point that I was going to give up on him.”
Amidst her frustrations Pam stumbled upon an American Quarter Horse Foundation article about Samantha Gonzalez. Samantha and her horse were directly affected by the Foundation’s programs. Samantha had received a scholarship from the Foundation, and her horse is challenged with polysaccharide storage myopathy, a glycogen storage disorder that causes the affected horse to store too much glycogen in the muscle. This causes the muscle to “tie up,” and the horse has stiff, painful muscles.
Despite the PSSM, Samantha has been able to show her horse successfully at the Youth World level, taking 10th in performance halter geldings, thanks to research and education made possible by the Foundation.
Samantha’s description of her horse’s symptoms and subsequent diagnosis lead Pam to believe that Jackson was dealing with the same issues.
The staff at the Foundation connected Pam with Samantha’s mother, Suzanne Gonzalez, and they talked through the similarities in their horses and shared advice. Pam researched PSSM and spoke with Dr. Beth Valentine at Oregon State University. Though she couldn’t afford to have him tested for PSSM, Pam’s vet recommended that Jackson be treated for PSSM. She has now found a way to manage Jackson’s problem. With an extremely regulated diet and lots of turnout, Jackson is doing much better.
Thanks to Sherrye Tafton, an AQHA Professional Horseman from Brunswick, Maine, Pam has even been able to show Jackson. They work Jackson very slowly with plenty of breaks.
“When I first started working with Jackson, he would not canter at all without behaving as if he was tying up. His muscles seemed to break down if pushed too hard for too long, and he would become resistant and unwilling,” Sherrye says. “Our approach with Jackson has been to avoid too much repetition and quit as soon as he performs an exercise correctly.”
Pam has learned many lessons from her experience with Jackson, especially that you can show a horse with PSSM. Pam also encourages horse owners to investigate if a horse is acting obstinate. Make sure there’s nothing wrong with him first, she says.
“There is still hope,” Pam says. “It is something that’s manageable. You just have to spend a little bit of extra time and upkeep and maintenance.”
The American Quarter Horse Foundation assists in funding ongoing research on PSSM and other equine disorders and illness. All it takes is “One Cure” to prolong a life, to protect a special bond, to improve the well-being of all horses.
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7 Comments on “Dealing With PSSM”
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March 4th, 2010 at 7:11 am
Thanks for using my article on here! It was a very pleasant surprise when I checked my e-mail first thing this morning! =)
March 10th, 2010 at 7:39 am
My Appendix, Moon Head, also has been diagnosed by different vets with PSSM. He now lives 100% outdoors with a run in shed. I work him regulary which REALLY seems to help him stay strong, and I feed ADMs Senior Glo (very low starch for my VERY hard keeper!) “Taz” occasionally still lifts his leg. We did have one really bad bout last summer when trail camping…the terrain was probably too rugged for him. I also provide him with equine massages every few months. By being more careful about where I ride him now at age 16 along with all of the other practices, I seem to have been able to keep him as comfortable as possible during the past 12 years.
June 11th, 2010 at 2:32 pm
I have a beautiful gray quarter horse mare that was diagnosed with pssm when she was 2 and she is now 7. I have kept her very healthy and have shown her for the last 3 years by keeping her on a diet of Releve feed and hay with some alfalfa in it, plus constant turnout and exercising her at least 5 to 6 days a week. When I give her winter months off I start working her back into shape in small time increments and work her up a little bit at a time. She has the best personality and really gives me all shes got. I adore her with all my heart.
June 15th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
I read your article and it gives me hope, my horse has been diagnosed with pssm and i feel overwhelmed
June 29th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
My 4 yr old mare was just diagnosed with PSSM through the genetic testing available at Univ. of Minn. I am curious if AQHA has any kind of data on the bloodlines that have a genetic link to PSSM, or, if anybody doing research has any data. I’ve read a copious amount of material on PSSM and do have it under control with my mare. I understand that line breeding is an issue but am curious as to which bloodlines are dominant for the gene. My plan when I purchased her was to train her for barrels, compete, then breed her. Guess the breeding part of the plan has to be nixed.
June 30th, 2010 at 6:49 am
Hi,
I have a 10 year old quarter horse mare that was diagnosed 2 years ago with Type 1 PSSM which they say is easier to manage. She is out of TNT Fluid Fred and a granddaughter of the Investor and I wondered if anyone else has had problems with these bloodlines? I bought her for my daughter and I thought at times that this mare was CRAZY! I would lounge her and ask her to lope off and she would go around a few times and them just blow up and run and run and start whinnying like a crazy horse now I realize that she was having major cramping. Here we are 2 years later and I know beyond any doubt that she has the biggest heart of any horse I have ever been around. She will pack my daighter(at age
around the showpen and I have to say is one of the safest and best kids Horse around. If I keep her off grass and follow the High fat diet and daily exercise with turnout as much as possible then she is great. I fear that there are alot of horses out there that get put down or abused because of diseases like this and just hope that people read these articles and get educated. You can test for PSSM now with a simple blood test.
July 28th, 2010 at 7:34 am
HELP….Hello again, it has not been a good summer. Just wondering if anyone who has a Horse with PSSM has had any problems with Uveitis and allergies. I noticed yesterday that her Uveitis was flared up and today the eye is completely yellow and I am just waiting on the vet to arrive. I also have had 2 mild flare ups with her PSSM in the last month. In her allergy testing she is allergic to hay, grass and everything else in a horses world. If you have anything similar please let me know as I am wondering if this stuff is not all related with the immune system.
Thanks, Brenda