Heart murmur

[Darrenwilliams]

Hi everyone pls can anyone help me with my mini Shetland ? Pumpkin is 15 Months old colt , up until about a month ago he was fine . He was diagnosed with a heart murmur back in April while the local vet carried out a health check , pumpkin showed no signs of this and carried on as normal , zooming around the paddock, eating , drinking and pooping as normal but this last month he’s so slow waking in the morning from his stable too paddock. I’ve had my farrier to check for abscess while trimming his hoofs and no signs of this. I’ve contacted my vets incase there was any chance of laminitis agin the vet said no signs. He recommended putting Pumpkin on B12 hematinic boost (15ml) in his food Daily which I’ve done but no improvement?? When he’s in the paddock he runs about with the other pony’s and when it’s time to come in for the night he is happy trotting down to his stable . Can anyone shed any light on what’s happening pls. (From a very worried Shetland dad).

 

[LostandFound]

He's slow only when you are leading him? My foal is 6 months old, and he will spend a couple weeks trying to drag me out to the paddock. Then he will spend a couple weeks making me drag him to the paddock. When they are young they need to be reminded pretty often that they are supposed to walk with you, not do whatever they feel like today. Sometimes they are in a hurry and sometimes they need to go slow and look at everything they have already seen 1000 times just in case it's different today. If he's running and playing just fine I wouldn't worry about it being a health issue too much.

 

[Darrenwilliams]

He's slow only when you are leading him? My foal is 6 months old, and he will spend a couple weeks trying to drag me out to the paddock. Then he will spend a couple weeks making me drag him to the paddock. When they are young they need to be reminded pretty often that they are supposed to walk with you, not do whatever they feel like today. Sometimes they are in a hurry and sometimes they need to go slow and look at everything they have already seen 1000 times just in case it's different today. If he's running and playing just fine I wouldn't worry about it being a health issue too much.

Thank u x

 

[MaryFlora]

He's slow only when you are leading him? My foal is 6 months old, and he will spend a couple weeks trying to drag me out to the paddock. Then he will spend a couple weeks making me drag him to the paddock. When they are young they need to be reminded pretty often that they are supposed to walk with you, not do whatever they feel like today. Sometimes they are in a hurry and sometimes they need to go slow and look at everything they have already seen 1000 times just in case it's different today. If he's running and playing just fine I wouldn't worry about it being a health issue too much.

I think LostandFound has good points. Did your vet really explain what that means in a horse? Sometimes it’s hard to know what is normal, especially when given new information! If needed can you ask more questions for clarification?

Pumpkin, by the way, is so cute! Beautiful color too! He looks like he is getting a winter coat started!

 

[HersheyMint]

I have no advise but what a cutie, Pumpkin is I hope all will be well for him.
Edited: We had a big horse with a heart murmur that lived to 34 years. Hopefully Pumpkin has many years ahead too.

 

[Standards Equine]

I also echo @LostandFound's thoughts.
Regarding the murmur, there are varying levels. I've met a few horses you would never imagine having any cardiac issues. Now, I am not a vet, and I don't know where your tiny is at regarding location and degree of reflux but there is a possibility that he could grow out of it over time. Remaining fit and healthy (not fat) can help him to have a great, long life!

 

[Dragon Hill]

Did the vet not indicate anything other than he had the murmur? I would think if it were severe, he would have said something. Hopefully these responses have helped. I do know, personally, that a heart murmur can sometimes be harmless, and I hope that is the case for handsome Pumpkin.

 

[Cayuse]

I'm curious if the vet graded the murmur on a scale of 1-4? I have a pony that sometimes a very mild murmur is heard and then he goes forever with his vet checks and the vet hears nothing and the vet wasn't concerned, but my pony is at the opposite end of life as yours, he's 26 and the murmur was first heard about 3-4 years ago.
Is Pumpkins respirations ok? I would think his resp would become elevated if his heart was bothering him (i'm not a vet so take that with a grain of salt)
He is about the most cutest thing ever, isn't he ?

 

[HersheyMint]

I'm curious if the vet graded the murmur on a scale of 1-4? I have a pony that sometimes a very mild murmur is heard and then he goes forever with his vet checks and the vet hears nothing and the vet wasn't concerned, but my pony is at the opposite end of life as yours, he's 26 and the murmur was first heard about 3-4 years ago.
Is Pumpkins respirations ok? I would think his resp would become elevated if his heart was bothering him (i'm not a vet so take that with a grain of salt)
He is about the most cutest thing ever, isn't he ?

@Cayuse & Darrenwilliams, I agree,Pumpkin is so cute. I keep scrolling up to look at his pic again. We can use more pics of Pumkin,please

 

[Cayuse]

Pumpkin needs to be cloned so we can all have him. He makes me smile!