Page 489 - The Veterinary Care of the Horse

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Figure 11.6 This horse has slow placing reflexes

If the symptoms appear to develop suddenly after a fall, it may be that they were subtly
present before and the fall has exacerbated the spinal cord compression.

Grading system for wobblers

Once a horse has been diagnosed with wobbler syndrome, the condition is assigned a grade
between 1 and 5, according to the severity of the signs. This helps with monitoring the

progress of the disease.

Grade 0: Normal.

Grade 1: Subtle neurological deficits, which may only be seen in response to tests such as
turning in tight circles, backing, walking up and down a slope, crossing the forelimbs.

Grade 2: Mild neurological signs present at all times and more obvious with the above tests.
The horse may appear to be clumsy.