Jax was diagnosed as n/P1 for PSSM, meaning he is heterozygous positive (has one copy of the gene). He went symptomatic around July of 2015, and just kept getting worse until he tied up and colicked in January of 2016 (at this point the vets didn’t believe he had tied up and treated it as a colic). I switched his feed and started handwalking him after the colic, but he wasn’t getting better. Finally in May of 2016 I switched his feed again and started trimming his feet myself. He kept getting better, was able to trot and canter on the lunge without his stifles sticking by July of 2016, but kept having back pain and tightness (you can see his sore back muscles in another video on my channel – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lGDqCzLCp0 ). Finally in August of 2016 he had a mild muscle spasm in his shoulder, and I knew he was having muscle issues. By early September of 2016 we had an official diagnosis of n/P1. I’ve spent this last year trying to find a diet and exercise program that works for him, and I think we are finally getting there…

I’m putting together some PSSM posts on my Horses & Art blog. If you’d like to see the feed program that’s getting his muscles loosened up, it’s here:

https://jenpratt.blogspot.com/2017/07/glycemic-index-and-pssm-horse-rice-bran.html

I have a few more posts about PSSM, such as the full story of lameness issues and heartache on dealing with a symptomatic horse. I hope to have more posts about exercise, feeds, hoof care, and other extremely important aspects of maintaining a symptomatic horse in soon.