Owner Questionnaire Regarding Spinal Ataxia (‘Wobblers’) of Horses

The purpose of this questionnaire is to determine how horses with clinical signs related to compressive spinal cord disease of their neck (also called ‘Wobbler Syndrome’) manage throughout their life and how they respond to medical or surgical treatment. Please complete the survey to the best of your ability. If your horse is no longer alive or in your possession, we still value your input. There are 35 questions that will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. We sincerely value your contribution to veterinary medicine and horse health. By completing this questionnaire, you are providing consent for this information to be used for research.

 

Thank you for providing your valuable input!

Dr. Devon England and Dr. Erica McKenzie, Oregon State University

englandd@oregonstate.edu

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* 1. At what age was your horse diagnosed by a veterinarian with spinal ataxia related to ‘Wobbler syndrome’ or spinal cord compression?

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* 2. What sex was your horse at time of diagnosis and treatment?

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* 3. What breed is the horse in question 1?

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* 4. What is the current status of the horse regarding which you are completing the survey?

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* 5. If alive, how old is your horse currently?

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* 6. What primary discipline or use was your horse participating in prior to diagnosis?

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* 7. What was the most noticeable sign that led you to seek veterinary advice for neurologic disease (select the ONE that best applies):

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* 8. Please fill out any other noticeable signs below that led you to seek veterinary advice for neurologic disease:

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* 9. How severely affected was your horse at the time of diagnosis?

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* 10. How quickly did signs occur in your horse?

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* 11. Which of the following diagnostic procedures did your horse undergo during evaluation? (select all that apply)

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* 12. If your horse had a myelogram performed, what were the results?

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* 13. If your horse had a myelogram, did any of the following complications occur (select all that apply)?

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* 14. If your horse was euthanized around the time of the myelogram procedure, which one of the following applies?

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* 15. Regarding treatment for your horse’s neurologic disease, please select any of the following non-surgical treatments that were used (prior to any surgery)

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* 16. Regarding any non-surgical treatments listed above that were used, please provide a number out of five to describe any positive effect each of them had on your horse’s clinical signs (1= no improvement, 2= minor improvement (25% better), 3= moderate improvement (50% better), 4=significant improvement (75% better), 5=complete resolution of signs)?

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* 17. Did your horse undergo neck surgery for neurologic disease (also known as basket surgery, wobbler surgery) where an implant is placed into the neck?

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* 18. How old was your horse at the time of neck surgery?

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* 19. How many sites (joints) were operated in your horse’s neck during the surgery?

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* 20. Did your horse encounter any of the following listed complications at or shortly after neck surgery (select all that apply)?

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* 21. After surgery, how did your horse’s neurologic disease respond?

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* 22. How long did you feel it took to see the maximum improvement from surgery (please fill in number where appropriate)?

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* 23. After surgery did your horse return to ridden work and if so after how long?

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* 24. After recovery from surgery, if your horse returned to ridden work, which one of the following categories apply?

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* 25. After surgery, did you observe any changes in how your horse used their neck and head at rest?

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* 26. After surgery, did you observe any changes in how your horse used their neck and head during work or exercise?

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* 27. After surgery, did you observe any other changes in how your horse performed during work or exercise?

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* 28. Regardless of treatment, currently how severely affected would you consider your horse to be?

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* 29. If your horse still has signs that you believe relate to ongoing neurologic disease, please select from the dropdown the frequency of each:

  Cannot comment Can comment: Frequency
No longer work with this horse and cannot comment
Stands with front feet spread too wide or too narrow
Stands with back feet spread too wide or too narrow
Stumbling or tripping
Abnormal gait (interference between feet, failure to pick up correct lead, counter canter)
Abnormal body movement (wobbling, swaying, leaning)
Neck pain or stiffness

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* 30. At the current time, please provide an estimate of:

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* 31. Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, how affected do you think your horse was at the time of diagnosis (1= normal, 5 = moderately abnormal, could still be ridden with some caution, 10 = very severe, falling)

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* 32. Using the same scale, how would you rate your horse after medical (not surgical) treatment?

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* 33. Using the same scale, how would you rate your horse after surgical treatment (if performed)?

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* 34. If your horse had surgery, given the same situation again (hypothetically), would you repeat the surgery?

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* 35. Is there anything additional you would like to share regarding management of your horse's neurologic condition? 

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* 36. If you would like to be contacted with more information about the study and results, please include contact information below.

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