If that horse is doing only mild to moderate exercise, they may be able to tolerate their respiratory inadequacies. But when pushed to give his best, the horse may falter sadly. Due diligence is required in order to avoid the worst scenario. Soon - The term Sweeney Shoulder refers to a horse's shoulder musculature that has atrophied. The cause is usually trauma to the suprascapular nerve which supplies the major muscles on the scapula.
Horses can collide with trees or be kicked by others while turned out.
They both suffered temporary loss of function of the suprascapular nerves. I treated them with anti-inflammatories and physical therapy. They both recovered, but one took a long time. On the one that took longer, the muscles did waste away and it was accurate to describe him as a Sweeney shouldered horse before the nerve re-grew and the muscles returned to their normal size. There are some horses that are not able to regenerate an adequate nerve supply, either because the trauma was so severe that the nerve was cut or scarred, or the area lost blood supply so that healing was diminished.