The mystery of shivers
Through a series of groundbreaking studies aided by selfless horse owners, a researcher is beginning to understand this rare but devastating neurological condition.
Through a series of groundbreaking studies aided by selfless horse owners, a researcher is beginning to understand this rare but devastating neurological condition.
Stanley had been off the track about five months when Kati Johnston first met him. The handsome gray gelding had raced under the name Wild Delight, but by the time he was 5 years old, his potential as an event horse was recognized by some of the biggest names in the sport. He was plucked from the track by famed horseman Bruce Duchossois and sent to the barn of eventing superstar Phillip Dutton, where Johnston worked. Johnston, in need of a new mount to develop for advanced-level competition, purchased Stanley even though he had one clear physical problem. “He had shivers even back then,” says Johnston. “They were minor, but definitely there.”
At the time, Johnston identified shivers as most horsepeople do---a reluctance to have a hind hoof lifted and held up by a handler. “At that point, he’d let me pick a hind hoof up but only for a few moments, and then he’d pull away in an almost panicked way.”
Stanley’s otherwise wonderful ground manners led Johnston to conclude that his hind-hoof issues weren’t behavioral. “It was clear he wasn’t just being a jerk,” she says. “Something about having his hoof lifted was so difficult that it upset him.” Farrier visits required sedation and patience.
Getting out of a trailer was also a problem. “He’d panic if he had to step backward out of a trailer,” says Johnston. “He’d load like a dream and walk forward down the ramp of Phillip’s large van just fine. But if he had to back out, it was an issue. It didn’t matter if it was a ramp or a step-up; it was like he just couldn’t figure out where to put his feet while moving backward, and he’d fly out in a panic.”
While being ridden, however, Stanley had no troubles---he and Johnston quickly worked their way up the ranks of elite eventing. In three short years, they were readily handling advanced courses and clearing imposing obstacles. “He was a fabulous, fabulous horse to ride,” says Johnston.
The shivers, however, worsened with each passing year. “Eventually it took us 10 minutes per hind hoof to put studs in before we’d go cross-country,” says Johnston. “But there was still no