Test for EPSM

[Deleted]

Birdie stamps his back legs but after I pig oiled and sulphured them he seemed fine so maybe it was mites.
But why I thought of this is that he has had 2 funny turns that I thought might be grass staggers- the first time I thought he'd been stung by a bee- he staggered backwards in a tight circle for about 30 seconds looking as if he was convulsing or going to fall over- a few ninutes later he was back to normal -I rang vets , asked everyone-no ideas and he was fine ever since until 9 months later he came up to have his dinner, then looked as if he had been sedated, and slowly lay down- got up again, didn't want dinner, but was grazing within 15 min and back to normal the next day....I bought some anti fungal stuff- had to syringe it down him as he hates any yeasty smells.
Nothing since, don't put him on that grazing anymore--could it be this ?

[harveydales]

It is so dificult to know and easy to drive yourself neurotic. All horses stamp their feet when irritated, especially our hairies who are prone to mite infestations. Since Harvey had his tying up episodes, every time he stamps a hind leg I think "Oh God, he's having another turn" and Ali will say no, it's just a fly around his hocks.

The funny turns you describe (particularly the first one) could be suggestive of EPSM but could equally be down to all sorts of other things and probably nothing to worry about.

There is a genetic test for one type of EPSM where you just have to send in a hair sample but the test which covers all types of EPSM is very invasive so I haven't bothered. From what I've read, the EPSM type heavy breeds get is not the type covered by the hair test.

Also, from what I've read, more than 50% of certain breeds will have the genetic predisposition to EPSM. So the sensible thing with all our ponies would be to take the reasonable precautions such as not feeding high starch or cereal feeds, feed higher oil feeds for energy (most modern commercial feeds are going down this route anyway now), avoid turn out on lush grass high in sugars, warm up and cool down properly before and after exersise. All things we should do anyway.

I've owned Harvey for 10 years and this was the first time he has shown a true tying up episode. It coinsided with a spurt of autumn grass (high in sugars), a night of passion where he was mounting a mare on and off all night plus he was beng lunged to keep him fit while off ridden work. I don't think it would have happened without the "mounting exertion".

[heathera]

Merlin has come in looking sedated and not wanting his tea twice and then lay down for bit before getting up and munching hay in a quiet way. Both times he's had a raging temperature! The vet says that if we hadn't called them out as an emergency visit that night he could have been OK the next morning but he could easily have died as his temperature was so high he was at danger of kidney failure.

The trouble with Dales ponies is that they are so stoic they don't look I'll until they are seriously ill. Our vet thought Merlin looked off colour but wouldn't be too bad, she then took his temp and you could then see her visibly pale as she started pulling drugs and needles out her bag.

As a consequence we always take their temperatures whenever they look slightly off colour now.

[harveydales]

Nov 22, 2011 7:16:48 GMT -1 heathera said:

Merlin has come in looking sedated and not wanting his tea twice and then lay down for bit before getting up and munching hay in a quiet way. Both times he's had a raging temperature! The vet says that if we hadn't called them out as an emergency visit that night he could have been OK the next morning but he could easily have died as his temperature was so high he was at danger of kidney failure.

The trouble with Dales ponies is that they are so stoic they don't look I'll until they are seriously ill. Our vet thought Merlin looked off colour but wouldn't be too bad, she then took his temp and you could then see her visibly pale as she started pulling drugs and needles out her bag.

As a consequence we always take their temperatures whenever they look slightly off colour now.

Yes, Heather has a good point. In fact we should all know the "healthy" temperature of our ponies and thier normal breathing rate. These can vary considerably from horse to horse and even between breeds so it is good to have a base line. I had a TB mare whose normal temperature was exceptionally low so what was raised for her might be considered normal for another horse.

Plus it is true, our ponies tend to be very stoical.

[harleydales]

There's a thread in this bit of the forum with other symptoms of EPSM listed - have a look at that and see if any others fit.

How are his muscles looking? Has he got good muscles? Have they disappeared? Harley's dropped off completely! How is he moving - has his gait changed at all? Is he stiff? Tucked up?

I had Harley muscle biopsied last year when he was at the vet school and I'm glad I did because now I know for sure what is wrong with him. It was invasive, but he recovered quickly and well, and apart from a few white hairs you wouldn't know it had been done.

Harley's on a high oil low starch/carb diet with supplements (magnesium, selenium and vit E) and has been doing well up until now, but has started to drop muscle again for no reason as nothing has changed, nd he's been on zero grass all summer, so lack of grass isn't a factor.

It is good to know your horse's normal temperature and heart rate.

[Debbie]

The looking sedated, laying down, and going quiet plus the raging temps sound more like a poisoning of some sort, as in they're eating something that's challenging their systems to digest. Were there any new weeds/herbs in the fields or an overgrowth of something when the episodes happened?