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| Title: | Equine Notes Conference |
| Notice: | Topics List=4, Horses 4Sale/Wanted=150, Equip 4Sale/Wanted=151 |
| Moderator: | MTADMS::COBURN IO |
|
| Created: | Tue Feb 11 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Thu Jun 05 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 2080 |
| Total number of notes: | 22383 |
1413.0. "Neurological Problem - any experience out there?" by GUIDUK::WITT () Fri Feb 08 1991 14:59
Last night I had to take my pal for life, Jonathan to the Horse
Hospital. It all started Tuesday night. I came down to ride him, and
everything appeared normal. But there was something strange and I
could not put my finger on the strangeness. When I was riding him, he
had plenty of energy, but he was holding back for some reason. He also
kept twisting his head when we went in one direction. I thought maybe
his teeth were bothering him, or maybe he had a sticker in his mouth.
I couldn't really explain his behavior. So, I cut the night short and
put him to bed. I really didn't think about it anymore.
Wednesday, I couldn't come down to the barn, but I planned on coming
down Thursday night. When I got home from work Thursday, I had a message
from Leslie, the barn manager/owner that Jonathan was acting really
strange. I called Leslie immediately (note: Leslie had a out of date
work number, so she couldn't call me at work. Please make sure your
barn has the latest numbers, it could save a life). She described
Jonathan as acting listless, not eating, twisting his head and staggering,
but no colic symptoms at all. I opted to call the Vet immediately and
have him meet me at the barn, based on Leslie's recommendation.
The Vet examined him and determined that Jonathan had some sort of
nuerological (spelling?) problem. Jonathan was uncoordinated, eyes
dialating unevenly, over-reacting by almost rearing over backwards
(very unlike Jon), difficulty eating, and keeping his head/neck at a
45 degree angle (turned towards his body). He also had a temp of 102.
The Vet said that a million things could cause this kind of problem,
i.e. Stroke, a virus, worms, etc. He recommended that we bring him
to the clinic immediately so he can be monitored. He gave him an anti-
inflamatory to fight the swelling around the brain, possibly spinal
cord, and he gave him an antibotic to fight the infection.
It took about an hour to get him to the clinic. He looked better and
showed some interest in the hay in the clinic stall. I had to leave
and planned on calling the Vet at 9am the next day.
By Friday morning, the Vet said his temp was down and he had eaten the
hay. It still wasn't drinking water, but overall his condition is
improved. He still was turning his head/neck, but not at the same
angle. The Vet is planning on doing some blood work, to check his
red/white cell counts. He is also going to pump him with water to keep
him from getting dehydrated. He also recommended administering an IV
of DMSO (I think thats what he said). He said that DMSO has been
successful with nuerological problems. He recommended keeping Jonathan
through the weekend for monitoring.
Overall, I feel fortunate that we caught this early. If we waited,
some horses end up going down on the ground, suffering paralysis, and
nose bleeds. I am praying for a full recovery. Jonathan is 19 years
old but he has a lot of GOOD years left, and I love him. Has anyone
experienced anything like this? What was the treatment given? My Vet
says he has seen about 3-4 horses with similar problems in the last
year and they recovered. He said that sometimes you never know what
causes the problem. I know this can be fatal, but I want to be as
knowledgeble as possible. My Vet book at home had only limited
information. Can anyone help by sharing their experiences?
Sorry for my babbling,
Linda
| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
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| 1413.1 | POSSIBLE SEIZURE | ASABET::NICKERSON | KATHIE NICKERSON 223-2025 | Fri Feb 08 1991 15:26 | 21 |
| We had a mare about two years ago who suddenly started to tremble in
the pasture; went down with all four legs out and shook all over. The
folks where she was at rushed out; couldn't get her up; the trembling
stopped and she got up on her own....it appeared as if she was having a
seizure of some sort.
They brought her in...the vet was waiting. Could find nothing wrong
with her. Did all kinds of blood work on her for poison grass/weeds,
etc. Nothing showed up at all.
She was in foal at the time..about 8 months along. Delivered a normal
foal in 11 months. No one could figure out what it was.
Now she is in foal again...due in about 3 weeks. Nothing has happened
so it wasn't necessarily connected with her pregnancy.
Good luck with Jon...sounds like he is getting the best of care.
Keep us posted.
Kathie
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| 1413.2 | just extending good luck | GEMVAX::FISHER | | Fri Feb 08 1991 15:57 | 5 |
| Linda, I honestly have no idea what it is. I just wanted to
wish the best of luck to you and Jonathan -- I'll keep my fingers
crossed for you both.
Dawn
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| 1413.3 | I understand.. | TOOHOT::SREMILLARD | | Fri Feb 08 1991 20:03 | 9 |
| Linda,
My heart is with you... I know how helpless you can feel when
your old friend is sick and you just don't know... I am in my
3rd week with my Nashoba being sick--he is in his 30s. I think
he is coming out of it - but I really wish he would start eating
more.
Take care of you both!
Susan
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| 1413.4 | fingers crossed and all | CARTUN::MISTOVICH | | Mon Feb 11 1991 09:14 | 7 |
| The only other thing I could think of is maybe a pinched nerve or some
kind of mechanical problem. Bed rest could help that too, along with
massage maybe?
Best of luck to you!
Mary
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| 1413.5 | Jonathan is recovering | GUIDUK::WITT | | Mon Feb 11 1991 12:29 | 17 |
| Everyones support has been really helpful. Fortunately Jonathan is
recovering nicely. Saturday, the Vet sent him home. He has been
progressing very well. Jon's blood count didn't show anything unusual
except slight anemia. The Vet said that is not unusual. His fecal
count was 0, but they tube wormed him just in case. He also got the
DMSO IV treatment. The Vet doesn't have conclusive evidence but he thinks
Jon had an Equine Herpes infection. It is an airborne virus that attacks
the nervous system. It is a similar to the people Herpes but
different. In horses, it does not seem to recur. Fortunately we caught it
early. His treatment is atleast a week of rest, pasture turnouts, and
handwalking. I need to keep him on antibotics and Bute
(anti-inflamatory). Yesterday, his personality was back along with his
appetite. Thank goodness since he lost a lot of weight.
Thanks again for the well wishes,
Lindaf
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| 1413.6 | equine herpes | ASD::MCCROSSAN | | Mon Feb 11 1991 12:48 | 14 |
| I knew of 3 horses who were thought to have had equine herpes... You were very
lucky; of the 3 I knew, only 1 made it and that one has very poor motor control
in his hindquarters... Have the test results come back from the titars yet?
Where is your horse located? There's been many more cases reported in the
Northeast area over the last few years. The ones I know of were in the north
Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire area...
In these cases, IV DMSO was the recommended treatment along with massive doses
of antibiotics...
Hope all goes well with Jonathon and he has a speedy and complete recovery!!!
Linda
|
| 1413.7 | Jon lives in the NW | GUIDUK::WITT | | Mon Feb 11 1991 15:31 | 21 |
| Jonathan lives in the Northwest, the Seattle area. My Vet has only
seen a few cases. He did mention that if the horse is already down by
the time the Vet is called, they probably won't make it. The key, I
think is catching it early. I think Jon will make a full recovery.
My instructor, who has read a lot on the subject, said that equine
herpes is more common in Europe than the US. I suspect that will
change. She also mentioned that one reason a lot of horses don't make
it is that they are over exerted (i.e. jump a cross-country course) in the
early stages. By over-working them, the herpes virus can cause heart and
lung damage. I was lucky that the night I came out to ride Jon, my
instincts told me to give him a rest. Even though I didn't know what
was wrong.
Jon didn't have a titars test (I don't know what kind of test that is).
Jon started recovering very quickly. I suspect the Vet wanted to keep
the costs down.
Thanks,
Linda
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