Not again! I'm getting so tired of finding sick horses

[jleonard]

Oh no! I hope it is something minor and that the vet will have some answers for you.

Do not rule out EPM, it can come on fast, as others have said. I had a similar situation once. The horse was fine one night, went out the next morning and he had no control of his hindend. The vet was sure it was EPM, had him tested several times including a spinal tap, all negative. It turned out that he had EDM, commonly known as wobbles. It is rare, and even more so because it usually presents in the first few years of life, not in a 17 year old, the vet never even considered it. Even the world renown specialist we took him to never expected it.

Sending prayers that Kody has a better outcome, I know how much you love him and I so enjoy reading of his adventures. Come on Kody, get better soon!

ray

ray

<<<Hugs!>>>

Jessica

 

[wildoak]

Sure hoping to hear something good on here soon! I've had a couple of those episodes over the years, both came on suddenly. The first we surmised was from a fall or some kind of injury to the neck. He recovered quickly and completely within 24 hours, with no other symptoms and nothing but banamine. The second was more recent, just a couple of years ago, and his came with very high fever. We ran blood for EPM and a plethora of other things, and it all came back negative. I really thought at one point I was going to lose him, but he gradually came around and was pretty much back to normal in several days. Never did know what caused it. Will keep Kody in my thoughts, and hope that he is back up to speed by now.

Jan

 

[ClickMini]

I'm sure Leia will be online before too long, but she was over here tonight and says that Kody came out of it over the course of the day. She did have the vet out and they didn't find anything significant. Must have tweaked his neck or spine in a way that hurt him to stretch out or something. Anyway, I am sure she will have the full scoop for you all soon. Phew! Kody will be fine, I think.

 

[JourneysEnd]

Thanks for letting us know. I was getting scared with all the rabies talk.

 

[jleonard]

That is great news! So glad things ended well, thanks for letting us know!

 

[mizbeth]

Could it have been low blood sugar? That is the type of symptoms that come with low blood sugar as well. Some kayro syrup should help, try that if it happens again. Sometimes feeding sweet feed and when the feed is digested and gone this will trigger it.

My Vet insists that miniature horses are more prone to this than the big horses. I believe he is correct. I had a mare two years ago that had those symptoms too. At first I thought West Nile, gave her some kayro syrup and she came out of it in a an hour or so. I have used it a few times over the years in instances like this and it has brought them out of it.

I have also had this happen frequently many years ago and have had several expensive tests run only to find out nothing has been wrong. Again, the kayro worked. I have learned about Kayro syrup on the forum many years ago.

Good luck, hope this does not happen again.

Beth

 

[Genie]

We had a little mare that was heavily in foal and she became weak and was staggering.

We tried a number of things, including molasses thinking her sugar was low, then someone suggested worming for bots.

We did, and she had an infestation of bots.

We had about 30 horses at the time and all the rest were fine, but all were wormed for bots at that time, as per vet instructions.

 

[Kathy2m]

Leia, Glad to hear Kody is doing better. Take care, Kathy

 

[Rebecca]

Thank goodness he's feeling better.

So sorry that you've had such an awful time recently Leia.

 

[Carriage]

We will be waiting to here how its going Leia. More prayers than usual coming your way.

Bb

 

[joylee123]

[SIZE=12pt]Kody is such a special guy

I hope and pray he is OK.[/SIZE]

Please let us know.

Prayers your way,

Joy

 

[sedeh]

I hope Kody is doing better!!

I know he's your special boy. Please let us know how he's doing.

 

[mgranch]

Oh Leia I am so sorry you got such a scare from your boy!! I just know he will be fine!! All my love and prayers to you two!!!! Gina

 

[Kari]

How is Kody now, Leia???

Kari

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Thanks guys, and thank you Amy especially for posting an update. I was stuck away from any internet access last night and hated knowing you guys were all out there worrying about us! I'm beginning to feel like Chicken Little posting this stuff only to come back 24 hours later and say "He's fine," but honestly.

I've never in my life had a horse just stop eating for three days like Spyder did or start falling over like Kody was and it scared me terribly. And both times, as soon as I posted and you each started praying the horses recovered right away.

I'm becoming a firm believer in the power of prayer and want, once again, to thank you for your help.

The vet got here maybe 40 minutes after I posted yesterday and by that point Kody was showing few signs of the neurological problem although he'd become overly quiet and hadn't finished his breakfast. The vet checked his vitals and temp (normal), did all the standard front-end neurological tests, said his reactions were completely normal and tried to write it off as a pinched nerve without doing any other tests at all. I wasn't comfortable with that since he was still clearly off and asked about EPM, West Nile, plant toxicity and any number of other things that had occurred to me and she said none of them were likely. Mom asked about Rabies and she said we couldn't rule that out yet but that if he had that he'd have major disposition changes very shortly. Kody was still not being himself at that point although to a vet who didn't know him I'm sure he seemed fine so I asked her to please physically test his hind end for range-of-motion difficulties or chiropractic problems and to check the hay for anything I'd missed. I've got to give her credit, she did so without any fuss and when I asked her to draw some blood and test it she was perfectly willing to although she didn't feel it was warranted. When she left I at least felt like I'd stood up for my horse and my instincts and done everything I could.

I stayed out there for the next hour or two cleaning paddocks and keeping an eye on him. He finally began to brighten up and eventually came out of his stall to poop and visit with me. At first he just stood there quietly but then he began to move in front of me and solicit attention and pretty soon he was frisking my pockets, stealing my gloves and trying to knock over the wheelbarrow.

That's my boy! I even had him do a tentative rear when he looked like he wanted to offer one and he was able to do that with pretty good balance. At that point I surrendered, threw my hands in the air and left him to my parents' supervision while I ran some errands, which is how I ended up at Amy's.

The vet called me later to say Kody's bloodwork was completely normal (glucose normal, electrolytes normal, everything else under the sun normal including any indicators of inflammation) and when she heard about his improvement she said he must have twisted his lower back rolling or something and pinched a nerve. I doubt I'll ever know what really happened but I sure am glad he's okay. I'm getting so tired of my ponies deciding to play with my adrenaline level!

Again, thanks for all your prayers and good energy. I'm sure they helped tremendously!

Leia

 

[BigDogs & LittleHorses]

That's good news, Leia!

Glad to hear this.

Daryl

BTW Your mail box is full. PM me some time!

 

[eagles ring farm]

Great news

they will drive ya crazy would be nice to know what happened but the important thing is he's back to normal

Lori

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Such a relief! Thank goodness.

 

[Shari]

I am very glad to hear Kody is doing better. Though it sounds like you need to shop for another Vet.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I am very glad to hear Kody is doing better. Though it sounds like you need to shop for another Vet.

Shari, I use a large vet clinic with many practicianers. My vet was not available so one of the others came out. No big deal.

Leia