Ataxia - any experience?

D

DBrasnett

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Gloucestershire
www.brasnett-pratt.co.uk
I have a 6 year old ID x. He has always had a slightly bizarre back leg movement (plating) when tired, but it is getting worse. He has always been a bit clumbsy with his front feet, tripping now and then but never going down on his knees.

I have the vet out the other day to look at a intermittent grade 1-2 front limb lamness. She wasn't worried about the front end but was concerned about the back end. Although not a typical wobbler, she thought he might be showing early signs of Ataxia and suggested I might get him scanned. So after reading lots of posts on this subject I decided to get a physio/chiro out. Pony put in a first class stumble while trotting him up
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he failed the walking tail pull test on one side, but was ok on the other. He said his findings were inconclusive, so the scan might be a good idea.

Calling the vet tomorrow to talk this through and see if we can get a scan.

What does the scan invlove? anyone been through this and has advise on what I should ask for? questions I should ask?

Anyone had similar symptoms and all the horse needed was some correct working to develop correct muscles?
 
I cant say ive had first hand experience but i really hope this isnt the case. All the ones ive come across that have had wobblers/ataxia have not had good endings. Sorry really not what you were hoping to hear im sure
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With dogs and cats its usually an mri scan as this will check the spine and brain. In dogs and cats it can be treated with surgery and sometimes can be done with medication. any dog/cat that comes in is always looked after by the nuerology team of vets and nurses

Hope this helps ( i work in a small animal referral centre so have some idea of unusal things)
 
MRI is only available by referral to specialist hospital (Liverpool or Newmarket) so this may be an ultrasound scan as scintigraph (bone scan) would also require referral.
 
Sorry to hear about your gelding. My horse had and was put down with wobblers so I can understand how distressing this must be for you if you think your horse could have this. If it is wobblers depending on the degree of severity it doesn't always have a sad ending so that might be worth bearing in mind. My horse never had to have the scan as the xrays which were taken at Liverpool (Philip Leverhulme) were conclusive and he was put down on that basis.

I would have thought the scan is a bone scan in which case there are many more equine hospitals the horse could go to probably even in your area, whereas as the previous poster correctly said, places are limited for MRI scans. The horse needs to be kept in for three days for a bone scan as radioactive dye is injected and the waste products from the horse need to be disposed of safely following this procedure as the horse remains radioactive and a slight danger for the days following the procedure. I'm sure if this is what you are having done the vet will talk you through this procedure.

Your vet could also be talking about a myelogram where dye is injected into the spinal cord of the horse and the horse is then xrayed or scanned (sorry can't remember which) and the dye will show any impingement on the spinal column. However this does carry a slight risk because the horse will have to have a general anaethetic and 1 in 100 horses do not come round from this procedure following anaethesia, as the anaethesia carries a certain risk as does when the horse is recoving from the anaethetic. However in your horses case it may be that choices are limited and this is an option you may be faced with choosing in which case take it.

If i were you I'd speak to your vet again for further clarification. Good luck and try not to worry, there are many causes for ataxia, not always Wobblers, but viruses including EHV (Equine Herpes Virus), certain bacteria, bugs and posions ingested (red clover contains cyanide and can cause ataxia if the horse has ingested huge quantities in the field) as can certain crop sprays, etc and many other feed stuffs. x
 
Hmmm my first thoughts were wobblers...also thought about Herpes...good luck with finding more out about it. Just remember your safety when deciding to ride a horse with such clinical signs.
 
Some very happy news. Went to the clinic today and Dougs was a super star. The vet didn't get as far as the scan because every test he did was ok..

He agreed with the first vet that slighty uncoordinated back end with forelimb lamness was classic signs early stage ataxia. In our case it seems we really do have a forelimb lamness and a weak backend
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He was such a good horse. I am gushing with pride. At one stage the vet had Dougs whole head covered in a fleece and he still walked and turned tight circles for me. The vet was very complimentry of his movement and temperment.

Just purchased a equiami and the work on getting he back end working properly is about to begin.
 
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