Ataxia help ASAP pls

hock

hock

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My best boy of 18 years today went suddenly ataxic behind after lunging. I’m going to be very clinical about this as I’m struggling to hold it together and would appreciate experiences. I’m a blunt truth kind of girl, and I’d rather a day too soon type.

16.3hh heavyweight hano x shire 2006 gelding. Owned since 2 years old backed and trained myself, we know each other backwards and inside out.

Bit door bangy this morning which is rare. All food eaten and bed totally normal. Eating hay and had drank water.

Busy day so decided to lunge so we could turn him out and work the youngsters. Started to lunge and he looked like he wanted to role which I oblige him often. So I clipped him and left him to roll while I did a few nets. Came back ten minutes later he’d had a buck and a fart no roll. Very surprised. Lunged him and noticed he was moving really well and thought blooming eck those front shoes have done you wonders. But I will come back to this. Finished took him into the stable but something was nagging me so took him straight into wash box to get him a fresh drink. He couldn’t stand still. He was bringing his hind end swaying into me, very dramatically. Took him back outside as I thought he was going to fit. No fit but be continued to sway terribly, dangerously. Back into menage and realised he couldn’t stop and stand still without nearly falling to his off side with his hind end. He kept himself by choice moving constantly. Very scary and in my mind obviously neurological.

Vet has agreed either trauma or arthritis in neck causing the problem. The symptoms were so severe that talk very quickly after exam of euthanasia. Which I agreed with, however steroids very quickly calmed the symptoms down and he’s now gone from being dazed confused with severe ataxia to back to himself but still with poor anus/tail tension. He peed 8 hours after treatment and pooed 6 hours after treatment and rolled twice. Hes still in the menage with food etc and has drunk. Poo/pee usual consistency. He has to stay in the menage as it’s too risky if symptoms return. So we’re waiting.

If symptoms come back before midday tomorrow we will PTS as another jab will likely push him into laminitis. If symptoms continue to be stable a ten day course of steroids.

I’m not even sure what I’m asking but the attack is so acute with no obvious sign of trauma it’s hard to believe it’s cvm suddenly massively effecting him. But he responded so well quickly to the steroids. We had a wobbler youngster pts that showed nowhere near the severity of ataxia he was displaying. The only behaviour change we’ve had is the last couple of weeks he’s had a few uncharacteristic jumps/shies but not severe. And he moved beautifully in walk trot and canter today - I also consider this a possible symptom. Also I’ve just put shoes on him (3 weeks ago) as I wanted to do more hacking and he was getting footy. But also his feet in 6 weeks grew massively long .. very noticeably. He has also felt slightly behind the leg but only a very small % which I put down to changing seasons and coat changing. Didn’t increase calories as he has always had a slight dip going into winter and more prone to be jumpier but his year had lasted longer. Sadly I saw how well he was moving this morning and how well he looked and thought great he’s picked back up. Really forward, super canter etc.
 
Unfortunately my old mare (around 30) went suddenly very ataxic, very strange breathing and if she wasn't home anymore. She had had well managed cushings for over 10 years. Vet thought either a brain tumour or a stroke. Couldn't have steroids due to the cushings so PTS was the only option.

I'm so so sorry as it is awful to witness
 
If he had notable changes after a 'buck and a fart' I'd say in all likelihood he's had an accident of some sort, either slipped and fallen onto his neck or banged himself against something.

You say he hadn't rolled but was that based on the fact he wasn't dirty or what?

My horse had wobblers after falling on his neck. He was very ataxic and he couldn't raise his head above chest height when it happened. Y.O at the time yanked him with his chifney bringing him in from the field when she lost her temper and he reared and went over backwards banging his neck. Emergency vet thought wobblers but then decided it wasn't after speaking to the yard owner (they were close friends).

He had extravagant movement, wobblers horses often have high front feet movement due to the condition.

Basically Rommy had transient periods of ataxia. In between times he'd be normal. Vet told me to continue riding him and he was jumped competitively BSJA but every now and then he'd do something really weird like put down on top of a jump or jump with his front end but his hind legs would just go through the fence. He developed a funny bunny hop canter and started rubbing his hind fetlocks together. I consulted the farrier and McTimoney but neither could tell he had wobblers, the vet never reached any conclusion at the time. I think they thought I was imagining things.

Then one day I went for a hack and he felt very drunk, like you have experienced with your horse, very unsteady. Had to get off and lead him back. Emergency vet out again. He went on to develop two more periods of ataxia over several days/weeks. I'd stopped riding him by this point.

He was actually missdiagnosed with EHV for quite a time, he was a carrier but wasn't actually suffering from it. 33% of the horse population are carriers. It can cause ataxia. Eventually I insisted on referral to hospital.

I would have said that you need xray images for certain to make a diagnosis. They gave my horse Finadyne prior to travelling to Liverpool for comprehensive imaging. Sadly he was too badly affected to be saved and too dangerous to keep as a pet as he was Grade 3 to 4. So he was pts there and then after a frank discussion with the consultant.
 
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shortstuff99 said:
Unfortunately my old mare (around 30) went suddenly very ataxic, very strange breathing and if she wasn't home anymore. She had had well managed cushings for over 10 years. Vet thought either a brain tumour or a stroke. Couldn't have steroids due to the cushings so PTS was the only option.

I'm so so sorry as it is awful to witness
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I’m so sorry for your mare, very sad and traumatising. My horse also had laboured breathing until the steroids kicked in. I’ve got the dead stock man poised if he takes a turn for the worst, but currently eating although savage he’s not in his stable.
 
Birker2020 said:
If he had notable changes after a 'buck and a fart' I'd say in all likelihood he's had an accident of some sort, either slipped and fallen onto his neck or banged himself against something.

You say he hadn't rolled but was that based on the fact he wasn't dirty or what?

My horse had wobblers after falling on his neck. He was very ataxic and he couldn't raise his head above chest height when it happened. Y.o at the time yanked him with his chifney bringing him in from the field and he reared and went over backwards banging his neck.

He had extravagant movement, wobblers horses often have high front feet movement due to the condition.

You need xray images. They gave my horse Finadyne prior to travelling to Liverpool for comprehensive imaging. Sadly he was too badly affected to be saved and too dangerous to keep as a pet as he was Grade 3 to 4.
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Well he didn’t have any notable changes until he had to stand still. In walk and trot and canter in a straight line he was super. But having to stand still all hell broke lose. We won’t be boxing him im not putting him through anything apart from the very basic treatments before deciding to say good bye. I don’t believe the X-rays will give us a conclusive result. I just can’t believe he’s improved so much as I was having him pts today. He was beyond a grade 4 today and now after the steroids maybe a 1. Thank you for your reply.
 
So sorry to hear about your horse and fingers crossed for you that he continues to improve. My lad has had 2 severe instances of sudden ataxia over the past few years first time aged 10 yrs it took a week of a high steroid dose to see some improvements vets actually told me he wasn’t going to make it but he did and gradually got better over the next few weeks, he returned to ridden work and then had another episode a year later back so on steroids and made a good recovery and he has been retired since. And since retirement 2 years ago he has not had another episode and is a spoilt field ornament. Sending positive vibes to you and your boy x
 
hock said:
Well he didn’t have any notable changes until he had to stand still. In walk and trot and canter in a straight line he was super. But having to stand still all hell broke lose. We won’t be boxing him im not putting him through anything apart from the very basic treatments before deciding to say good bye. I don’t believe the X-rays will give us a conclusive result. I just can’t believe he’s improved so much as I was having him pts today. He was beyond a grade 4 today and now after the steroids maybe a 1. Thank you for your reply.
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The steroid will treat the inflammation for a short period as it did for my horse but if it is ECVM it won't be of any benefit because it's to do with the space where the spinal cord and nerves pass through and compression.

Normal space in the canal in a horse Rommys size was 51mm, his space was 17mm or so I was told. I will never forget those measurements, it's strange what you remember.

I am glad that you are not going for a prolonged and pointless treatment and that you have realised the futility of any treatment going forward and just wanted to say he couldn't have a more proactive and caring owner. I'm very sorry for your troubles, I hope and praying that he improves without further intervention like Laurabacks horse.
 
I'm sorry, we've had 3 pts because of ataxia. The 1st was 11 yrs old, we believe she had a ruptured internal tumour.
The other 2 were both older, the 23 yr old heavy horse was on Prascend but the Cushings progressed to uncontrollable. The 31 yr old probably did have undiagnosed Cushings but had been treated for a suspected abscess originally, with xrays and several vet/farrier visits over 6 weeks until she became obviously ataxic
 
I’m so sorry, ataxia is scary. My 17 year old warmblood came in from the field all wobbly, vet put him on all sorts of drugs but sadly had to let him go 10 days later as nothing was improving. I got a PM as I needed closure, it came back as encephalitis from “ unknown causes” No one knows what happened but it was the most heartbreaking experience.
Stay strong, everything crossed for you xx
 
Birker2020 said:
The steroid will treat the inflammation for a short period as it did for my horse but if it is ECVM it won't be of any benefit because it's to do with the space where the spinal cord and nerves pass through and compression.

Normal space in the canal in a horse Rommys size was 51mm, his space was 17mm or so I was told. I will never forget those measurements, it's strange what you remember.

I am glad that you are not going for a prolonged and pointless treatment and that you have realised the futility of any treatment going forward and just wanted to say he couldn't have a more proactive and caring owner. I'm very sorry for your troubles, I hope and praying that he improves without further intervention like Laurabacks horse.
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Thank you for sharing your experiences. I wish dearly you didn’t have the experiences to share.

It’s the first time he’s been ill apart from an abscess 12 years ago. I want to run and hide and pretend it’s not happening.
 
hock said:
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I wish dearly you didn’t have the experiences to share.

It’s the first time he’s been ill apart from an abscess 12 years ago. I want to run and hide and pretend it’s not happening.
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I think we can all empathise with those feelings sadly. It's horrid. But you're not alone.

Another person here sending you both a huge hug 🫂 ❤️ .
 
I have a positive story - my TB had obviously had a tussle with the tape fence and was very stiff and sore and just looked odd to me but he had four stovepipe legs so it wasn't until I asked him to step around a gate and he got his hind legs in a tangle and nearly fell over that I realised he was ataxic.

In his case, he was only ataxic behind, passed the front end neuro exam with flying colours. He was very very quiet for him, alert but quiet (he was typically more like flying an equine kite to lead). After several days of IV DMSO and IV anti-inflammatories, he fully recovered from the ataxia and 7ish? Years down the track, he's never showed a recurrence. He came back to his level of work but has since retired due to batsh*tery I was not prepared to deal with - however that long predated the ataxia.
 
I've got zero advice but I hope there is clear improvement later in the morning and you've got some sleep. Thinking of you. x
 
Very sorry to read this and fully sympathise. I left my horse nearly a year ago to the day having ridden that evening in his stable all fine (he felt fantastic actually) and 12 hours later he was falling over. I did manage to get him into the vets where he spent 7 days in ICU care. I can't even tell you the terror of towing him loose in the trailer down a mountain pass in the dark in the early hours of the morning, I just kept thinking I HAD to get him into the vets it was his only chance. We actually didn't go straight to steroids but he had all sorts of other supportive care and drugs and I was very glad he was there for his own safety and mine.

He improved within a week but was still very ataxic in all four legs. I took him home and we did high dose steroids, then tapered and he gradually improved. Within a few months he was almost ridable, the ataxia was so so minor, but then things unravelled a bit and it became clear it was his neck. 6 months ago I put him on systemic steroids and he is currently living his best life in the field, until he can't. You wouldn't notice there's anything wrong with him but a vet could (well and me, because I watch him all the time), though his is more in front.

I wouldn't dare take him off the systemic steroids, because I believe it's keeping the inflammation in his neck down enough to keep him comfortable. He is much, much loved and has his every need taken care of until the day his quality of life suffers. I suspect before the steroids do any damage, it'll become apparent that his time has come.

I hope your boy improves quickly enough to do the same. Here is mine this summer throwing his usual shapes with all four feet off the ground, he will trip sometimes at walk/trot but seems to be completely surefooted when galloping, bucking or generally doing anything at speed. Which is good, because that’s often his preference! He rolls and gets up and down perfectly fine and normally.



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I’m so sorry to hear this.

My mare with the suspected frontal lobe brain tumour was ataxic in the immediate aftermath of her seizures, though the ataxia would wear off within half an hour. It wasn’t til I witnessed a seizure from the start that the vet worked out what was going on, she was PTS shortly after.

Please keep yourself safe while you are anywhere near him, and don’t go into the stable or other confined area with him.

Interestingly, weeks earlier I’d seen her down rolling in a colicky type way, but by the time I’d gone over to catch her up, she was ok. When I lunged her (thinking it was a spasmodic colic and wanting to help her fart and poo) she moved brilliantly.
 
I am sorry but I have also had two, one was a beautiful 17.2 horse (long story, but he was rescued off here but I was a different user name then - hence my new ID - I Forgot My Password) he had to be pts as he had a very sever nerve injury to his neck, and his neck would frantically lock, round and he would unbalance, we had x rays and when the vet sore them he just looked at me, went to see the horse and he had an attack in from of him, it was so dangerous for both horse and us he was immediately PTS. He had a PM and it was nerve damage
The other one was my beautiful big lad, he had a veinograme and something happened during the procedure and he collapsed, we battled for 24 hours before we lost him, and its one of the only times I have ever seen a vet team as upset as the owner. I felt so sorry for them as they had tried so bloody hard to save him, again we had a PM and he had a tumor on the adrenal gland.
My vets are a teaching hospital, and i know it sounds morbid but if they can gain something from doing a PM to help other horses, then I do let them carry one out.
Huge huge hugs, I wish I could take the next 24 hours away from you, as you will be on a roller coaster of emotions, it is so obvious how much you love this horse and he knows it
x
 
I am sorry to hear about your horse. I had one who went ataxic too. He had 6 weeks of steroids, couldn't see the downside of risking lami as the alternative was PTS straight away. He improved / stabilised and had 18 months of retirement before he became a danger to himself.

It was an awful decision to have to make as he looked fabulous when moving on a circle or a straight line. He struggled turning in a confined space. He sort of leaned and then his legs caught up. On a circle, when moving consistently, he was 100% sound and free. Final decision was made the day he struggled coming in when there was a strong wind. It was heart-breaking. I am talking hurricane type wind, but even so...

It was the correct decision for me. I think it would also have been correct for PTS straight away, but it gave me peace that he had 18 months of retirement.
 
Morning .. he is doing well. 8 poos overnight, drinking and eating well. Able to stand and munch a net. The only thing that’s bothering me is during the night I took him a bread roll and it took him ages to chew it (about 4 minutes). His neck was out stretched like choke but no choking.

Half life of the 1mg of steroids is under 12 hours and he had it at about midday. We are watching him like a hawk. Thank you for all the replies. I will come back and reply to each individually but I can’t at the moment but I wanted to update you. Thank you.
 
I had one very sporadic again and no rhyme nor reason to it. Could go months without an attack and it was hind end only. She would be fine after and vet said I could keep riding as hers never once appeared randomly under the saddle and they were so sporadic and irregular to chart.

Hind end only but never found the cause. Retired eventually with a torn ligament in her front leg. Eventually PTS after I thought she looked slightly less perky than usual and she seemed to struggle for an extra minute getting up from a roll. But she had nearly 3 years retirement and no concerns
 
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