Ataxic episode

Marigold4 said:
My grass analysis shows all major elements normal except low in sodium; all trace elements are low except selenium which is normal. Antagonists aluminium and lead very low but molybdenum very high; copper low. Does that profile ring any alarm bells? They get fed a lo-cal balancer but only about a third of what the retailer recommends the horses are about the right weight and I want them to stay that way!
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The ratios between the minerals is what we usually work from. Depending on the testing facility, depends what their ‘normal’ means - is that normal values for grassland (which normally is imbalanced pertaining to equine ratio needs) or is it a specific for equine grass test showing ratio results to be ‘normal’ i.e good ratios for equines?

As birker has posted, the molybdenum is showing as an issue, but if it was that causing acute ataxia in 1, then we’d usually expect to see symptoms in all the herd grazing the same grass, irrespective of age.
Also as the yearling has recovered quickly, and has remained bouncy! …and continued grazing that land with the others, suggests some other cause than grass mineral toxicity, which would take a while for the system to flush out if the cause was that even with the yearling removed from the field.

Yet that does want to be addressed by balancing the micro ratio's. If yours get mud fever, hair coat bleaching, then copper/zinc addition helps. It depends on the balancer youre giving, if that is balancing out the high molybdenum enough at a third of a dose. If you get the above winter/coat issues then increase copper intake in them.

Out of interest - do you spread manure on your grass or fertilise in any way?

If you have a reasonable % of clover in your grassland youre likely to have higher molybdenum levels.
If you’ve spread lime raising the soil ph above 6.2, that will increase molybdenum uptake in grass.
Aerating soil will decrease molybdenum levels.
All the ‘nasty’ micro minerals increase due to soil compaction from grazing/machinery/rainfall etc. aerating soil helps.

This pdf is a useful article on the basics of balancing soils/grassland:



You can balance it orally now by giving the horses a good micro mineral mix, especially copper, for immediate correction of the high molybdenum in the grass.


If molybdenum toxicity/severe copper deficiency caused the ataxia, that only is plausible if the yearling grazes a certain area of the field ‘obsessively’ the others dont. It may be a bottom corner of a sloping field - you always see him grazing there. Rainfall would wash most minerals down and potentially cause concentration in lower soils. If you know he’s always grazing in one section moreso than anywhere else, and the others graze allover, that could signify a grass intake different to the others.

But him recovering so quickly, doesnt point to long-standing mineral toxicity/deficiency, which takes more than 1 day to correct when theyve become symptomatic.
 
PurBee said:
The ratios between the minerals is what we usually work from. Depending on the testing facility, depends what their ‘normal’ means - is that normal values for grassland (which normally is imbalanced pertaining to equine ratio needs) or is it a specific for equine grass test showing ratio results to be ‘normal’ i.e good ratios for equines?

As birker has posted, the molybdenum is showing as an issue, but if it was that causing acute ataxia in 1, then we’d usually expect to see symptoms in all the herd grazing the same grass, irrespective of age.
Also as the yearling has recovered quickly, and has remained bouncy! …and continued grazing that land with the others, suggests some other cause than grass mineral toxicity, which would take a while for the system to flush out if the cause was that even with the yearling removed from the field.

Yet that does want to be addressed by balancing the micro ratio's. If yours get mud fever, hair coat bleaching, then copper/zinc addition helps. It depends on the balancer youre giving, if that is balancing out the high molybdenum enough at a third of a dose. If you get the above winter/coat issues then increase copper intake in them.

Out of interest - do you spread manure on your grass or fertilise in any way?

If you have a reasonable % of clover in your grassland youre likely to have higher molybdenum levels.
If you’ve spread lime raising the soil ph above 6.2, that will increase molybdenum uptake in grass.
Aerating soil will decrease molybdenum levels.
All the ‘nasty’ micro minerals increase due to soil compaction from grazing/machinery/rainfall etc. aerating soil helps.

This pdf is a useful article on the basics of balancing soils/grassland:



You can balance it orally now by giving the horses a good micro mineral mix, especially copper, for immediate correction of the high molybdenum in the grass.


If molybdenum toxicity/severe copper deficiency caused the ataxia, that only is plausible if the yearling grazes a certain area of the field ‘obsessively’ the others dont. It may be a bottom corner of a sloping field - you always see him grazing there. Rainfall would wash most minerals down and potentially cause concentration in lower soils. If you know he’s always grazing in one section moreso than anywhere else, and the others graze allover, that could signify a grass intake different to the others.

But him recovering so quickly, doesnt point to long-standing mineral toxicity/deficiency, which takes more than 1 day to correct when theyve become symptomatic.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply, Purbee. Your knowledgeable input is much appreciated.

Hmm - not sure about the relevant "normal". The analysis was done by BPM and says "fresh grass".

Out of interest - do you spread manure on your grass or fertilise in any way?

We have almost no clover in the fields - buttercups and field bindweed though. I have not used any kind of fertiliser in the 6 years that I have rented the fields. Before I had the field, it was mostly used for drying of cows for a few months of the year and then had hothoused pheasants on it. It is mostly rye but I have overseeded about half of the total 5 acres with meadow grass. We keep rolling the bare minimum so just the gateways so hopefully the soil is not compacted. Soil is a light loam that almost crumbles. A fantastic field in many respects as it is on a slight slope, does not flood or poach.

Physio is coming tomorrow to check the yearling over for any kind of injury. Then v experienced and trusted vet in the pm to check no more ataxia and take more bloods. All very expensive but hopefully a clearer picture soon on whether she has recovered from whatever happened to her. I'll let you know what the results say.
 
Update on ataxic yearling: physio came and found she had a sore neck, consistent with a fall as young horses rarely have sore necks out of the blue. Vet came and did ataxia tests. She is not at all ataxic. Agrees she has a sore neck. We decided not to x-ray her neck but will do so if anything else happens or if she is still sore in a couple of weeks. Bloods have come back much better: liver enzymes 30% improved in just one week, so heading in the right direction.

So the conclusion is that there are two things going on: she has had a nasty fall that semi-concussed her, and she has eaten something that sent her liver enzymes heading up - possibly chewing on that wretched sleeper that the builders put in the stable.

Anyway, greatly relieved that she has not got something awful and neurological going on. It was quite terrible to see her dazed and so wobbly I thought she might fall over. I think the fall might just have happened and she was slightly in shock, explaining her fast breathing and heart rate.
 
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