Atypical Myopathy - a warning

charlie76

charlie76

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thought I would put this in here, just to warn people that we have had 3 cases of this on our yard over the past 2 days, and 4 more suspected. Have also heard that 3 yards in the same area ( Reading,Berkshire) have also lost horses to this as well in the past week ( 4 in total).
There is no warning signs of it coming on and it comes on in minutes but the result is terrible. The muscles can't work and eventually it affects the breathing muscles and the horse is in distress trying to breath.
The first sign is colic like symptoms, eyes seem bulgy and bloodshot, they stiffen up and their temp seems to drop quickly. In a matter of minutes they seem to be struggling to breath and there doesn't seem to be any cure.
The vet has blood tested all of ours and they are not allowed to be turned out as they believe its a bacteria in the ground that causes it.
Please be on the look out.
http://www.horseandcountry.tv/news/...fter-several-atypical-myopathy-cases-reported
 
i also know 2 horse in the Binfield/Berks area that have come down with this, both horses were very sick but pulling through, it's very worrying, as you can't do anything to prevent it unless you stable them constantly.
 
My friends new horse came down with this not long after she bought him home, started showing signs 2 days after collecting him on the Tuesday and he was rushed to the vets on the Sunday.. Luckily he is on the long and slow road to recovery.. She is based in the Berks area nr Bucks border.

This link is very useful for what to look out for :

http://www.beva.org.uk/news-and-events/news/view/158
 
Fingers crossed your horses are ok/come through this & thanku v much for posting-credit to you for helping others (a vital 'heads up' to the symptoms&putting the condition on everyone's radar) when you are in a fraught situation:(
 
I found the following so thought it may be useful for others too..

The signs of atypical myopathy are as follows (in order of presenting symptoms):
Weakness
Horse laying on grass
Difficulty getting up
Dark coloured urine
Stiffness
Red/purple mucus membrane
Depression
Muscle tremors
Difficulty staying upright
Increased heart rate
Difficulty breathing
Sweating
Hypothermia (temp less than 36 degrees)
Colic
Horse still wanting to eat

The highest risk category are horses aged 3 and under as well as older horses or those who are underweight, haven’t been vaccinated or wormed, have a compromised immune system or are out of work. However all horses can be affected so please call the vet immediately should any of these signs be noted and remove all horses from the grazing.
 
I'm about 10 miles from Upper Basildon and am a bit twitchy to say the least. I have large paddocks which are all bordered by trees & have a lot of leaves around the edges (way too many to pick up plus the trees are still dropping stacks). My horses are all between 4-25, all healthy, vaccinated and wormed and I have a few that are not in work.

I'm not really to sure what to do for the best, I don't want to overreact but I also don't want to be complacent and so would actually rather overreact than do nothing and get caught out.

My options are:

* Leave the horses as they are, out 8am-4pm and in overnight

* Bring them all in, we do this in snow or ice anyway so although a pain wouldn't be the end of the world

* Secondary fence all of the paddocks with temporary electric fencing to keep the horses away from the leaves and turnout as normal, but does the bacteria also affect the grass??

There seems to be loads of info on the signs, not so much info on the causes although I guess that the actual cause may not be clear, and even less info on what people in affected areas should really be doing.

I expect that anyone in affected areas would wecome any advice very much.
 
Hi Qaz, I'm also just down the road and from what I understand there isn't much you can do apart from keeping a very close eye, particularly on those more at risk. I'm turning out as per normal (out 7-3/4) but have told everyone at the yard what the symptoms are and have said to call the vet immediately if they notice anything at all.
 
How terribly sad Charlie36, fingers crossed your others pull through.

Do you have any news on the final diagnosis yet as your vets have put a message on Facebook to say yours are not Atypical Myopathy??

Even if not AM, stil devastating news and worth highlighting AM symptoms anyway.
 
:( How horrible, thoughts to everyone affected, and fingers crossed that those still fighting do pull through.

Slightly worrying/interesting how all the cases are in a similar area, do they know why this might be? I'm the queen of paranoia and although I'm not right at the centre of it, I'm probably about 12 miles or so away from upper basildon.

Mine lives out 24/7, and there is a canal running alongside one side of his field, and also quite a lot of dead leaves in field... getting a bit twitchy now too! :eek:

Thanks for posting, will be vigilant! :)
 
thanks for posting, this is very worrying mine are out 24/7 but have been for years.

I hope the affected horses pull through.

Off to search for more information .............................
 
H - Thanks for posting we are right on the doorstep too, received the link through FB this am too, friends horse is showing symptoms - as someone has said above I think we all have to be vigilent for the signs :(

I hope your sick ones recover ASAP.:(
 
Quick update. Vets have confirmed it is not myopathy. The symptoms are similar but ours had liver and kidney failure which is not consistent. Further tests and biopsy on the three that died suggest a toxin They have ingested has caused something called serum hepititis which is EXTREMELY RARE in the UK. It is NOT INFECTIOUS OR CONTAGIOUS.
Having looked into it it seems that the most likely source of toxins is in the trough from a particular algae. Our troughs are spotless.
Or its in the ground.
We should no if this is the cause tommorow but it may be worth Googling it as it Could explain other similar deaths in the area as it does say it Can be geographical.
Will update when I know more.
 
Thanks for keeping us updated at what must be a very difficult time for you. I hope all your other horses stay well.
 
Everyone has just started to hear about this at my yard and there s a bit of panic. I had mine vaccinated against herpes on wed and this morning he was really under the weather.. now everyone's stressing about him. I'm just waiting for the vet to call me back and if he's concerned he can pop down and see him.

He is in a field under with a huge old tree and lots of leaves on the ground and bits of bark/wood.. perhaps I ought to head out in the morning with my rake..??
 
Having spoken with my vet i have decided to keep my girls in until we have a frost, more work for me but piece of mind i guess, and at least they are jabbed for herpes so that sorts that one out! Worrying times especially being so local. Sorry to all those that have lost horses to this mysterious horrible illness.
 
Thanks Charlie76 for keeping us all informed.

Hopefully this way we can continue to educate each other, and look after out horses as best we can.
 
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