Atypical Myopathy Warning

Three

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 April 2007
Messages
3,427
Location
The royal county
Visit site
Sadly putting hay or haylage out will only make a difference if they don't eat anything else in their field. They haven't yet isolated what exactly the toxin occurs on or in; it could be dead leaves, the ground, grass etc etc. There is no rhyme or reason to which paddocks are affected and which aren't, nor indeed which horses will be poisoned and which won't.

A terrible, terrible disease.
 

galaxy

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 September 2006
Messages
5,959
Location
Bucks
Visit site
It is rife in our area at the moment and the vets have told us to try putting hay/haylage out for them or to bring them in for periods. They said from what they know it is not going to stop your horse getting it altogether, but hopefully reduce the severity as they will not be eating "infected" grass 24/7.

It is awful. Very stressful around here at the moment :(
 

wispa

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 May 2010
Messages
76
Visit site
pretty sure i lost one of my foals to this the other weekend. Had signs that looked very likely to be acorn poisoning and was very unwell so had him put down, turns out it would morelikely have been this .....

and a friend from the same village has just had her pony pull through after over a week...pretty awful disease
 

Three

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 April 2007
Messages
3,427
Location
The royal county
Visit site
I lost my mare to it yesterday. She went from a happy, healthy horse, upright and grazing to being put down 12 hours later. Her daughter, who has grazed the same fields as her mother, has been tested and is thankfully clear at the moment. She is, of course, now in a different field.
 

applecart14

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 March 2010
Messages
6,269
Location
Solihull, West Mids
Visit site
It is rife in our area at the moment and the vets have told us to try putting hay/haylage out for them or to bring them in for periods. They said from what they know it is not going to stop your horse getting it altogether, but hopefully reduce the severity as they will not be eating "infected" grass 24/7.

It is awful. Very stressful around here at the moment :(

I didn't realise that the reason you put hay/haylage out is because you are stopping them from eating the grass. I thought it was to get fibre through them to 'mop' up any toxins.

It might be worth noting that in cases of EGS (Equine Grass Sickness) soil disturbance is often a major factor. If you use a pooh picking machine with a brushing motion, or have dug any trenches/ditches or laid any pipe in or through the fields where horses graze or built any xc jumps thus disturbing soil you should be aware that this can cause a potential problem.

So very, very sorry for those who have lost or are about to lose through EGS or AM.
 
Top