Atypical Myopathy

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ruthcassettari

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HELP WITH ATYPICAL MYOPATHY RESEARCH NEEDED....

Im aware of many people suffering a loss from this tragic condition (atypical myopathy). I too have lost my mare last week :(

I have my degree in Equine Science and am working with vets and University to try and compile as much data as possible on this condition. A questionaire is being produced which will ask for the horses general details and husbandry routine. It would then be helpful to have access to blood test results and the attending veterinarians observations/diagnosis.

This research will hopefully go towards us gaining a better understanding of the condition and possibly even a cause, which will then hopefully help others.

You can email me at ruth.cassettari@virgin.net if you would be willing to help us with this valuable research.

Thankyou all, I await all your responses.

Ruth x
 
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I understand from someone else's posting that poo picking by machine is implicated. It sounds odd, and I hope people are looking at the newer horse practices that are spreading like wildfire at the same time as this rare disease is going rampant -

keeping one or two horses in tiny bits of paddock, so they can't get hurt by running in a herd. Poo picking so it looks clean but in reality has horse poo all over it because it simply isn't big enough for them to have poo patches and avoid them like horses in bigger fields do.

feeding excessive amounts of sugar in muesli type feeds and molassed chaffs

feeding too much altogether, because of the current fashion to have horses too fat. keepign them fat all year round instead of letting winter give them back their waistline.

feeding haylage instead of hay (I hope it's not this one, I love the stuff!!)

failing to have horses fit enough to do the work required of them (go to any BE event at 90/100/novice level and you'll hear them panting their way round the second half of the cross country, go to any hunt meet and you'll see the ones that get 20 minutes in a floodlit arena through the week and are expected to hunt for 3 or 4 hours at the weekend)

I'm sure this list is not finished, more anyone?
 
hi, im affraid i am going to have to contradict you!!! this is actually not the case with the atypical myopathy - it has actually been researched that it is horses that are out all the time with poor pasture and not fed any supplementary feed and that are not in exercise that have been more prone to this condition also that have been in poor to good condition (not fat) fat horses are less likely to suffer. Unfortunaely many of the cases this year have been horses in moderate work, fit and healthy, feeding hay or haylage actually helps if at grass all the time.

I think you may be getting confused with azoturia, i am currently researching this so will forward on any info that i get!
 
You aren't contrdicting me ruthcasettari, I was suggesting things that were different at the same time as the disease is expanding. Something has changed. Now that you have explained the kind of horses that get it, it is obvious that my list does not apply. So what else has changed? Climate? The prevalance of old cow pasture (single species, ryegrass) being used for horses? Ending of the legal requirement to dip sheep spreading parasites? I hope your research points to something soon, it sounds a foul disease.
 
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All of the NSFA were sent docs on A.M last year as there was a glut of it in Newmarket/surrounding areas. I'd contact Rossdales as they were treating a good few of the cases and they might share some information with you. In the leaflet produced it mentioned that winter time hay feeding when the hay isn't raked up before the new forage is put down could have something to do with it. Also I am surprised about the lack of feed/weight that you mentioned as some of these cases were on Studs where I've never seen so much weight carried! Also the grazing is superior to the majority of people's irrigated/fertilized gardens! Wasn't anything run in H&H last winter on it? It was originally thought my horse had A.M when he was ill a month ago but it wasn't.
 
cptrayes said:
I understand from someone else's posting that poo picking by machine is implicated. It sounds odd, and I hope people are looking at the newer horse practices that are spreading like wildfire at the same time as this rare disease is going rampant-
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It was my posting about the mechanical poo picking, which is what i have read from the grass sickness organisations website and from the vets leaflet a poster posted on here the other day. It looks like it could well point to soil/grass disturbance. If that is the case then this needs to be highlighted to every horse owner in the country to enable them to make the informed choice as to whether to continue to use mechanical poo picking with a brushing action (which disturbs the soil/grass roots) if they currently use it.

It may be that it has nothing to do with this whatsoever, but I presume this has appeared in 'some of the cases of grass sickness and atypical myopathy to be a common denominator or else they wouldn't be mentioning it on their websites/leaflets. To be honest if I were at a yard that used this machinery I would ask that they didn't use it in my paddock/field until a definitive answer on to exactly what causes this disease is confirmed and proved beyond doubt. But thats just my opinion.:(

I'd like to add further that if anyone has a horse that has been lost through either Grass Sickness or Atypical Myopathy (of which the two seem very much the same sort of illness) then please help other people yet to lose horses by giving the associations dealing with the research as much information as you can. I realise that this would be an extremely selfless act on the part of those who have lost a much loved horse, and a very upsetting thing to do but it is only by collation of crucial information that a leap towards solving the problem can be established and this dreadful disease/illness, call it what you will, can be eradicated once and for all.
 
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applecart14 said:
It was my posting about the mechanical poo picking, which is what i have read from the grass sickness organisations website and from the vets leaflet a poster posted on here the other day. It looks like it could well point to soil/grass disturbance. If that is the case then this needs to be highlighted to every horse owner in the country to enable them to make the informed choice as to whether to continue to use mechanical poo picking with a brushing action (which disturbs the soil/grass roots) if they currently use it.
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This is an interesting point as I know for a fact that the large farms around us ALL use paddock sweepers and still are. I can't imagine them sending out staff to poo pick 2000 acres of paddocks! Be interesting to see what the come back is from that finding.

I also agree with Applecart that people would be so helpful if they could provide as much info as possible to the vets and researchers about their horses conditions when they are diagnosed with the mentioned diseases. I know how hard this can be though.
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I am one of the lucky few
I have a survivor

My colt was one year old in May but Easter Monday we nearly lost him
After his first ever show he returned home and collapsed

He has recently had his final blood test giving him the all clear so far but now going into winter again we are obviously very worried of any return attack

He showed no signs and looked healthy in April
He was a little superstar at the show he was perky and called for his friend all morning but was reluctant to trot up

I have no stream in the paddock
The leaves had already fallen and gone away
Yes the grass was low and we were feeding hay on the muddy floor
He had a good appetite and was fed concentrates

We are now feeding him hay in a haynet and he is at the mo in a different paddock

I certainly dont want to see my poor boy waste away in front of my eyes again
 
I lost two of mine to this, both within quite a few years of each other. The second was a surviver on the first attack, she went back into full work again, took her to a little hunter trial and on return she had another attack of it, and this time we lost her.

Our vet is now warning that despite very few survivors, they seem to carry the possibility of having another attack when put under more stressful conditions, in our case the taking her to the hunter trial despite fully fit, well seemed to trigger it. Before the attacks, both horses were fully fit, on hard feed, out 24/7 in fairly good pasture with access to hay as and when required.
 
sad to lose one but two thats devastating

I am so paranoid about my boys recovery especially as he was fitting fit before his attack
He was ill on return from his first show (yearling)
 
There were a few leaves as both horses caught it in either october/november time with the second attack in april. But we've since found of theres an old well under the ground in the garden next door and it seems to leave a small area of wet ground even in summer, approx couple of foot square. Only noticed it recently so possibly may be a contributing factor. But in both cases it seemed to happen when a more drastic weather change had happened , i.e frost.
 
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