Blood test for EPSM ??

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jgmbng

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I mentioned to my vet who is due for a lameness work up on my Dales who has had on/off issues for 2 years the possibility of his problems being EPSM.

He suggested taking bloods after a period of fasting. Of all the reading up I have done on EPSM I have not really found anything about testing bloods. Does anyone know what he would be looking for as I was under the impression the only true diagnostic test was through a muscle biopsy.

He is out on Tuesday to do lameness exam and we are discussing further then but in the meantime does anyone have any ideas?
 
There is a whole section on the Dalesfans forum about epsm. Might find someone on there who has knowlege
 
I had a horse with EPSM and my understanding was it can only be confirmed by biopsy. What can be done is a blood test after exercise to assess the levels of muscle enzymes but that is only indicative of a problem and not diagnostic. What your vet is suggesting is either a glucose curve or a test for Equine metabolic syndrome ie is this horse going to be prone to laminitis.

There are 2 types of EPSM, one leads to chronic tying up and is usually associated with american type breeds and the second is associated with draft types but either can occur is any breed. There is a blood test for the first type as it is a heritable condition.
 
I sent off a hair sample from mine for an EPSM test.

It was -ve but he does def have it. Apparently there are 2 types, only one of which shows up on the test.

You could 'test' for it by following the EPSM high oil diet. Also, mine responded very well to DMG powder, which isn't that expensive & might be worth a go. It really did loosen him up a lot. It used to take 45 mins for him to loosen up, but now he gets as good as he's going to get right away.

I wll try to find the hair testing place for you...hang on...might have been this one. http://animalgenetics.eu/Equine/equine-genetic-disease/pssm.html

And there's a FB group for EPSM.

T x
 
Catembi

I have started playing around with oil in his diet....at the moment as oil he gets 3/4 mug micronised linseed, around 200ml oil and a couple handfuls of black sunflower seeds added to a small feed of molasses free chaff.

We have already maxed the insurance for bone spavin....nothing worked.
Tested for Cushings and IR.....both negative.
Done a trial of Gastroguard....nothing.

His symptoms are
Hind end lameness/stiffness...changing sides.
Unwilling to work. (Im a happy hacker with tiny bit schooling so nothing major !)
He will trot if pushed but only manages a few strides canter.
symptoms have worsened last 2 years with spring turnout.
He does not tolerate ryegrass and some bagged haylage (boxwalks)
Lethargy
 
My daughter 's 14.2 pony started cramping up in August. He picked up some sort of virus while at camp. We had him blood tested and found both sets of muscle enzymes to be high. To cut a long story short as he did not come right after rest etc he had a muscle biopsy in October. It was found that he had a mild case of epsm. The blood test that went to America had come back clear so that suggested it was through damage rather than genetic. I have been having him tested monthly ( fortunately the insurance is paying for it), after a long slog his long term muscle enzyme is now in the normal range and his ck, after execise has come down from 1400 to 750, this is still a bit high. We do not know whether it is something he has always had or if the work after getting the virus triggered it. Since January I have changed his diet, he now gets Alfalfa oil, Re-leve (Saracen feeds) and a lo calorie balancer to make sure he is getting enough vitamin e and selenium. I also soak his hay and never give him haylege. We adore him and hopefully he will be out competing again soon. I would have any new horse blood tested before purchase now though. Diet seems to be the best way to contain it.
 
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