Botulism

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SuperHorse

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Does anyone have any experience of botulism in horses?
My 17 month old gelding is sick, the vet thinks it's either botulism or grass sickness, but most likely botulism
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There is an anti-toxin for botulism, but he's not sure if there's any in Ireland
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At the moment we just have to wait and see what happens, and try to encourage him to eat as much as possible.
Does anyone have any experience of a horse with botulism or know what the likelihood of recovery is? And how effective is the anti-toxin (if we manage to get it)?
 
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sorry, no experience - but just hope he gets better - lots of (((vibes)))

do you know how he got it?

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Thanks - He's still eating a bit, so fingers crossed he won't get any worse.

I have no idea how he got it - apparently it's rare in horses in Ireland. I think the toxin can be in the soil or in forage - but none of the other horses are affected so not sure where it came from.
 
A few years ago we used to feed big bale haylege.We lost three youngsters and had two older horses with severe colic in one day.It was an absolute nightmare.The only thing that they had in common was that they all had had the same bale.We have never fed haylege since.
The vet then seemed to think it was down to the haylege anyway. We were unlucky with the real babies - younger than yours- the older ones pulled through.
Hope he pulls through ((((vibes)))))

ets the vet thought it was botulism and not just colic
 
I've not had personal experience however I do know of someone who fed their horses silage (a pikey who had got rich quick and got a load of driving horses
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)....needless to say one got botulism and it died sadly.

The toxin is found in soil, and I believe that silage is cut closer to the ground than haylege thus increased risk of contamination - but it doesn't affect cows or something (have been told all of this so no idea if its right!).
 
dodgy haylage will give your horse botulism. you need to be very careul about the quality of haylage! if your youngster has been on haylage then thats the most likely source! some older horses have better gut action and immune resistance! best to keep the babies on good hay or excellent haylage which has been analysised!. hope your boy pulls through..........
 
Horses can also contract botulism if they have eaten forage around a dead carcass, so when bales are distributed around the field, you should keep your eye open for dead rabbits etc, something to do with their bodily fluids when they are decomposing xx
 
A mare on our yard had botulism a few years ago, she spent weeks in the vet school but did make a full recovery. She went back to BSJA competitions and is now a brood mare. It took a long time but the horse was ok in the end. The vets and owner reckon it was contracted from the forage, she was the only eating it and was the only horse affected. I hope your horse gets better soon, good luck.
 
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