Grass sickness

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I am having some difficulty coming to terms with the fact the vets have taken a biopsy of her intestine to test for the grass sickness... Grace has not been out on pasture for over 6 weeks. Can it be contracted from haylage, and if so how come other horses on the yard have not come down with it?

She seems to be having some difficulty swallowing which is why they are testing for this on top of everything else
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I really feel for you. I don't know the answers to your questions but have you looked at www.grasssickness.org.uk ? I'd give them a call in the morning, a friend of mine had a cob with grass sickness & found them really helpful & supportive.

Thinking of you & Grace x.
 
FEEDING
Grass sickness, as its name suggests, is strongly associated with grazing but there have been a few cases in animals with no access to pasture. In these rare cases, hay has been implicated as the source of the causal agent. Although most cases have been at grass full-tlme or during the day, the disease can affect horses which have only a few minutes' access to grass daily. There is no association with type of pasture (new ley, permanent pasture, hill grazing, clean or 'horse-sick' pasture) nor with fertilisation. Giving supplementary feeding in the form of concentrates or hay does not have a protective effect.

Grass Sickness in Horses
Dr E. Milne, BVM&S, PhD, MRCVS.

this was taken from above source. i know of someone whos horse contracted it from hay too.

good luck
 
So sorry to hear about your horse. I worked for a year as a nurse at an equine hospital and if I remember rightly I'm sure one of the main reasons for suspecting grass sickness instead of colic is due to difficulty in swallowing. The grass sickness website Nari posted a link to will help answer a lot of your questions, unfortunately so little is still known about this horrible condiditon. Be hopeful though, it may not be grass sickness & even if it is, more horses pull through it now than they used to as better drugs are available.

Sending you big hugs & magic healing vibes to Grace x x
 
Don't worry...they do grass sickness biopsies where they have colics that don't have a physical impaction etc...just to rule it out...basically where there isn't an obvious cause to the colic.
Instead of worrying, make sure you've eaten and drunk enough...then get some sleep!
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S
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Thanks... there is no way I will get any sleep tonight though. My brain is whirring too much, and the alcohol has done nothing to numb it either I am afraid
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So do they regularly take the biopsy when no impaction is present.

But the fact that she is having trouble swallowing is not a good sign, even I know that
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[ QUOTE ]
Thanks... there is no way I will get any sleep tonight though. My brain is whirring too much, and the alcohol has done nothing to numb it either I am afraid
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So do they regularly take the biopsy when no impaction is present.

But the fact that she is having trouble swallowing is not a good sign, even I know that
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[/ QUOTE ]

They'd look like fools if they didn't take a biopsy of the gut whilst they had her opened up....now wouldn't they? They talked of salmonella, etc with mine...and eventually concluded it was a blood clot in her gut wall...but as she was completely worm free, who knows why?
My vet told me not to bother trying to find papers on non-strangulating infarctions of the small colon as it was too rare...of course I did look for papers...and there were none
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Even if your girl did have grass sickness, it's not the death sentence it once was, anyway....
S
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Poor Grace - and you; you must be bushed. I hope she makes a full recovery for you.

Having difficulty in swallowing is also a symptom of tetanus, and reading back through your posts it sounds very similar (to what I can recall of it as it happened in the 60's!) to a filly I nursed with it. As she's been regularly vaccinated it should not be a problem for Grace but you never know if she could have picked up a very mild dose of it either. It really is a case of waiting to see what they come up with. At least she is in the best place, you can do no more except recharge your batteries, so, I know it'll be nigh on impossible but do try to get some rest; you'll be no use to her if you are out on your feet will you?
Keeping things crossed for you both.
 
I can't help with advice, but I have been thinking about you and Grace all evening. I know I don't know you but I really feel for you, the thought of George ever getting ill like that terrifies me. Huge {{hugs}} and do try to sleep.
 
I lost a mare to GS 3 years ago. What other symptoms does you mare have, as difficulty swallowing will not be the only symptom. I take it she has had surgery for suspected colic, which GS sufferers can be confused with. If Grace does have GS she must have chronic rather than acute. This can successfully be treated in a large number of cases, but will take a lot of care day and night. A friend brought her horse back from chronic GS and he looks amazing now.
Contrary to the name, it is NOT caused by grass. One horse can be affected and non others will, I have seen it on a stud where 40 brood mares were kept, One died from GS over 20 years ago. To this day no other horse has.
I wish you well. If it is GS, I can put you in touch with my friend for help and support.
 
GS is what I lost Higgs to just over 2 years ago
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It paralyses the intestine walls (both of them) thus preventing the food going through the horse. Other signs of GS are saliva round the mouth, tremours, something odd in the eye can't remember what though sorry, not passing wee or poo and a funny coating on the poo. fingers crossed it is not GS but if it is there are far more that recover now. xxxx
 
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