Grass Sickness

[Uniique]

As part of my dissertation for my second year of my HND at Guildford College, Merrist Wood campus I’m looking at whether the breed of horse effects the likelihood of getting EGS at whether it effects the prognosis. I would be very grateful if owners with horses/ponies who have suffered from EGS could fill out this brief questionnaire.

What date was the horse diagnosed with EGS?

What was the age and gender of the horse?

What region was the horse was the horse in when it was diagnoses with EGS?

What breed is the horse?

Did the horse suffer from acute/ chronic or sub-chronic EGS?

Did you choose to:
• Euthanize without treatment?
• Euthanize during treatment?
• Euthanize post treatment?
• Or treat it and the horse made a full recovery?

Did the horse live in or out?

I appreciate that some of the information provided in this questionnaire is going to be sensitive to most horse owners. However any information you supply will be strictly confidential. No names will be mention in the study and the information supplied will not be used for any other purpose.

Thank you for your time.

Sam Boseley
Sam.boseley@yahoo.co.uk

Thank you very much!

 

[Uniique]

Any of your own experiences or friends would be greatly appreciated

 

[Sparkles]

Pm sent

 

[Uniique]

Thank you x

 

[Sparkles]

No problem =] quite a few articles come up on google just did a search now so probably easier searching yourself and choosing any that may be of any help to you =]

Refreshed my memory reading them again and remember the yard now too, quite easy to get their number if you did want to contact them.

 

[Brandysnap]

Hi Uniique,

I've had 2 horses wrongly diagnosed as having grass sickness, thankfully both horses fine afterwards.

I'd be more than happy to help you, just want to share my experiences with all forum friends:

Case 1) Native mare, about 8 yrs, lived out on Mersey estuary (early 1980s), staggering, falling over, vet said grass sickness, friend with PhD in Pharmacology said seems like toxins. (Alarm bells with me then, had high tide...god knows what ICI + Shell shoved in Mersey). Vet said ok, could be ragwort. (b******s!) We scoured 100 acres, knowing we didn't have ragwort, found one tiny pathetic thing.

My conclusion? It wasn't ragwort, it was something contaminated she ate after high tide. All other 30 horses grazing same area were fine.

Vet gave anti-toxins, following conversation with my friend, + old girl slowly recovered.

Case 2) Fit, 12-yr-old event horse, went on hols, paid young girl who i trusted, + one of my clients, to check on all my horses. Came home to emaciated thing, oedema round privates, etc. (Refrain from language here about whether i employ this girl again!) Got vet, he's already in toxic overload, liver failing (she showed me fatty things in blood sample, there + then!)

Grass sickness was again diagnosed, although my other 2 were fine, but can strike randomly.

Blood tests indicated cancer, as white blood cell count so high (hope i've understood correctly, i'm not a vet).
My lovely vet asked for 2nd opinions everywhere, + medical vet expert said 'do ultrasound on lungs, if there's lot of fluid there, it's curtains'.

There was loads of fluid, so we brought him home here to die. I turned him out with his friends,

What happened? He started trotting round.

That was about 5 years ago, he's still fine.

I think, dear Uniique, is that maybe qualitative research is better than quantitative? Think wider, use what i say if you want to, but above all, never let your questions be narrow, + let us all say our bit. With all best wishes, BS x

 

[Lizzie66]

This is being dragged from memory (my first pony in my teens)

Date: May 1980
Age/Gender: 4, Gelding
Region: South Lincs for 8 weeks, but had been Bromsgrove area prior to this
Breed: Arab X
Type of EGS: Unsure but diagnosis to death was 3 days
Treatment: Vet treated as though for obstructed colic twice a day (similiar symptoms), 3rd day pony lost all balance phoned Vet re PTS but pony died before he could get (less than 2 hrs from loss of balance to death).
Lived out.

Our Vet at the time said EGS was prevalent in youngsters in Spring, ie when horses went from restricted turnout to 24/7 turnout. He said this accounted for the name.

Not sure how useful or otherwise this is. Good Luck with your dissertation

 

[Uniique]

Thank you very much Lizzie, all information i useful

 

[fionaa]

Hi Sam, hope this info is of some use to you I am still trying to make any sense of this,

date 04/05/2009
ages 10 yr old mare (pony) + 17 yr old gelding(horse)
area lanarkshire, scotland
breed: pony unknown horse thoroughbred
type both had acute egs
both had to be euthanised on vet advise I lost both within 12 hours horse got pts at 12noon, pony pts at 9.45pm hardest thign that has ever happened as the pony belonged to my 13 yr old daughter.

both lived out

if you want any more info on this please contact me

fiona xxx

rest in peace susie + jasper

 

[YorksG]

I think you may mean sub acute rather than sub chronic. I would check if I were you.

 

[Uniique]

Thank you so much for your information fionna. I cant imagine how you must be feeling. My heart goes to you. Rest in peace Susie and Jasper, i truely feel for you xx

 

[Uniique]

O yeah, typo i do mean sub acute lol. Thanks you the only person to point that out

 

[Uniique]

Hi thanks to everyone who has already posted. Could you post any trigger factors there where before the onset of GS and what was used to diagnose the case?