grass sickness ??

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gwniver

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just a few questions:rolleyes::rolleyes:
how does it spread??
how is it caught ??
is there a cure??
is there a way to prevent it ??
oh and what are the first symptoms of it ??
THANKS:D:D
 
its not something the horses can spread between each other, as far as I am aware!

my friends horse died of suspected grass sickness last year! some breeds or horses are more likely to get it! they say younger horses are also more likely to get it!

my friends horse was out in a herd of about 8, he was the only one to get it, the rest were fine!

they thought it was colic, but he didn't get better for a couple of days so had to be taken to the horsepital and had to be put down because it was too late! if they catch it really early I believe they can get over it but if its left that long there wasnt any chance for him!
 
It isnt believed to be contagious between animals. It is thought to be connected to a botulism in the soil. More prevalent in some areas with thin acidic soils, disturbance of the soil, certain climatic conditions and younger horses or stressed horses and those grazing 24x7. Spring and autumn the peaks for cases tho can happen all year

It isnt easily 'curable' with drugs as such, more that a few cases pull though with really intensive vet support and home nursing. Some horses with the chronic form pull through with a lot of vet hospital and then home support. Most dont. Acute cases are generally not recoverable at all and are PTS as the suffering is terrible and pointless as they die anyway.

So key avoidance tactics (tho its not cast iron, people can do all these things and still be struck by it-even Dubai Millenium fantastic racehorse was killed by it)

- ensure horses have a period in 24 hour period off grass, eating hay instead
- avoid soil disturbance esp harrowing.
- keep horses in if in high risk area when the classic weather patterns happen - basically prolonged cool dry weather.Esp youngsters as peak of cases is 3-4 years

Symptoms of acute EGS can include inability to eat ESP if there is dischage from nostrils which has food matter in it, horse looking very withdrawn, colic. In chronic cases the horse may have mnor colics but just keep losing weight. Basically the gut is paralysed from the throat down so the symptoms reflect that.

My horse was suspected acute EGS 8 weeks after we moved up to NE Scotland (hotspot for the disease and our neighbours have lost a horse to EGS), he was very sick but thank god it turned out to be colic/choke combo but I can assure you that when the horse specialist vet says the word 'grass sickness' it makes you feel sick to your stomach and terrified because it is a death sentence in so many cases.

Tests are taking place for an EGS vaccine with yards in our area who have recently (last 3 years) lost at least one horse to grass sickness. I just pray the results will be good. And the research at The Dick Vet School and by the EGS Fund is invaluable.

More info here
http://www.grasssickness.org.uk/egsf-page.aspx?pageID=46
 
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GB has the most cases in the world, and the eastern counties (esp NE) are more at risk (tho there have been cases just about everywhere in the UK) .This risk bias might be partly because in some of those areas (eg Aberdeenshire where I am) the soil is mainly acidic and sandy and thin in places and the grass cover is hence quite thin with a lot of mole activity allowing the soil to be disturbed/accessible to the animals grazing. Also the weather conditions for peak GS is prolonged dry cool conditions which is exactly what we get a lot here esp Spring and Autumn.

So if you are on chalk or limestone with an older horse and dont mechanically poo pick or harrow and horses are in some of the day you would be at pretty low risk.

But if some of the risk factors do apply then it is worth considering the risk factors and trying to mitigate them.

For example, even tho I have 40 acres and only 2 horses, they are only our 24x7 in the peak of summer when the GS risk is low. (given a horse died next door to us of it I know the risk is real). And we avoid soil disturbance, I poo pick by hand daily.
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
It isnt believed to be contagious between animals. It is thought to be connected to a botulism in the soil. More prevalent in some areas with thin acidic soils, disturbance of the soil, certain climatic conditions and younger horses or stressed horses and those grazing 24x7. Spring and autumn the peaks for cases tho can happen all year

It isnt easily 'curable' with drugs as such, more that a few cases pull though with really intensive vet support and home nursing. Some horses with the chronic form pull through with a lot of vet hospital and then home support. Most dont. Acute cases are generally not recoverable at all and are PTS as the suffering is terrible and pointless as they die anyway.

So key avoidance tactics (tho its not cast iron, people can do all these things and still be struck by it-even Dubai Millenium fantastic racehorse was killed by it)

- ensure horses have a period in 24 hour period off grass, eating hay instead
- avoid soil disturbance esp harrowing.
- keep horses in if in high risk area when the classic weather patterns happen - basically prolonged cool dry weather.Esp youngsters as peak of cases is 3-4 years

Symptoms of acute EGS can include inability to eat ESP if there is dischage from nostrils which has food matter in it, horse looking very withdrawn, colic. In chronic cases the horse may have mnor colics but just keep losing weight. Basically the gut is paralysed from the throat down so the symptoms reflect that.

My horse was suspected acute EGS 8 weeks after we moved up to NE Scotland (hotspot for the disease and our neighbours have lost a horse to EGS), he was very sick but thank god it turned out to be colic/choke combo but I can assure you that when the horse specialist vet says the word 'grass sickness' it makes you feel sick to your stomach and terrified because it is a death sentence in so many cases.

Tests are taking place for an EGS vaccine with yards in our area who have recently (last 3 years) lost at least one horse to grass sickness. I just pray the results will be good. And the research at The Dick Vet School and by the EGS Fund is invaluable.

More info here
Click to expand...
A horse just down the road from me hs just been PTS from suspected EGS he was showing all the symptoms and was put down but they did not do a post mortem .........we have been having cool (highs of 3 ) and sunny week and my horse is a 4 year old and out during the day ....should i be worried??:confused::confused:
 
gwniver said:
A horse just down the road from me hs just been PTS from suspected EGS he was showing all the symptoms and was put down but they did not do a post mortem .........we have been having cool (highs of 3 ) and sunny week and my horse is a 4 year old and out during the day ....should i be worried??:confused::confused:
Click to expand...

If he is in at night thats good. Make sure that harrowing and mechanical poo picking are avoided, well anything that disturbs the soil. Try to avoid stress to the horse (eg neighbours young Arab died after a long journey returning from a competition).

Theres not much more that you can do that that, the good news is older horses seem less affected so in a couple of years time the risk will be reduced. It is a cruel thing too, can affect one horse in the field and the others be ok.

Our neighbours only have a couple of paddocks so have had to continue having horses on the same ground. But they no longer turn out 24x7, the horses come in at night.

It isnt a common condition so yours will probably be fine, the main thing is getting them off grass and eating hay some of the time.
 
I lost my horse of a lifetime to grass sickness. Theythought he had chronic grass sickness and was taken to the hospital but his bloods showed that all his organs had failed and he would never recover. He had been fine the night before an from 9am that morning to 5pm that evening I had lost him. It was absolutely devastating and didn't for one minute think it would happen to my boy. He was also considered to have GS out of season as it was the end of September. They did suspect colic and acorn poisoning but both were quickly ruled out. He was 3 1/2 and lived out 24/7. There are many links to causes of GS. He was a youngster, male, recently backed and there have been connections with geese etc which we also had on the water near by.
Luckily I had a fabulous vet who had studied GS and was very clued up.
I have another youngster now and worry everyday about him. I never want to see another horse with it and will miss my boy forever. I believe they are trialling a vaccine so fingers crossed they will one day find a cure or preventative.
 
I've lost 3 horses to EGS. I echo what forever young has written. And several friends have lost horses too. Its a devastating disease. Unfortunately there is only so much one can do re exposure to soil. Horses need time in the paddock and will be exposed to soil, mole hills etc. Remember Dubai Millenium? He only ever had a little in hand grazing each day but still secummed to EGS.
My horses now spend some of each and every day stabled with hay to eat. Not much more you can do except keep them out of paddocks where EGS has occured.
 
gwniver said:
my horse gallops round the field alot ,churning, it up is that a bad thing or is it only things like harrowing ??
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Anything that exposes the bare soil to the surface. So it isn't ideal for there to be a lot of churned up areas - but few have the luxury of constant new paddocks to avoid this in reality. I tread in as many divots of grass as possible when I poo pick each day.

Those who have posted about losing horses to EGS, my heart goes out to you xxxxx
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
Anything that exposes the bare soil to the surface. So it isn't ideal for there to be a lot of churned up areas - but few have the luxury of constant new paddocks to avoid this in reality. I tread in as many divots of grass as possible when I poo pick each day.

Those who have posted about losing horses to EGS, my heart goes out to you xxxxx
Click to expand...

ok i will ask my YO if i can have a undisturbed field and i will give him more hay ,and keep him in for aslong as possible ,and try to avoid stressfull situations is there anything more i can do ??? i am getting a bit scared :(:(
 
lachlanandmarcus what is the geese connection please? I've read guano [ bird droppings] spreading years ago might have introduced EGS to this country from south america . Its believed to be a type of clostridium which is present in the horses gut anyway and somehow it goes out of control, or maybe they pick it up from pasture. A vet told me many years ago about 30 ponies down a mine contracted it so its not necessarily pasture related. Soil with bacteria ingested maybe?
Whatever, its a terrible disease, my beautiful 9 yr old competition mare and her 2 sisters were lost to this. I hope the vaccine come available soon and that its as good as the tetanus one is.
 
Horsesforever1 said:
lachlanandmarcus what is the geese connection please? I've read guano [ bird droppings] spreading years ago might have introduced EGS to this country from south america . Its believed to be a type of clostridium which is present in the horses gut anyway and somehow it goes out of control, or maybe they pick it up from pasture. A vet told me many years ago about 30 ponies down a mine contracted it so its not necessarily pasture related. Soil with bacteria ingested maybe?
Whatever, its a terrible disease, my beautiful 9 yr old competition mare and her 2 sisters were lost to this. I hope the vaccine come available soon and that its as good as the tetanus one is.
Click to expand...

I have geese as well as the horses but I have to admit I don't let them share fields or use the same ones unless well rested. Observing my geese they do graze the grass mega mega short close to the ground to the point of pulling out some stalks, and they also poo EVERYWHERE which is fine except they ingest soil as well esp just before drinking so that must be expelled in the poo.

Some horses seem more prone than others but I do definitely think it is something in the pasture in the main as there have been hardly any cases (literally count on one hand) of horses getting it where they don't graze - pit ponies must be licking the soil I reckon to get minerals and ingesting the bacteria that way.

It's true what you say about it coming into the uk seemingly quite specifically about 1907 in NE Scotland and the country's been stuck with it ever since.
 
My boy had grass sickness three years ago but we were extremely lucky and he survived. Its an absolutely horrible experience and I hope never to see it again. He literally wasted away in front of us while we begged him to eat even the tiniest amount. My heart goes out to anyone who's lost a horse to it, just hoping this vaccine works so we never have to see it again x
 
gwniver said:
ok i will ask my YO if i can have a undisturbed field and i will give him more hay ,and keep him in for aslong as possible ,and try to avoid stressfull situations is there anything more i can do ??? i am getting a bit scared :(:(
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Don't be scared, do what's possible to avoid it and then try to put it out of your mind. Don't keep him in too much if that would cause more stress, even a couple of hours every 24 decreases the risk a lot. But good idea re the soil disturbance as that's a big risk increaser.

In all likelihood you are more likely to have the horse get normal colic or twang his leg in the field so don't worry too much, ESP if you aren't in NE Scotland as this is the epicentre (grass sickness and MS hotspot, hmmm what a combo for horses and humans, it's a good job it's paradise other than that!)
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
Don't be scared, do what's possible to avoid it and then try to put it out of your mind. Don't keep him in too much if that would cause more stress, even a couple of hours every 24 decreases the risk a lot. But good idea re the soil disturbance as that's a big risk increaser.

In all likelihood you are more likely to have the horse get normal colic or twang his leg in the field so don't worry too much, ESP if you aren't in NE Scotland as this is the epicentre (grass sickness and MS hotspot, hmmm what a combo for horses and humans, it's a good job it's paradise other than that!)
Click to expand...

i am in th NE of scotland :(:(:(
 
gwniver said:
A horse just down the road from me hs just been PTS from suspected EGS he was showing all the symptoms and was put down but they did not do a post mortem .........we have been having cool (highs of 3 ) and sunny week and my horse is a 4 year old and out during the day ....should i be worried??:confused::confused:
Click to expand...

I think some of the problem with the stats is sadly the cost of PM's when Eb's died and I had struggled to pull her through, in the end her appetite and swallow reflex went and her glands were so big :( the general consensus was that it was Equine Malabsorption Syndrome, but some symptoms were indicative of GS with others not present. There is so little we know and the only truly conclusive way to diagnose either of these conditions is by PM... spending £750 to have your horse cut open at the end of an 8 week battle to keep your horse alive is a hard and excruciating thing to even consider. If we all did have a PM on our horses, we would no doubt know a hell of a lot more about both and many more conditions affecting horses. :(
 
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