Help...my horse appeared to have a fit in the field today

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rebmw

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I'm quite bemused by what I saw today and thought I'd call on anyone's experience with regards to what I witnessed this afternoon.

My two horses had been out in their usual field for 7 hours today and when I went to get them in I could see from a distance that my 20 year old retired boy was lying down which isn't unusual. By the time I was getting closer he was laid out flat and the nearer I got I could see his back legs appeared to be paddling non stop like they were in spasm or something. My stomach dropped and I immediately thought the worst, broken back, pelvis or leg or definitely something which would be the end of him. This probably went on for a minute and then suddenly his front legs started thrashing around a bit and then quick as a flash he jumped up and trotted across the field completely sound. They both then trotted around with their tails up and acted completely normally. I was in shock as I was expecting to see him on three legs or something.

I walked them into the yard and he has acted completely normally since. He's bright, happy, eating and no sign of anything untoward regarding his limbs etc.

I can't believe he was dreaming as he had seen me walk through the gate to field and then laid out for the 2 minutes it took me to walk across the field so I'm now wondering could he have had a fit of some description?

It has been very unnerving as I really thought I'd be calling the vet out to have him put down and now he seems perfectly normal.

Any advice would be gratefully received
 
I had a loan pony when I was 13. He had a couple of fits after which I had to stop riding him as it was deemed dangerous. Vet suspected heart condition, ran a ECG which didn't pick up anything unusual but it was done some time after the episode.

I'd call your vet and ask their opinion tomorrow as it could be a number of things really. Glad he's ok though, must have given you a nasty shock.
 
He isn't ridden pf. He has been retired for the last 9 years and is lucky that we have land at home to keep him as a companion to my other horse. He has a big character and always whizzes across the field bucking and leaping every day when he's turned out which he's done since I got him 15 years ago!
 
Yep, saw that he was retired. We lost an oldie at 34 this year. She occasionally had "funny turns". Would go off her food, look like she was going to colic. Go down, struggle to get up then would be fine the minute you went to call the vet!
 
Hate to say it at his age I would not worry with the vet to much! Its probably one of those things that if you had not been about you would be totally unaware of . Are you sure he wasnt in a deep sleep and dreaming . The speed he got up in a normal fashion suggests this to me.
 
I found another livery in the field last year, it had been pouring with rain for hours and he was laid down, when I got to him he was doing similar things, plus eyes rolling in his head and groaning, he was quite old and thought this must be the end, his owner arrived and managed to get him up, hobbled into stable to find he had a loose shoe that was twisted, took shoe off, dried off and was fine, talk about over reaction!
 
rebmw said:
By the time I was getting closer he was laid out flat and the nearer I got I could see his back legs appeared to be paddling non stop like they were in spasm or something. . This probably went on for a minute and then suddenly his front legs started thrashing around a bit and then quick as a flash he jumped up and trotted across the field completely sound.

Any advice would be gratefully received
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I know this might be obvious but are you sure that he wasn't just trying to find purchase in the wet mud/grass and was struggling to get up because it was slippy or his rug had moved and was preventing him? I know you said he was thrashing around for a minute but when we are stressed or anxious about something a few seconds can feel like hours.

Not trying to minimise what has happened but just offering an alternative theory.

A bit like the previous poster on here - I remember my poor horse hobbling to me in his paddock on three legs, totally non weight bearing and my heart just dropped, I thought his tendon had gone, or he had broken his leg. Fortunately it was a twisted shoe and me and my friends spent a frantic ten minutes trying to get the damn thing off him as the toe clip was sticking in his foot! It was made worse as he kept staggering backwards and threatening to collapse on his bum which accordingy to my vet is a typical WB trait when they get stressed!
 
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Thank you again for your replies.
Toulouse that is hilarious!
Applecart I'm pretty sure it was a minute as I had quite a big field to walk across and I also stopped to explain to my little boy that he needed to stay back because I was worried he was going to see something quite upsetting. That field isn't very muddy but is wet so I guess you could have a point. It was just the way the rest of his body seemed lifeless before his front legs started moving just before he got up that added to my concern. He loves to roll and I often see him lying down in the field compared to my other horse who I never see lying down as he is too greedy to stop eating and snooze! I have never seen him act like this.
 
rebmw said:
Thank you again for your replies.
Toulouse that is hilarious!
Applecart I'm pretty sure it was a minute as I had quite a big field to walk across and I also stopped to explain to my little boy that he needed to stay back because I was worried he was going to see something quite upsetting. That field isn't very muddy but is wet so I guess you could have a point. It was just the way the rest of his body seemed lifeless before his front legs started moving just before he got up that added to my concern. He loves to roll and I often see him lying down in the field compared to my other horse who I never see lying down as he is too greedy to stop eating and snooze! I have never seen him act like this.
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Just another thought after my reply on the other board - my girl gradually found getting up a bit more like hard work as she got into her 20s, and one front leg was very arthritic so she tended to leave it out of the equation and get up on 3. One day, she slipped just as she got right up and ended up flat out again. Being a sensible girl she laid nice and still and got her breath and dignity back for well over a minute before having another a go. Given your horse's history I wonder if your horse was doing some thing like when he was lying so still?
 
fatpiggy said:
Just another thought after my reply on the other board - my girl gradually found getting up a bit more like hard work as she got into her 20s, and one front leg was very arthritic so she tended to leave it out of the equation and get up on 3. One day, she slipped just as she got right up and ended up flat out again. Being a sensible girl she laid nice and still and got her breath and dignity back for well over a minute before having another a go. Given your horse's history I wonder if your horse was doing some thing like when he was lying so still?
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Perhaps. He is a bit of a stress head and doesn't always engage his brain before the rest of his body so maybe the rapid movement of his legs was a slight panic to get up quickly. You are all giving me some good things to think about!
 
Also because he always whizzes about the field everyday throwing his legs all over the place, I have a slight fear that one day he'll break a leg and I'll find him in the field pretty much like I did yesterday. Perhaps I let that fear stop me from seeing the situation objectively?
 
I witnessed something similar with the horse on the adj field to mine. An older mare She was asleep but kinda running with her legs and twitching profusely. I called her name and she woke and proceeded to pull herself up no bother so I guess if all was completely well afterwards he might have just been having a horsey dream!

Wouldn't hurt to have a word with your vet though see what he thinks, especially if it happens again.

Eta see below it might help

What do fits look like?

The signs will vary depending on the area and extent of the brain involved. Partial fits can be very subtle. Often there is only a degree of facial and/or limb twitching, but there may be other signs, such as excessive chewing, compulsive pacing or self-mutilation, where the horse seems intent on biting or gnawing itself.

Generalised fits are easier to recognise and tend to occur in three phases. First of all the “aura” (period just prior to the fit itself) — the horse may appear anxious and unsettled.

Then comes “ictus” (the fit itself) — the horse will probably lie down and become unconscious or unaware of its surroundings; a series of symmetrical (“clonic”) muscle contraction and relaxation cycles may be followed by continuous, unrelenting (“tonic”) muscle contractions, making the horse appear stiff and rigid.

Other characteristics include deviation of the eyeballs, dilated pupils and protruding eyes, jaw clamping and excessive salivation, arching or curving of the back, violent limb paddling, and involuntary wetting and defecation. This phase usually lasts for less than a minute, although it will appear like an eternity to anyone present.

Finally, the “post-ictal phase” (period after the fit) — the horse will often appear depressed and partially blind for hours, or even days.

All of this makes for a highly frightening scenario, but it should be stressed that a full-blown generalised fit in an adult horse or pony is very rare. Neither should fits be confused with any of the following:

occasional aberrant behaviour, such as extreme nappiness
an odd stereotypical pattern, such as a horse I once saw that twisted its head up in the air, hung its tongue out of the side of its mouth and drooled excessively whenever it was highly stressed
an extreme reaction to something in the environment, such as a fly bite or nettle stings, or to pain associated with conditions such as colic, tying up or even a fractured limb. The fact that the animal remains conscious and bright with these distinguishes them from true fits.
 
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Princess16 said:
I witnessed something similar with the horse on the adj field to mine. An older mare She was asleep but kinda running with her legs and twitching profusely. I called her name and she woke and proceeded to pull herself up no bother so I guess if all was completely well afterwards he might have just been having a horsey dream!

Wouldn't hurt to have a word with your vet though see what he thinks, especially if it happens again.

Eta see below it might help

What do fits look like?

The signs will vary depending on the area and extent of the brain involved. Partial fits can be very subtle. Often there is only a degree of facial and/or limb twitching, but there may be other signs, such as excessive chewing, compulsive pacing or self-mutilation, where the horse seems intent on biting or gnawing itself.

Generalised fits are easier to recognise and tend to occur in three phases. First of all the “aura” (period just prior to the fit itself) — the horse may appear anxious and unsettled.

Then comes “ictus” (the fit itself) — the horse will probably lie down and become unconscious or unaware of its surroundings; a series of symmetrical (“clonic”) muscle contraction and relaxation cycles may be followed by continuous, unrelenting (“tonic”) muscle contractions, making the horse appear stiff and rigid.

Other characteristics include deviation of the eyeballs, dilated pupils and protruding eyes, jaw clamping and excessive salivation, arching or curving of the back, violent limb paddling, and involuntary wetting and defecation. This phase usually lasts for less than a minute, although it will appear like an eternity to anyone present.

Finally, the “post-ictal phase” (period after the fit) — the horse will often appear depressed and partially blind for hours, or even days.

All of this makes for a highly frightening scenario, but it should be stressed that a full-blown generalised fit in an adult horse or pony is very rare. Neither should fits be confused with any of the following:

occasional aberrant behaviour, such as extreme nappiness
an odd stereotypical pattern, such as a horse I once saw that twisted its head up in the air, hung its tongue out of the side of its mouth and drooled excessively whenever it was highly stressed
an extreme reaction to something in the environment, such as a fly bite or nettle stings, or to pain associated with conditions such as colic, tying up or even a fractured limb. The fact that the animal remains conscious and bright with these distinguishes them from true fits.
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This is all very textbook but not much like the reality - please believe me! Vets repeat it over and over again largely because they will likely never witness a horse having a seizure in their entire career. They also repeat the mantra that seizures are very rare - they aren't! Repeat seizures are unusual and true epileptics like my mare are very unusual but in the say, 10 miles around the area where I kept my horse, I can tell you about 6 others and that's just the ones I found out about. One was even on the adjoining yard! Another on a yard less than half a mile away. It isn't until you start gathering data like I did that you start to see the bigger picture and the patterns and common denominators involved.
 
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