Horse had possible seizure?

[holandmac]

On Friday, I brought my horse in from the field as normal and when I tied him up I noticed his neck stretched out (as if he was spooking at something..) he was almost dancing on the spot and his back end was kind of buckling. I quickly got him into his stable where we stood with his back end propped against the corner, he was wobbling, very unsteady on his feet, felt quite clammy and looked distressed.

spoke to the vet and he had pretty much returned to normal by the time she arrived, so she told us to keep an eye on him.

He had something similar happen last August, but the August attack seemed more severe as he physically collapsed 4 times out of nowhere, his unsteadiness was worse and lasted longer. I used a different vet in August, and he noticed my horse had no feeling from the hock downwards in one of his hind legs. In between August to Friday he had been absolutely fine, little stiff at times but he is 20, mostly on the 'numb' leg.

He has cushing's which is treated with Prascend and is very well managed. He is 20 this time and has no other health complications. I am just wondering if anyone else has heard of or experienced anything like this before?! The vet is unsure of what it is, mentioned it could possibly be due to his cushing's and his pituitary gland could be enlarged and causing a compression but we wouldn't know without a brainscan (which she hasn't told me to have).

I have no idea if there is anything I can do to help him or even what it is to treat him? Vet seems kind of stumped too and just recommended reducing his salt intake?

Thanks in advance, a very worried owner!

 

[Goldenstar]

Do you see him lying down ?

 

[holandmac]

Do you see him lying down ?

I have seen him led down a handful of times, every now and then, but not very often

 

[Goldenstar]

A handful of times in how long ?
I ask because sleep deprivation is an issue in old horses who stop lying down to sleep it can cause a form of narcolepsy.
That could be what you are seeing .
Can you bring him in to a large stable with lots of nice bedding and see if he lies down ?
If he’s struggling to lie usually actually it’s struggling to get up which is usually the issue regular pain relief may help a lot .
My experience has been that older horses seem to sleep more in a big comfy stable .
my oldie has a deep bed on sealed mats and hes down and out for the count everyday ( I stable him during the day at this time of year ).

 

[holandmac]

A handful of times in how long ?
I ask because sleep deprivation is an issue in old horses who stop lying down to sleep it can cause a form of narcolepsy.
That could be what you are seeing .
Can you bring him in to a large stable with lots of nice bedding and see if he lies down ?
If he’s struggling to lie usually actually it’s struggling to get up which is usually the issue regular pain relief may help a lot .
My experience has been that older horses seem to sleep more in a big comfy stable .
my oldie has a deep bed on sealed mats and hes down and out for the count everyday ( I stable him during the day at this time of year ).

I have had him for almost 2 and a half years now. He is stabled every night (we don't have 24/7 turnout where I am) and I love a big fluffy straw bed, so he has a really good bed and his stable is roomy enough for him to lie down (he loves having a roll in there after his beds been done nicely!!) he goes down to roll and manages to get himself up just fine, so I (hopefully) presume he would be okay lieing down? Thank you for your response by the way, I have been going out of my mind!

 

[vmac66]

Not able to help you with a diagnosis, but my mare experienced something very similar a couple of years ago. Her was immediately after a, dental visit. She was completely out of it, couldn't stand up without leaning on the stable wall for support. The vet said she was acting like she'd had a large dose of ketamine. She had another episode 3 months later. Vet had no idea, what had caused it. Hope you find a reason for it with your horse. Its very worrying not knowing.

 

[Shay]

My cushings lad had seizures in the last few weeks. The tumour which causes cushings can press on the brain stem. Obviously (I hope!) - don't ride him. Its dangerous at this point. If others handle him make sure they know the risk in case he goes down without warning and hurts someone. But when I was researching it the seizures can go on for some time before it becomes critical. I lost my lad to colic about 4 weeks after the seizures strated - but he had long standing gut problems dating way back from before his cushings was controlled.

 

[holandmac]

Not able to help you with a diagnosis, but my mare experienced something very similar a couple of years ago. Her was immediately after a, dental visit. She was completely out of it, couldn't stand up without leaning on the stable wall for support. The vet said she was acting like she'd had a large dose of ketamine. She had another episode 3 months later. Vet had no idea, what had caused it. Hope you find a reason for it with your horse. Its very worrying not knowing.

not knowing is horrible, what happened to your mare sounds quite similar to my lad. very wobbly and looks drunk! sometimes his eyes flicker wildly too. its horrible to see. I hope that your girl is okay after it all. fill us with worry dont they!

My cushings lad had seizures in the last few weeks. The tumour which causes cushings can press on the brain stem. Obviously (I hope!) - don't ride him. Its dangerous at this point. If others handle him make sure they know the risk in case he goes down without warning and hurts someone. But when I was researching it the seizures can go on for some time before it becomes critical. I lost my lad to colic about 4 weeks after the seizures strated - but he had long standing gut problems dating way back from before his cushings was controlled.

I'm sorry to hear about your boy . We thought it may be due to his cushings and pressure, vet hasn't recommended a brain scan or meds at this point due to how infrequent they are.. oh no, definitely no rides for him, he is most certainly retired now and shall live his days pampered and relaxing! Yes, only me/my mum and one other lady will be handling him and I've notified her and made sure shes comfortable to do so. Just feel like I want to wrap him up in cotton wool and not let him out of my sight!

 

[southerncomfort]

Hi,

I don't have experience of partial seizures but my old girl started having full blown seizures.

She would slowly lie down on her side and close her eyes and then she would start violently paddling with her legs and have tremors all over. It was incredibly distressing to witness.

I managed to video one of her episodes which was reviewed by senior vets at my vet practice who all agreed that it was definitely a seizure. I had a few tests done, including liver function as liver problems can be a cause of seizures, but they all came back clear and I was advised that at her age the most likely cause was a brain tumour.

I would definitely try and get a video if you can as that will really help your vets determine if its a seizure or sleep deprivation/narcolepsy. Also ask your vet to run full bloods, particularly checking liver function, which should at least help rule some things out.

Really hope you get to the bottom of whats happening with your horse. I still have the video of my girl's seizure if you would find it helpful or their are a few videos on YouTube.

 

[holandmac]

Hi,

I don't have experience of partial seizures but my old girl started having full blown seizures.

She would slowly lie down on her side and close her eyes and then she would start violently paddling with her legs and have tremors all over. It was incredibly distressing to witness.

I managed to video one of her episodes which was reviewed by senior vets at my vet practice who all agreed that it was definitely a seizure. I had a few tests done, including liver function as liver problems can be a cause of seizures, but they all came back clear and I was advised that at her age the most likely cause was a brain tumour.

I would definitely try and get a video if you can as that will really help your vets determine if its a seizure or sleep deprivation/narcolepsy. Also ask your vet to run full bloods, particularly checking liver function, which should at least help rule some things out.

Really hope you get to the bottom of whats happening with your horse. I still have the video of my girl's seizure if you would find it helpful or their are a few videos on YouTube.

Oh I'm sorry, that sounds awful for both you and your girl , my lad has collapsed and fallen but jumped straight back up and ended up falling again a few times (in his turn last August) but weirdly no falls this time. Yes I definitely should video if/when the next happens to give the vet a clearer picture. I am going to get some bloods done for his Cushings levels anyway so I will definitely ask the vet to do a full count, thank you for your reply.