Horse has had seizures could it be due to low selenium/vit E

[Amicus]

Hi I wondered if anyone has any advice or experience in horses seizing.

The horse in question is an eight year old dales pony and his owner has seen him have two fits. During them he spins in a tight circle with his head looking back over his shoulder dragging one of his hind feet. This probably only lasts about a 30 seconds he then looks slightly dopey then returns to normal.

The vet has been twice and taken bloods showing he has low selenium and thinks this might be a cause but as far as I know this would cause muscle weakness but not fitting? Apart from this he appears to be in good health and shows no signs of a muscle weakness (quite the opposite)

Any advice very much appreciated thanks in advance

 

[flintfootfilly]

I've had to do a fair bit of reading up on selenium deficiency in the last year or so, as my gang of Dales ponies have all been showing varying degrees of work intolerance and so I was looking at the likelihood of an environmental cause of that, and selenium deficiency seems the most likely thing (given that forage analyses confirm they only get about 40% of recommended levels of selenium in their diet). However, their bloods showed "normal" levels of GSH-px (glutathione peroxidase, but the reference range was not worked out for horses so may or may not be appropriate.

Anyway, in all the stuff I've read, I've not come across any mention of fits as being a sign of selenium deficiency.

I've only come across mention of selenium deficiency causing the usual things of work intolerance, poor hair coat, early onset of problems normally associated with ageing, hypothyroidism, cardiomyopathy, myositis, white muscle disease (nutritional myopathy), growth retardation, cataract formation, retained placentas and eventual reproductive failure.

With my gang, all 5 ponies showed high CK (muscle enzyme) in the blood, and 2 of the ponies have shown significant reduction in CK over the months since supplementing with a good vit/min powder (upping their selenium intake), another two showed improvements until the latest blood, and the worst-affected pony has shown no significant improvement in the latest bloods.

Were the liver enzymes normal? Just thinking that liver damage can sometimes cause unusual/manic/aggressive behaviour? Or could it be associated with Cushing's and growth of a tumour pressing on the brain causing it? Those are total guesses, but I think I'd be looking somewhere other than selenium deficiency......... unless the vet can quote a particular reference for thinking that might account for it (and in which case I'd be really interested to know what the reference is).

I think I'd be asking the local vet to have a word with a specialist and see what ideas they came up with. Presumably the local vet must have had some reason to ask for selenium to be tested, as it's not generally included in a blood profile unless specifically asked for.

Sarah

 

[dalesslave]

this is exactly what my dales gelding used to do at it took him actually doing this infront of a vet for me to get them to believe me they blood tested him and his cu and iron levels were low he's been on a copper supplement ever since and has only had one "fit" since which co-insided with me running out.

 

[alfisocial]

Thankyou daleslave and flintfootfilly, liver was found to be fine, I asked for that test because we have ragwort liable land-I generally keep on top of it but I know there are rosettes- however they always have hay and I really didn't think he had been eating any.
The vet tested for selenium because he said this area is known to be selenium deficient which I didn't know-though my ponies have always or nearly always had a half rate of a good quality supplement. Regarding copper that makes me think that when the dales pony first came to live here the first spring he had copper coloured circles around his eyes(lack of pigment?)and for some reason (googling I suppose)I thought it might be copper deficiency -however at the time I just got a lick that included copper.
Do you know what minerals vets can test for- can they do a complete analysis for vitamins and minerals? How many blood tests did it take to find yours was iron and copper deficient?I think if this vet won't or won't regfer me to a specialist I'll ask if its ok if I get a 2nd opinion

The only other thing -do you by any chance have a video or photo of your dales having a seizure - it must have happened very often for your vet to see it?
I really need to find out if this horse can be cured because I don't feel I can ride him, stable him or transport him until I get to the bottom of what it is.
Did you think of the possibility of a worm migrating to the brain, or a neck/spinal injury?

 

[fatpiggy]

I would have your soil tested, and askt he vet for a full neurological work-up. Have you wormed the pony or given him sedatives before the seizures occurred? I'd avoid feeding any carrots/apples in the meantime too, unless they are organic. Your description of the seizures sounds pretty typical. Feel free to PM me if you like, I have over 15 years experience of managing an epileptic horse.

 

[Rhodrijohn]

I would love some thoughts and advice. Four weeks ago my vey injected into the carotid artery by mistake, the result was a horrific fit. Two days later a second fit took place, and my lovely pony bit through her lip whilst the fit took place. Has anyone had any experience a subsequent fits after the carotid is injected?

 

[Maytime Melody]

I've had to do a fair bit of reading up on selenium deficiency in the last year or so, as my gang of Dales ponies have all been showing varying degrees of work intolerance and so I was looking at the likelihood of an environmental cause of that, and selenium deficiency seems the most likely thing (given that forage analyses confirm they only get about 40% of recommended levels of selenium in their diet). However, their bloods showed "normal" levels of GSH-px (glutathione peroxidase, but the reference range was not worked out for horses so may or may not be appropriate.

Anyway, in all the stuff I've read, I've not come across any mention of fits as being a sign of selenium deficiency.

I've only come across mention of selenium deficiency causing the usual things of work intolerance, poor hair coat, early onset of problems normally associated with ageing, hypothyroidism, cardiomyopathy, myositis, white muscle disease (nutritional myopathy), growth retardation, cataract formation, retained placentas and eventual reproductive failure.

With my gang, all 5 ponies showed high CK (muscle enzyme) in the blood, and 2 of the ponies have shown significant reduction in CK over the months since supplementing with a good vit/min powder (upping their selenium intake), another two showed improvements until the latest blood, and the worst-affected pony has shown no significant improvement in the latest bloods.

Were the liver enzymes normal? Just thinking that liver damage can sometimes cause unusual/manic/aggressive behaviour? Or could it be associated with Cushing's and growth of a tumour pressing on the brain causing it? Those are total guesses, but I think I'd be looking somewhere other than selenium deficiency......... unless the vet can quote a particular reference for thinking that might account for it (and in which case I'd be really interested to know what the reference is).

I think I'd be asking the local vet to have a word with a specialist and see what ideas they came up with. Presumably the local vet must have had some reason to ask for selenium to be tested, as it's not generally included in a blood profile unless specifically asked for.

Sarah

Just wondering did you get to the bottom of this? My 17 year old dales has started doing the same?

 

[Glitter's fun]

Just wondering did you get to the bottom of this? My 17 year old dales has started doing the same?

Hi , Welcome to the forum.

Sorry you are having problems.
This is a very old thread & the person you replied to hasn't been around for a few years, so you might not get answers.

You could start a new thread. Tack Room gets the most traffic. It's the second one down the list, after introductions.