Horse having a fit

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abbieandfiona

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My mare had a fit last night lasted 2 mins. Never had a fit before however she freaked out on wend so had to move her yards. Her behaviour has changed to the mare i brought 2 years ago. She has been on and off ill for a while now never enough to consider PTS before. My fear is what if she has another fit when im riding her or around her? Has anyone had similar experiences or ideas?

Conditions she has had or has include ulcers, spavins, anemia, liver disease, splint damage, and lots of small virus's. I keep thinking cushions disease? However vet thinks not so up to me if we test for it.
 
Probably best not to ride until you can find out what is going on, doesnt bear thinking about what could happen to you or her if she had a fit at speed with you on board. If she was mine I would be getting her tested for every possible cause.
Fingers cross you get her better soon.
 
Thanks im not going to be riding her until this is all sorted out.
Dont really know what to ask them to test she had bloods done on monday to see how her liver and anemia are doing. Havent had results back yet.

Vet said to leave things for now but have a fear in my head its going to happen again. Only thing i can think of is cushions disease at mo? So if anyone has any other ideas on what i can get vets to test for please let me know. She is fully insured as well.
 
May sound a funny question but has she had any vacinations lately? Only I remember many years ago a horse I was looking after having a reaction to his booster jabs, not really a proper fit but his eyes rolled and was unsteady on his feet, the vets said not to vacinate him again, and as far as I know he didnt ever fit again.
 
No she had them back in Oct last year. She hasnt had any meds or anything other than gastrogard and thats all in past two months. Before that she had tildren and cartophen injections. First thing vet asked on phone was what meds is she on etc so guess he was thinking same lines as you.
 
Hun, just for you to know but liver damage can cause neurological symptoms as you describe. If over 70% of the liver is damaged, the remaining liver is often not enough to function properly. So toxins build up in the horse's blood and can cause a whole host of other symptoms. Other symptoms include loss of appetite, weight loss, lethargy, depression, severe photosensitivity in strong sunlight and jaundice. Do your mare's gums look vaguely yellowish? The whites of her eyes? Has she lost weight recently? Still eating normally? If she cuts herself, does her blood clot the same? How old is she now and when you got her? Any chance she could have eaten ragwort years ago? I'd be tempted to start her on Milk Thistle (D&H do a high quality one) and Yea Sac (which aids hind gut digestions which is often compromised in horses with liver damage) while your vets finish their tests. Fingers crossed x
 
Hi thanks

Shes 9 years old ive owned her for 2 years now and she has been passed around a lot. Speaking to person who used to own before she was passed around her she was healthy. Weight wise for a highland she is underweight however that is because i have had to keep her weight down. She is still eating normally. However when she bleeds which is not that often theres a lot of it. Her gums are very pale.

They suggested she had been given steriods in the past for the liver damage no one really knows what has gone on with her.

Forgot to say that she has just had boderline lami as well.
 
You really must not risk riding her until this can be sorted out. Fits can happen for all sorts of reasons including metabolic inbalance - which could result from things such as liver or kidney prblems - brain tumours etc. Sometimes no reason can be found and then it is idiopathic epilepsy.

Unless the specialists can find and sort the issue then I think the only option is having the horse pts. The risk of riding her when she fits is just too great, you would be putting your own life in danger.
 
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