How many horses have to die before something is done?!?

Kokopelli

Kokopelli

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3 years ago (roughly) a horse died in a field at the time of unknown circumstances until PM where it was clear horse had EAM. We were not told that it was EAM which killed the horse and the field was safe for equines which is why we put our horses in it. This resulted in another death, my 6yo appy of the same condition.

After the first death YO was told equines shouldn't be grazed there so our horse shouldn't have been put in there at all, at the time of Koko's death I was too busy blaming myself to realise that the fault partly is because of YO. After my horses death all other equines on the land were removed and we were told by YO that horses were not to be grazed out there again.

So I have found out now that there are 2 horses in the field, one young so susceptible to the condition and as Autumn is coming around I genuinely worry for the horses well being.

Owners know about history of field and don't care said we were wrong about what killed our horse and it was actually yew tree poisoning, our vet said that is a ridiculous statement. Charity organisations don't give a damn and DEFRA has said there is nothing they can do.

Is there anyway I can save these horses? YO and owners honestly don;t care about the welfare of the horses and I am beside myself as to see a horse die the way Koko did would be awful as it's a very painful death.

Any ideas much welcomed as I'm running out of patience and want to see these horses safe.
 
Equine Atypical Myopathy- also called Atypical Myglobinuria. It's a disease caused by, what vets believe, toxins in the pasture. The most likely one being Clostridium sordellii.
 
That is disgraceful and must be awful for you to have to watch those poor horses. If redwings can't help could you try shock tactics? Maybe get some information, some pictures (awful I know but pics work better ) a copy of your horses post mortem and maybe write a letter if u feel up to it of how awful your boys death was. Put it all in an envelope and leave somewhere for the owners of these horses. I think they would start to worry if u put in all that effort and be intrigued enough to read it.

Really feel for u it must bring back awful memories xx
 
Have joined your group, good idea to raise awareness.

Why not try writing letters to various horse/veterinary magazines/newsletters? Firstly Explaining your horrid situation and secondly asking if they would perhaps put some factual articles in their publications? All the equine ones have a 'letters' page, so your letter might get posted on there, and hopefully they might do an article on it too.

Also, why not look up universities/labs that study EAM and write to them too, explaining the lack of awareness and see what they suggest?

Good luck with raising awareness, pretty disappointed in the welfare organisations (as per usual to be honest), but as it is a fairly rare condition and undiagnosed a lot of the time, I imagine, I guess it wouldn't be their main port of call.
 
Have tried a letter to owners they didn't seem bothered. I have also tried speaking to their vets but they can't disclose information because of confidentiality agreements.

I have some dreadful before and after (6 hour gap) pictures in the first he looks very healthy and in the second his legs are buckling, sweaty, bad coat, huge loss of weight and he just looked dead in the eye.

Thanks for joining group I'm trying to get as many people as possible to join and maybe it will eventually get passed onto the owners.
 
Not much to suggest really but how about seeing if your vet would write to them.

I also joined your group the other day
 
Hi their hun, i have followed all your posts since you had Koko an now that you have Andi, I think you are very brave and good on you for trying to inform the owners of what happened to koko in that field. It must be absolutely gutting to see these horses grazing that field, i know if someone told me this my horse would be out of that fiel very rapidly. I have just joined your group, very best of luck..x
 
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