Is Equine Grass Sickness Linked With Laminitus!

Eventer96

Eventer96

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We had to have our little pony PTS a few weeks ago. He went out on load as we didnt have a rider for him, he went out on loan to somebody we knew, after a few weeks we had to save him because he had laminitus, they hadnt noticed and it had gone un-noticed for a good week. We nursed him back to health and kept a close eye on him! A few months down the line and he is rushed to th Bell Equine Clinic with suspected colic. He had a number of tests and they couldn't find out what was wrong,, they then opperated and decided it was Equine Grass Sickness, we then bought him home to try and nurse him back to health. It was going well until one friday morning, he had developed pneumonia, we then made the decision to have him PTS.


I was just wondering if there was anything linking equine grass sickness and laminitus, he was on the same grass for 9 years and none of the other horses had got it so I was just thinking???




R.I.P Wonky xxxx run free angel xx
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Not as far as i know. Grass sickness is a disease of the nervous system, which leads to paralysis of the gut and laminitis is a disease that results in the tissues of the foot dying because of disrupted blood flow. However laminitis can be caused by toxins and it is thought that a toxin may be responsible for grass sickness. They involve different parts of the body and physiology though.
Sorry for your loss
 
So sorry to read about your pony. I lost a horse to equine grass sickness in 2002. He was 12 years old and had had laminitis once, 3 years previously. Years later, I was talking to the Secretary of the Equine Grass Sickness Fund (who are brilliant and very supportive) and she said that they are beginning to suspect there may be a link between EGS and laminitis. However, many equines with laminitis never get EGS and EGS kills equines who have previously been 100% healthy...it is an enigma.
 
It's been 7 years since my horse got EGS and I'm still trying to figure out why and how. There has never been another case at the premises involved. (thank heaven.) The Equine Grass Sickness Fund are very good and can give tips on helpful preventative measures if you have other equines...such as feeding something other than grass every day, minimising soil disturbance in your field, etc. etc.
 
The thing is is that the pony we lost was on the same grass all of his life,, it had never affected him then.. so why now?? and why havent one of the others got it??
 
They suggest that stressed horses may be more susceptable to grass sickness. Your pony was likely to be mildy stressed with laminitis so perhaps an indirect link. Unfortunatley there are so many unknowns still with grass sickness.
Sorry for your loss.
 
Believe me, I know just how you feel. It is upsetting and so frustrating that no-one seems to have a definite answer to our questions. My horse had been kept on the yard where he died for several years, then we had had to move off when the yard had owners who wanted to make it into a farm park, then we moved back when they moved on. So he'd been on that grass before. None of the other horses there were affected. Maybe some horses are not susceptible to the toxin involved. Maybe another illness sometimes renders them more susceptible to it. Do you think them moving away and then back may have something to do with it? I think it must be a combination of factors, which is why it's still a mystery killer after more than a century.
 
As far as I know, there is no connection at all. Although it is interesting as my mare got stress laminitis some time before sge dot EGS.
 
EGS is (as others have said) a neurological disease, but it is a bit idiopathic (the veterinary way of saying, no idea what causes it). Its thought to be due to a change in grass, change in location, and change in season as well...... but these are obv dependent upon the individual.

I don't think it has a relation to laminitis, however, it can result in them standing in a similar posture to severe lami.... so maybe you picked it up, just not by what you thought?!

Im sorry if this is no help, and I am very sorry for your loss!
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