Narcolepsy

[cindars]

Not sure about the spelling! Does anyone have any knowledge of this - a friends horse has been diagnosed with this and I wondered if anyone on here had personal experience. I know there was an article on it in one of the horse mags but can't remember which one.

 

[stranger1612]

An usual breed related (genetic) condition. Most horses diagnosed with narcolepsy probably have sleep deprivation, which has a similar presentation.

 

[lindsayH]

I have only met one horse with the condition, which I helped xray. It was tricky as it kept almost falling on us and we had to work quite hard to keep it awake. If I remember rightly it had knee trouble as it would fall onto them a lot.

 

[TinselRider]

I do believe Tim stockdales horse cloudy night had narcolepsy, she was put on medication but had to have grills etc fitted to her stable as she would still fall asleep.

 

[cindars]

Breed is Arab gelding don't know if they are more prone to this than any other breed. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[BeckyX]

i read an article on this a couple of years ago... the pony was put down as it was dangerous for the horse and people around it...could have fallen asleep at any time so could cause injury to itself and people
i am afraid this is all i now of it in horses, i guess it depends how sever it is ..

 

[Tangaroo]

I have a horse with narcolepsy. He is a hannoverian x tb who is 13yrs old. I think his is partly due to sleep deprivation as he never lies down, so never goes into a deep sleep. (He is able to lie down cos he is the first to roll in the field and the stable!)
I first noticed him falling over about 3 years ago (I have had him 4 and a half yrs) The first thing the vet did was check his heart cos he said that could be a reason for it.
His heart is fine and he events at pre novice level and does elementary dressage.
I just have to manage him carefully. he has rubber mats and a very deep bed in his stable and when turned out at night in summer he wears turnout boots because when he falls over he buckles onto the front of his fetlocks and ends up making holes in them He also sometimes ends up with scrapes between his front legs.
In the summer he always comes in for a few hours in the morning so he has the chance to rest without hurting himself and if im eventing i keep him in the night before cos i dont want him falling asleep on the lorry.
I think it can get worse as they get older but i will wait and see.
Its just a case of being aware and managing it.
My vet said he wont ever go down while im on him because the adrenalin of being ridden keeps him alert.

 

[Abbeygale]

I had some dealings with a horse with mild narcolepsy a few years ago - I seem to think that he would only fall asleep if he was tied up for any length of time - and then if he was left he would end up headbutting the wall, because he was tied up. He would also start to fall asleep when he was being tacked up, and if you stood around sat on him for any length of time. He was fine when he was being ridden and had something to concentrate on - but as I said he did just have it mildly.

This horse was quite a nice warmblood, and he had been competing, but the narcolepsy had pretty much stopped him competing, as he would fall asleep when under stress at shows.

 

[dany]

My horse developed it after going onto Pergalide (sp?) thankfully it became less frequent when the dosage was lowered and the months got cooler.