Neurological disorders in ponies??

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Shellyjess

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Can anyone help please?? Recently my pony was referred to the equine hospital in Liverpool as he had begun to display signs of difficulty when urinating. He was scanned for stones and had a camera to see if there were any other abnormalities. All blood tests, urine samples and other diagnostic tests as mentioned showed no signs of abnormality. However whilst being observed by the vets at leahurst they advised that he was showing signs of a neurological disorder. Since his discharge (on bute and box rest) I have kept in touch by phone with the vets at the equine hospital and in view of his continued decline they have advised that he should be re-admitted. Has anyone else had a horse be given a similar diagnosis?? What was the outcome? My pony's main symptoms are difficulty urinating and an inability to stand in one position, such as posturing and constant shifting weight on hind legs 😞
 
Not the same symptoms as yours but ive just lost my pony last week to neurological issues caused by a fractured skull following a rotational fall.
 
My pony has Wobblers (he struggles to feel where he's putting his feet) although in his case it is caused by arthritis in his spine compressing his spinal chord. He was like a drunk on a rope, and would often put a foot down then jerk as if it were in the wrong place.

He barely shows any sign at all now unless he's had restricted movement and you know what you're looking for.
 
We had to pts an elderly cob who developed ataxia which deteriorated rapidly within 6 weeks - every-one, including vet and farrier thought abscess at first. Unfortunately the prognosis for neurological problems in horses is rarely good.
 
So sorry to hear of your pony's illness.

I lost my horse last August to a neurological disorder called Polyneuritis Equi. My boy had rear end issues with his bladder, bowel, tail and ultimately his hind legs. Feel free to PM me if the vets think your pony has the same illness.
 
I went to Leahurst with a friends pony,that was having trouble urinating to put the camera in the bladder the pony had to be sedated so the penis dropped,it was thought he had managed to pass bladder stones himself as he was quite red and sore inside not long after he was back to urinating normally.
I read some where about a horse that had a massive bean high up in side the sheath so not the normal place ,may be some thing like that would cause the problem your pony has it would be so uncomfortable ,and could the vets have checked that if he was sedated and his penis was dropped?
 
We lost my gelding in May 2012 to what is believed to be a neurological issue. He displayed colic type symptoms...then over the space of a week he gradually became more and more unstable...imagine a drunk horse....then one day he ws down in the field and that was that.

We didnt have the cause confirmed, but the vet said that staggering (she did the blindfold test) was a sign of a lesion pressing on the spinal column, most likely between head and shoulder.

You can see his exagerated hing movement and unsteadyness - also the muscle wastage on the back end. It came on very quickly...

View My Video
 
Thanks cobbytype I have changed my settings so you can PM me now hopefully. Thank you everyone else for sharing your experiences with me. Looks like I am going to have a very poorly pony ��
 
I lost my Tb in 2013 to a neuro disease of some kind.
We had poor appetite, choke and all loss of coordination and senses. It was horrific in such a small window of time.
There was only one decision for his prognosis unfortunately. It was not treatable.

I'm very sorry to hear about your pony. Fingers crossed for a better outcome.
 
I also lost one a few years ago to polyneuritis equi.

The first we knew about it was that she showed blood in her urine - turned out that was because she could no longer fully empty her bladder, so it became sore internally and hence blood in the urine. On being admitted to vet hospital for internal scan, they checked her all over, and found she had mild neurological signs in her hindquarters. I think it was about 6 weeks from that first sign, to us having her PTS. She deteriorated relatively quickly, and by the day that I had her PTS, she was swaying on her hind end just standing in the field. Unfortunately, our fields up a hill - coming down the hill the last day, she fell as she couldn't control her hind end, and nearly took my OH out. Getting her to the vets for that full work up review was hard - getting her unloaded was hard. In both cases due to her hind end control. It was doubly gutting (she was only 12) as she was find from the loins forwards - it was just from that point back things weren't working.
 
Sorry Shellyjess, but I still can't PM you.

It's a bit long winded, but here goes:

I'm not sure where to start, as there's such a lot that's unknown about PE. I can only tell you about what happened to Jasper and what helped him.

My horse was diagnosed in 2010 and he lived a further 4 years before the disease came back with a vengeance.

It all started when he seemed a bit quiet... not quite himself, but nothing I could put my finger on. Then he went down with colic one morning after he'd had his breakfast. Called the vet and mentioned that he'd been quieter than usual and not moving his tail much. Vet did a rectal examination and found no anal tone and my horse was impacted. It was suggested that Jasper had Cauda Equina Syndrome (old term for PE). Vet cleared off without giving me any advice!

Two vets later and the prognosis was dire - PE and 2 weeks or so to live. I scoured the net and tried to get as much info as possible, but it's a bit of a mystery illness. The initial problem Jasper had was with passing droppings - he kept getting colic because he was impacted. I bought long nitrile gloves and obstetric gel and set about raking him out every 3 hours (but not overnight - I raked himm out 11.30pm and he settled overnight until 7.30am the following morning). I gradually changed his diet over the coming days and fed him Spillers High Fibre Cubes, soaked in tepid water to make a soft mash, with sunflower oil added. Vit. E is good for neurological disorders, so I bought some capsules from Holland and Barrett and also some selenium (but you can buy them in equine supplement - Gold label and one or two other suppliers do them in powder form). 2000 iu a day Vit E (vets might suggest more?)

Jasper got worse before he got better. His bladder gave up the ghost and he was completely incontinent for 6 months. His tail stopped moving and was limp. He didn't pass droppings by himself about 5 months.

About 2 weeks after I started raking him out, Jasper was brighter in himself, but his bladder, bowel and tail were paralysed.

To try and manage PE, you need to feed everything with added moisture to help the bowel and bladder. I swapped hay for haylage and hard feed for mashes (with the oil added for energy and to help keep those droppings moist). I picked dandelions and stinging nettles and fed them daily to help with nutrition (but let the nettles wilt for a few hours, they're brim full of vitamins and minerals).

Jasper had a few courses of antibiotics for bladder infections - you can buy urine sticks and test your pony's urine yourself. It's the blood, protein and leaukocytes that raise if there's infection in the urine.

You'll need something for urine scald for your pony's 'bits' and legs. You can use vaseline - it's messy but does the trick. Warm salt water can be used to wash down. I used a nappy cream called something like 'Metonium' on sore bits of urine scald - it was very good.

No riding or harsh exercise, but a gentle walk out or turn out (if it's safe to do so) helps keep things moving along.

I let my boy 'tell' me what he wanted to do. He camped out in my back garden (it's where his stable is) for 2 weeks before he felt well enough to go to the paddock. The neighbours were thrilled!

Gradually Jasper's health improved, but his tail remained paralysed. He had bouts of sciatica about once every 6 months and occasional bladder infections (PE left him with a weak bladder), but he resumed a fairly normal, but retired, happy life for 4 years. The PE came back with a vengeance last year and went into his back legs. Sadly I lost him last August.

So, although there was no miracle for Jasper, he did another 4 years and was happy and mostly well during that time. It appears that some horses do recover fully, some go downhill quickly and then there are the ones in the middle like Jasper.

Don't let the vets push you around. Ask them what treatment they plan for your pony. As far as I'm aware, there's no specific curative treatment for PE, unless there's something new I've not heard about. A similar disorder to PE is the neurological form for EHV-1, but there’s no accurate test for it, as many/the majority of horses carry the virus without symptoms.

It seems as though sometimes the onset of PE is quick and progressive, sometimes it's more insidious.

Oh and I used an equine physiotherapist a few times - her name is Janet Ellis, she's in North Yorks, but does travel around a little. She visited Jasper on the Friday and by the Monday he’d regained bladder control.

Hope this helps. If you need to ask anything, don’t hesitate.
All the best.
 
EmmasMummy said:
We lost my gelding in May 2012 to what is believed to be a neurological issue. He displayed colic type symptoms...then over the space of a week he gradually became more and more unstable...imagine a drunk horse....then one day he ws down in the field and that was that.

We didnt have the cause confirmed, but the vet said that staggering (she did the blindfold test) was a sign of a lesion pressing on the spinal column, most likely between head and shoulder.

You can see his exagerated hing movement and unsteadyness - also the muscle wastage on the back end. It came on very quickly...

View My Video
Click to expand...

I had the same thing with my beloved old boy.

Another test was resting one hind leg hoof on top of the other, my boy would stand like that for an age!

You could also trot him up and pull his tail (quarters) on to a totally different line from his front end

I immediately stopped riding once the diagnosis had been given (prior to this he had been open hunter trialling and team chasing regularly) and after 18 months to two years out in the field he was PTS

Fingers crossed for a good diagnosis for you OP
 
Aleka81 said:
I had the same thing with my beloved old boy.

Another test was resting one hind leg hoof on top of the other, my boy would stand like that for an age!

You could also trot him up and pull his tail (quarters) on to a totally different line from his front end

I immediately stopped riding once the diagnosis had been given (prior to this he had been open hunter trialling and team chasing regularly) and after 18 months to two years out in the field he was PTS

Fingers crossed for a good diagnosis for you OP
Click to expand...

Yeah, that was the test she did when he was blindfolded...Down hill as well and he hadnt a clue. It was literally the Thursday after that was taken on the weekend that he was down...it took in total...less than 10 days from first symptom onset to paralysis :(
 
Thank you so much for your reply cobbytype. I appreciate the time you have taken to give me your story and share your experience and advice. I had tears in my eyes reading it. My pony is going back to leahurst for observation and diagnosis. I will post the outcome and may be asking for further advice at that time.
 
Shellyjess said:
Thank you so much for your reply cobbytype. I appreciate the time you have taken to give me your story and share your experience and advice. I had tears in my eyes reading it. My pony is going back to leahurst for observation and diagnosis. I will post the outcome and may be asking for further advice at that time.
Click to expand...

No Problem, if my experience can help another horse, that would be just wonderful.

There are so many possibilities as to what the problem could be with your boy - all neurological disorders of the spine/cauda equina exhibit similar symptoms, so you never know, it might be something treatable like an infection/virus or an abscess on the spine.

Don't give up on him until YOU feel it's right to do so. In 2010 I was led to believe by 2 vets that my boy's rear end would be completely paralysed within a couple of weeks, but he did improve after some months of tlc and good nutrition, and luckily his gait wasn't affected much for 4 years. He looked well and normal and I know other horsey friends thought he'd made a full recovery and couldn't work out why I didn't ride him, but the short bouts of sciatica frightened me and I suspected Jasper had an interlude from PE, rather than a cure.

I'm not really sure what 'worked' for those 4 years. The mashes, the vitamins and the general tlc all helped I think. The raking out saved his life and it's not so bad once you get used to doing it.

The vets could offer nothing apart from Bute/Danilon and antibiotics for the bladder infections, so I had to turn to nature. Dandelions are good for the 'waterworks' and the stinging nettles have around 60 vitamins and trace minerals in them, so I tossed an armful in his stable for him to pick at as and when he felt like it.

PE is an auto immune disease, so I figured that if I put good food in one end, took it out the other, washed and 'lotioned' my boy and generally kept him well, Mother Nature might help out with the 'middle bit', and she did, for a while.

All the very best and do let me know how things go.
 
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