Possible neurological problem?

Cuffey

Cuffey

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Friend has a 12yo native pony she has owned for 11yrs
Not a valuable pony but part of the family.
She maybe does a little local showing a little unaffiliated dressage general hacking, perhaps occasional day hunting

Mid summer she got him ready for a show the following day and he took a funny turn in the stable, like a short fit, then held his head to one side.
Vet called but by the time he came pony was back to normal and vet (equine and locally well respected) could find nothing wrong.
He has had more very short episodes and vet can still find nothing wrong.

Her OH (very horsy) thinks it is in his neck possibly trapped nerve, she thinks maybe a neuro problem.

Pony has had chiro--thought poll was out, manipulated, seemed better for short time
Then McTimoney, again slight improvement but pony still having odd episodes

They are concerned if he as a bad one when stabled he could really hurt himself, but normally kept out

Any bright ideas--pony not insured and funds adequate but not huge.
 
Cuffey said:
Friend has a 12yo native pony she has owned for 11yrs
Not a valuable pony but part of the family.
She maybe does a little local showing a little unaffiliated dressage general hacking, perhaps occasional day hunting

Mid summer she got him ready for a show the following day and he took a funny turn in the stable, like a short fit, then held his head to one side.
Vet called but by the time he came pony was back to normal and vet (equine and locally well respected) could find nothing wrong.
He has had more very short episodes and vet can still find nothing wrong.

Her OH (very horsy) thinks it is in his neck possibly trapped nerve, she thinks maybe a neuro problem.

Pony has had chiro--thought poll was out, manipulated, seemed better for short time
Then McTimoney, again slight improvement but pony still having odd episodes

They are concerned if he as a bad one when stabled he could really hurt himself, but normally kept out

Any bright ideas--pony not insured and funds adequate but not huge.
Click to expand...

Do some nuero tests on it to see if it has a neuro deficiency. http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AnimalSciences/pubs/asc133.pdf If you look under diagnosis on this link it will tell you how to conduct some simple neuro tests, - make sure you are on a soft surface and both you and your helper are wearing hats.
 
I've heard of this before - sounds exactly like equine epilepsy. NZ rider Mark Todds horse NZB Gandalf had this too; random fits then complelty normal in between them. Unfortunatly I don't think there's a treatment for it. Not safe to ride them and to be honest as it gets worse they are a danger to themselves because when they have the fits they fall over or smack themselves (Gandalf ended up going blind in one eye from a bad knock to the head during a fit) :(

On a brighter note - could just as easily be a bad case of grass staggers, espeically with the change of seasons. Has the pony been out at grass?
 
Cuffey, I'll PM you in a bit as this is my pet subject!

Cands, my mare has been "treated" for epilepsy since 1998! It is control, not cure. The reason vets don't recommend treatment is partly because of the level of committment it involves, and mainly because of the cost. My old girl costs over £400 a month, every month just to keep her seizures at bay. However, even though she is now fully retired (due to arthritis) I rode and competed at riding club level with her with just about 2 months off when she first started on the drugs because, being barbiturates, they had a heavy sedative effect until her body got used to them. She is now 28 and has managed to lead a completely normal life and in fact has outlived many perfectly "healthy" horses. The trouble is I would never say that this is the normal outcome as unfortunately I don't have anyone to compare her with!
 
Cands she feels the pony is safer at grass
If he has a 'bigger incident'' he is more likely to hurt himself in a stable
I dont think he has actually fallen over--at least no one has seen him.

The first 'incident' she noticed was July, vet called and could find nothing wrong.
 
PM safely received, thanks Cuffey. I agree that a field is a safer environment in many respects - my mare bears the scars of having a fit and falling headfirst against the doorframe of her stable many years ago. The trouble with being out of doors is what if the horse falls through the fence (they are clever enough to look for something to lean on) - potentially you could then have the animal loose on the road, or falls head down into deep mud or a water source? I was lucky - I learned what the trigger was and knew exactly which day it would happen so could take precautions. Owners are really in a "rock and a hard place" situation and its horrible.
 
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