Px variant horses

[scats]

I know that the PSSM2 strand test isn’t proven, but I’m curious if anyone else has a horse with the px variant and what symptoms they show?

As has been my life for the last 7 years, I am trying to help Polly, who is the sweetest but oddest horse I have met in my 40 years. No ambitions to ride her again, just to help her when she gets stuck in her own brain. It’s like looking after Rain Man.

 

[I'm Dun]

I'd ask on the PSSM facebook groups as there are people on there who have been managing it for a while. I think BBP is PX but could be wrong. It very definitely makes them odd!

 

[ycbm]

I had a PSSM 2 gelding, diagnosed on symptoms. He had an odd way of "zoning out" and could jump with shock when you brought his attention back to you, different from any other horse I have owned.
.

 

[scats]

Polly has what I can only describe as a tic. When her odd switch goes, she does this thing like shes going to yawn but sort of twists her jaw and she repeats this over and over. I had her checked because i thought it was a form of TMJ but vets didn’t think it was. She combines his with a strange ‘spaced out’ look in her eye and incessant box walking.
She had a change if routine the other day (for one day) as they had to stay in til lunchtime and it seems to have triggered her switch because shes been a pain every morning since. It will take her a good week to reset and go back to normal.

 

[SEL]

I had a PSSM 2 gelding, diagnosed on symptoms. He had an odd way of "zoning out" and could jump with shock when you brought his attention back to you, different from any other horse I have owned.
.

My P1 mare does just that. One of the reasons I stopped riding her - having a horse freeze in a road, staring at the sky and then jump like she's been stung wasn't fun.

BBP is diagnosed RER on muscle biopsy. I was hoping the genetic tests would properly link PX to RER but still waiting for that research paper. Most owners report their horses can be quite explosive but need to be allowed to run off the energy. Trying to contain them gets them twitchy. Rebecca Duke who runs one of the FB forums has her black cob diagnosed P1 & px - she's lovely and very helpful.

 

[Rowreach]

Rebecca disabled her page over the weekend but has reinstated it, more as a resource than anything I think, due to the sh1t she's had to put up with from certain quarters. But it is a really useful page and there are a lot of very knowledgeable people on there.