stumped - odd symptoms (also in NL)

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ThePony

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Hi guys,

(also posted in NL incase anyone hangs out there who doesn't venture in here)

Totally stumped with the symptoms both our mares developed today so was wanting to see if anyone has come across anything similar.

Both are on same food/hay/water/grazing. When I look my mare's lightweight rug off this morning to ride she started stomping as if they had a fly around their back legs that wasn't budging (I checked and nothing there), then swinging to bite her back end. With my mare I wondered if she had an itchy tail (she has sweetitch well managed by wearing her sweetitch hoody 24/7) as she can act in a similar way - so I put her in her stable so she could rub her itchy bits. She was very worked up in her stable and kept rushing around and throwing herself down to roll. Because of the rolling I was worried about colic so went to try and lead her out. She started rearing and bucking inhand (utterly unlike her) and I just couldn't lead her safely so I turned her back out so I could watch her and work out what was going on. Back in the field our other mare was bothered that I had taken mine away so we took her turnout off too as I was worried she would break out. As soon as the rug came off she kept on bucking on the spot. The both of them then spent the next 5 mins or so bucking, galloping and rolling - to the extent that they got tangled in the electric fence (they are normally wary of it and give it a wide berth). Not in a 'joys of spring way', both mares looked anxious and bothered. At this point we just decided to get them back in and get the vet out as they were both destresed and we were really concerned about them hurting themselves. Managed to get them in and got the vet straight out. While we were waiting one of them kept bucking and throwing herself around the stable. When being examined by the vet she fell down as she was bucking so hard.

Both were sedated, bloods taken and steroids given - which seem to have taken the edge off and they are calmer now. If the yard is silent and no-one around then they seem ok (v v tired though), but as soon as someone comes on the yard, we check quietly over the door etc then the tail swishing/stomping/kicking and biteing of flanks/bucking starts again. They are eating their hay now and are calmer, but look incredibly tense around the back/quarters/flanks - really uncomfortable.

So upsetting seeing them so uncomfortable or in pain that they don't even have self preservation. Has anyone seen anything similar? There are other horses on the yard on the same grazing/hay/water and our girls have been on there food for about 4 months now with no ill effects.

Thanks for any insight you guys can give!
 
We had one that got very stressed , bucking violently, I found a tick crawling on him, it must have been trying to get a hold and was really upsetting him, it may be worth having a look to see while they are still sedated.
 
Where they acting strange before you took the rugs off? How long have they been rugged? Could they have flees in the rugs? It could be that cold air made the flees run when you took the rugs off! Not really sure but it is worth checking.
 
Hi,
I had two geldings doing this...turned out to be fox mange..had to fully clip out and bath in foul smelling stuff....but it worked...they were both self harming to a horrendous extent....had to fumigate every single thing and stables....
Good luck
Bryndu
 
Horses don't get fleas. Only animals who use a den/lair/sett/nest at some stage in their life cycle get fleas. Wrong time of year for bees, ants and adders and any way, I'd have expected the panicked reaction as it was happening. Something has happened to make the skin or brain hypersensitive. Static electricity would only have been transient. What's the grass like in your field? When the grass goes down, some horses will browse in the hedges etc for anything to eat and if weird stuff grows in your hedgerows it could cause low grade neurological symptoms. Have you checked the INside of each rug carefully? I suppose it's possible something hurt as the rug was pulled off. My shetland did something similar but very short lived a few weeks back. I was poo picking in their paddock when she suddenly started kicking at her belly. Then she was swinging round to bite at her own flanks. Then she threw herself to the ground and rolled and didn't shake when she got up. I watched all this in horror, thinking COLIC!!! But at that moment, she spotted me and came racing over still kicking and frantic. Thank god, there was a humungus bot fly trying to land on her belly to lay eggs. How trusting to think I could help her! Bot fly got squished, normality returned. But your horses' symptoms don't exactly match anything. I'd keep a close watch, try to keep the light low and the noise and activity levels around them at a low level and see if they improve overnight. It might be one of those odd things that you never get to the bottom of. Do hope they're ok x
 
Deer ticks. Our usually sedate school horses act exactly like this with deer ticks. The hotter They get the worse it seems to get. Natural animal feeds do a spray That kills them
 
Bryndu said:
Hi,
I had two geldings doing this...turned out to be fox mange..had to fully clip out and bath in foul smelling stuff....but it worked...they were both self harming to a horrendous extent....had to fumigate every single thing and stables....
Good luck
Bryndu
Click to expand...

The yard owners dog had this a while ago (took several weeks before they were treated) - could it jump species like this? They would be v v unlikely to have direct contact as both of ours will see the dogs off, but the dogs do play in the field when we aren't there. They have both developed the same symptoms at the same time - could it just affect part of a horse population like this - YO horses are grazing in their field normally (though I don't know when their rugs last came off and this is what suddenly showed the symptons in ours)?

Thank you so much for your help, we are so worried about the severity of their rolling/bucking.
 
Last edited:
Box_Of_Frogs said:
Horses don't get fleas. Only animals who use a den/lair/sett/nest at some stage in their life cycle get fleas. Wrong time of year for bees, ants and adders and any way, I'd have expected the panicked reaction as it was happening. Something has happened to make the skin or brain hypersensitive. Static electricity would only have been transient. What's the grass like in your field? When the grass goes down, some horses will browse in the hedges etc for anything to eat and if weird stuff grows in your hedgerows it could cause low grade neurological symptoms. Have you checked the INside of each rug carefully? I suppose it's possible something hurt as the rug was pulled off. My shetland did something similar but very short lived a few weeks back. I was poo picking in their paddock when she suddenly started kicking at her belly. Then she was swinging round to bite at her own flanks. Then she threw herself to the ground and rolled and didn't shake when she got up. I watched all this in horror, thinking COLIC!!! But at that moment, she spotted me and came racing over still kicking and frantic. Thank god, there was a humungus bot fly trying to land on her belly to lay eggs. How trusting to think I could help her! Bot fly got squished, normality returned. But your horses' symptoms don't exactly match anything. I'd keep a close watch, try to keep the light low and the noise and activity levels around them at a low level and see if they improve overnight. It might be one of those odd things that you never get to the bottom of. Do hope they're ok x
Click to expand...

That's really helpfu, thank you so much.

No hedgerows (elec fenced all around) and no trees overhanging. Grass is low and soaked hay fed am and pm because of this. Did quickly check the inside of rugs, but in daylight shortly will go over them both with a fine tooth comb. When my mare started with the symptoms it was just like she was bothered about a fly around her back legs, she let me feel all around and under her and have a good look and there was nothing at all that I could see or feel. They are in and quiet at the moment, fortunatly only 1 other horse on their part of the yard and people have been asked to let them be quiet (as much as start of term excitement seems to be allowing - grrr). Both have been treated for pin worms (test done for them but treatment started anyway) incase this has resulted in intense itching. Oddly, when I was stroking my mares neck when she was sedated, when I took my hand away (and I guess where there was more body heat) I briefly saw a louse (?) dive away. I flicked through her hair and managed to find it again and put it in a zip lock bag for the vet. Again don't know where they could have got anything like this from - we are so so careful with everything, feel like bad owners that this could happen.

Huge thanks guys for all your suggestions, great to get lots of peoples experience on this, am really grateful. Shall keep you posted.
 
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