Unexplained collapse whilst feeding

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rachgn

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Last Sept my 8 yr old gelding collapsed in his field whilst half way thru his breakfast (Alfa and S/beet). He didn't go down gently, just literally hit the deck. As I went to him, the dog started barking and my horse put his head up, slowly got up and carried on eating. It was completely random and not after exercise. I wondered about all sorts of things but never came to a conclusion. It happened again this morning, again half way thru breakfast and I am going to spk to my vet but wondered if anyone has ever experienced anything like this?? Any comments would be much appreciated.
 
Sounds like narcalepsy? Don't really know, sorry
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Cant help you sorry. Just wanted to say that is VERY strange behaviour, obviously! Dont know what its called but could it be that disorder where they suddenly go to sleep? definately get the vet out to do a thorough check as it could happen when youre riding.
 
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Personally I can't comprehend why you didn't speak to your vet the 1st time.
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Me neither
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I used to have a mare that used to doze off and go weak at the legsat odd moments, but you could see her nodding off and her legs wobbling. First think I thought of in your case is narcolepsy. I hope it's nothing serious, but definitely have him checked out by your vet.
 
If you think it is narcolepsy there is not a lot your vet can do.

There are 2 ways of diagnosing. One is the vet can give an injection which - if the horse is narcoleptic - will cause the horse to collapse. But this has a big risk of colic.

The second is to set up a camera and video 24 hours a day the horse in the stable and then show your vet the footage.

I had owned my boy for 4 years, he was constantly in and out of work with pelvis issues and soreness problems. We just kept putting it down to the fact he had so much movement that the saddle was causing a problem or that he was pratting around in the field. Then we put him in one of the stables at the business which has 24hr cctv.

In one night my horse would have on average 15 cataplexic moments. in 2 weeks of watching him he only properly fell over once, however he used to prop himself up against a wall.

He was 18hh and was constantly doing himself damage with it. There was no 'trigger' for him, it just seemed to occur when he was calm and relaxed.

My vet looked into it and I could have got an injection which you would have to experiment with the dosage but can help to counteract it. However it cost in the region of £5 a phial and I think my fella was going to need a fair old amount because of his size.

Once we had finally videod it explained a lot from the last 4 years.

I hope my post doesn't sound too negative. If you google equine narcolepsy there is a woman in America who successfuly showed her horse who suffered from it. He used to do it whilst she was riding him. she learnt to read the signs and used to pinch him at the right moment to stimulate him again.

Hope you get it all sorted out.
 
My first thought would be narcolepsy too. Interesting that it occured while feeding. My mare has epilepsy and eating (99% of the time it was breakfast) is the trigger. I think they relax and enjoy their grub too much so their brains go quiet and then the nasties can invade. If you want a good source of info, google the Horsemans Advisor. It is a US site (run by a vet) which is a mine of information about all things horsey. They do things a bit differently over there, and quite often are well ahead of us in the veterinary world.
 
I came across some notes on a case similar to yours while I was studying for my finals recently and thought of this post. Theres a possibility that it may be liver disease causing hepatic encephalopathy. Collapse is known to occur at feeding times.
 
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