Update on Rusky's mystery illness

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Booboos

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For anyone who has not seen my posts on this before the executive summary is:

Rusky started doing an odd collapsing thing of the hind legs, kind of like he had slipped but without actually slipping. Numerous vets later he was treated for KS, no improvement, changed shoes in front, no improvement, thorough neuro exams nothing showed, so still in the dark while he became unwilling to engage, toe dragging, unwilling to move, falling over, etc.

Six months since he first saw the specialist he has now lost an enormous amount of muscle, all his bones are showing and he looks like a welfare case (of course he is no longer being worked). Even more alarming Freddy is beginning to do the same odd collapsing thing. A muscle biopsy came back clear for motor neuron disease, he's been on the EPMS diet for 3 months and if anything he is a lot worse so I am tempted to stop that, normal vit E and Selenium levels and we've had our water and soil tested for toxins but it has all come back clear.

I have spoken with vets in France, the US and UK (there are so many lovely people out there who have generously replied to my unsolicited e-mails with ideas and information, thank you to all of them!) and I am beginning to think that we may not be able to diagnose this. I have a toxicology expert coming out on Monday from Toulouse Uni to see the paddocks but she has seen these symptoms before and has not been able to find either a cause or a cure!

I think I am a bit in shock about all this. I was somehow reconcilled to the possibility of having one horse with undiagnosable terminal illness, but having two horses with a contageous undiagnosable terminal illness that may be related to our place is just too much. The other two horses seem OK for the moment but they are not in work and the first symptoms are evident when ridden so I am not 100% certain they are fine.

If anyone has any ideas for things to test for do let me know, everyone (including my lovely French vet) is at a bit of a loss now.
 
Hi. We have a horse on the yard with similar symptoms. He would often do that odd collapse of the hind leg. He also lost an extreme amount of weight and muscle to the point we thought he would die.
It was found he had a strange rare worm only usually found in foals, we have none here and he has never been near one.
He was worked with panacur guard, double dose of strongid p and was put on a course of steroids. He was also put on a mega high oil diet and a feed sup called succeed.
He showed clear of worms on the last check, vet came yesterday and was stunned at the improvement.
His back end got so weak at one point he had to stay on box rest as he would buckle going to the field.
The worms are called ascrids I think
 
Thank you very much, that is so useful to know! How was the worm found? Mine get wormed twice a year and then get worm counts done the rest of the year. They had redworms this year but tested clear after panacur guard.
 
I didn't want to make the post too long, but yes we have tested for everything under the sun (viral, parasitic, hepatic function, etc) and all his bloods come back normal. There is no evidence of infection or problems with the kidneys/liver which would be the normal signs of toxicity. We have a lot of problems with ticks here so the vets tend to be fairly familiar with the symptoms of these kinds of diseases.

The muscle wastage specialists I spoke to in the US and France seem to think that in a sad proportion of cases there is never an accurate diagnosis, or understanding of the cause, or knowledge of what might help - I was quite shocked to learn this.
 
Oh N, I'm so sorry your having problems :(

Have you had a good look at diets including grass, hay/haylage? Just wondering if it could be some sort of severe Vit or min balance / in-balance problem?
Clutching at straws I no wish I could help more.
 
Booboos said:
Thank you very much, that is so useful to know! How was the worm found? Mine get wormed twice a year and then get worm counts done the rest of the year. They had redworms this year but tested clear after panacur guard.
Click to expand...

It was found through a blood test. The vet said it was very unusual in an adult horse and thought the wet weather was a factor.
Can you get any pics? I can see of they look similar.
We actually thought he was lame behind to start with but he wasn't, it was almost as though his hind quarter muscles weren't able to work enough.
The horse simply melted away, the quarters were first to go and then his neck.

Ps get his liver tested ASAP, his liver was not working properly.
 
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When I was searching for answers for my ataxic poorly yearling, my vet told me that some parasites can migrate in to the spinal cord, something to ask your vet about?
 
@foxy1Could that be the ascrid worms? I will mention it to the vets.

Did you find out what caused your yearling's problems? I hope he made a full recovery.

@little-flea: thank you.

@PrincessSparkle: as soon as we can cut the hay (we've had horrible problems) I will move them to the new paddocks that we re-seeded and have no access to trees or shrubs.

@dressagecrazy: Vit E was a major suspect but he is fine. He has been on the EPMS diet (no sugar, no wheat, just fibre and oil) as this was the best fit for the symptoms but there has been no improvement, indeed he has gotten a lot worse (he has been on it for nearly 3 months and we should have seen some improvement after a month. The recommendation is that if there is no improvement after 6 months it's not EPMS). He is on grass at the moment, but was on hay during the winter with no difference.

@charlie76: yes R's history is similar, he's never been lame, it's his hindquarters that went first and couldn't support him. His liver function has been fine through-out, the problems started 18 months ago now so he's had more than one general blood tests and a few specific ones - nothing stands out at all. I will upload photos but it is very sad he looks terrible.
 
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Nothing helpful from me either but I just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear this, it sounds horrible and very scary. I hope you get to the bottom of it soon, sending you good luck vibes.
 
No, vet said it was encysted redworm that migrates from the gut wall and can get in to other places. My yearling got so poorly he had to be put to sleep and even on post mortem we didn't get any clear answers. His liver function was poor, muscle enzymes high, heart rate abnormal, confirmed wobbler on xray. Poor little chap didn't have a hope in the end :(
 
Nothing helpful to add but I didn't want to read and run. I only lurk these days but your posts are always so nice and helpful to everyone. I hope that you find a answer for this abd something can be done soon.
 
Thank you worried1 and j1ffy.

Oh no foxy1, that is so sad! I will definitely mention it to the vet on Monday, thank you.

This is Rusky today (please, please no silly comments. I know he looks poor, he is under constant veterinary care!!!)





This was the last time he was lunged, I was filming for the vet but after this we decided not to work him at all anymore because he looked so bad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfaQl9xQJZ4&feature=youtu.be
 
Yes we do, that is a really good thought. Someone mentioned it on French Entree forum and linked to research showing atypical myopathy as a result of eating sycamore leaves.

My list of things to ask the vet on Monday so far is:
- ascrid worms
- european sycamore tree
- clostidium sordellii (a bacterium also linked to atypical myopathy)
- encysted redworm

The only worry about these causes is that they tend to lead to acute symptoms (the majority atypical myopathy horses die within 72 hours of onset of symptoms) and don't quite fit this weird chronic deterioration, but well worth eliminating if nothing else.

Thank you for the suggestion.
 
Booboos I can't stop thinking of your horrid situation and your poor horses. I don't know if it was on your thread or another where someone spoke of some type of worm being wormer resilient and causing problems with itching. I know your horse is not itching , but she recommended using grade B diatomaceous earth as a supplement to rid the worms. Possibly just worth a try?

Another use for Diatomaceous Earth is for the control of internal parasites such as round worms, tape worms, cecal worms and flukes. DE will not control heartworms. It is considered safe for the digestive system and many people even use it as a dietary supplement because of other minerals it contains such as iron. For dogs and cats you can simply add it to their food at the rate of 1 teaspoon daily for large dogs and 1/2 teaspoon daily for small dogs and cats. There are even pet foods on the market that already have DE added to them such as Muenster Natural. For livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, it is added to dry feed at a rate of 2 lbs. to every 100 lbs. of feed. This will keep bugs out of the feed as well as parasites out of the animals.
 
I am not qualified to comment but feel so saddened for you that now not one but two horses may be struck by this mystery and really feel for you. I hope you eventually find answers as I can't imagine how heart breaking and worrying this time is.

Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis

The above has some similar symptoms and would explain why more than one horse could have it as horse is infected by food or water supply. Don't know if it would help to look into as whilst more common in America there are cases recorded elsewhere although rare.
 
Thank you YasandCrystal, I will look into this.

TrakehnerFilly thank you for your kind wishes. We looked at neuro possibilities earlier on but just can't get him to display any neuro symtoms. He's had three neuro exams over the months all of them negative. He can rein back, do tiny circles, tiny figures of eight, walk with his head in the air and regain his balance when his tail is pulled without a problem. The hind leg collapse thing appears to be a muscle weakness problem which is further confirmed by his incredible muscle deterioration. I've spoken to muscle wastage specialist vets who were shocked at how quickly he has lost so much muscle which is not accounted by a neuro problem.
 
So sorry you are in this position. Have you thought of mycotoxin poisoning? It's hard to test for so the tend to just treat it with a binding agent - think alltech do one and its about £30 a course so isn't a expensive thing to try and rule out...
 
Booboos so sorry to read this I have managed to miss your other posts, it must be so fustrating that all tests come back 'normal'. I really hope you find a solution or at least turn things around. I've been mulling over this for a while and this is the only suggestion I have:

Quite a few Australian plants (and grasses) are known to become toxic under certain environmental conditions (ie a big wet after a long drought). Even plants that are normally perfectly safe to graze. I have no idea what your horses fields look like but if your running out of options it might be worth removing all grazing options keeping them in a sand yard or something and entierly controlling their diet and feeding imported (not grown on property) hay etc
But if it was toxicity I'd expect to see something on the blood tests... :cool:

I have a question - all through this has his coat gone 'off'? (By that I mean dull and dry).
It is just that it still looked good in the pics...
 
Nothing to offer I am afraid just wanted to say I am so sorry to read about your horrible situation and hope that you get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. Heart felt wishes for a speedy recovery for your lovely horses.
 
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