URGENT Advice needed horse showing Neuro signs

[Laafet]

First of all I hope that he is getting better. This has been a really interesting post, thank you for sharing it. Good luck with him.

 

[Vizslak]

been following with interest, sounds horrendous, very glad he is still here and hope he continues to improve x

 

[racebuddy]

Hope u get some answers soon healing vibes update us tommorrow xx

 

[MrsMozart]

Will continue to keep all crossed for him.

 

[BarmyC]

First of all I hope that he is getting better. This has been a really interesting post, thank you for sharing it. Good luck with him.

Thank you. I hope that maybe if anyone else ever has any similar symptoms it may be of use to them in the future.

been following with interest, sounds horrendous, very glad he is still here and hope he continues to improve x

Thank you I have everything crossed.

Hope u get some answers soon healing vibes update us tommorrow xx

Once again Racebuddy thank you

 

[racebuddy]

Healing vibes for tOmmorrow hope you get get him for specialist tests update Toni if you can vibes his way xxx

 

[racebuddy]

Good luck for this am healing vibes x

 

[fatpiggy]

Hello again, glad to hear he is improving bit by bit. Interesting you say about him collapsing when he was eating. My mare's seizures are always triggered by eating (its quite a common trigger I think) but it is possible that it is just the movement of the neck in this chap's case. Don't panic about brain damage either. When my girl was being minutely examined for a cause of her seizures she was found to have poor menace response and slow blink on the left eye and didn't have proper perception of where her left legs were. She certainly wasn't like this when vetted for purchase 18 months before. I always allowed for her being a bit harder to steer on the left rein, and did alot of ground work to help her relearn how to cross her legs under her when turning and can honestly say it never caused us any real problems. A pony I knew had a permanent head tilt too, but it didn't stop him being ridden and was a cracking little jumper. Animals are very good at adapting!

 

[applecart14]

Hi guys,



Vet is thinking along the lines of wobblers but is treating him for general Neuro symptoms as she wants him a bit more stable before transporting him for neck and head x rays.

The horse is a 6/7 year old traditional cob.

Now is where im asking for your help and knowledge.

1) Can wobblers onset as quickly as this? He has shown no signs whatsoever previously.
2) Could it be a fracture that is inpinging on the spinal cord?
3) Do wobblers have the rolling eye thing as this is what is troubling me.
4) Could it be something like a tumor?

Im sure i will have more questions but HHO knowledge and vibes would be great!!

Wobblers horse are generally ataxic all the time, if you pull their tail whilst they walk in a straight line they are unable to maintain their line and will stagger towards you. They swing their outside hing leg on a tight circle and they are always weak behind. in some cases they can still be ridden in between ataxic episodes but this isn't recommended. Finadyne will stabilise the horse enough so that he is able to be transported (I'd hire a professional horse box and claim the cost back on your insurance rather than undertake yourself a risky journey with a horse liable to collapse whilst on the motorway.)

Wobblers horses do not roll their eyes. They are simply 'drunk' looking as they do not know where to place their hind limbs. Wobblers can come on very quickly following a fall in the field. If the horse hurts its neck new bone will be formed on the vetebrae which will impinge on the spinal cord causing weakness and in some cases collapse and recumbency.

Xrays at a hospital are necessary to rule out CVM or wobblers. Here is a brilliant link about wobblers, but from your description it isn't wobblers (I'm not a vet) but don't think it is for one minute. I have personal experience in this. It is typical in Shire/Warmblood/Quarter Horse breeds, geldings and horses with long necks (due to easier neck damage I think).

I'd say in your horses case there is a inpingement of some sort which is preventing blood getting to the brain which is making the horse collapse as its not getting enough oxygen to the brain. I suppose you could call this wobblers in a way but its not in its truest form. If wobblers is confirmed in your horses case through xrays then diagnosis and treatment (if applicable) can be discussed. ~The myelogram requires your horse under a GA and that can be risky in itself. Don't use a portable xray machine though for xrays, insist the horse is transported to a proper vet hospital. My horse was portably xrayed and I was told he didn't have wobblrers but it was because the xray machine couldn't penetrate the neck muscles so gave an incorrect reading. When he went somewhere with a proper machine the diagnosis was extensive damage and he was pts on humane grounds at the age of ten.

Hope that all makes sense, just that I was in a rush as my lunch break is nearly over.

http://www.meadowherbs.com/Info Center PDFs/Wooblers_EPM.pdf

Good luck hun xx

 

[BarmyC]

Wobblers horse are generally ataxic all the time, if you pull their tail whilst they walk in a straight line they are unable to maintain their line and will stagger towards you. They swing their outside hing leg on a tight circle and they are always weak behind. in some cases they can still be ridden in between ataxic episodes but this isn't recommended. Finadyne will stabilise the horse enough so that he is able to be transported (I'd hire a professional horse box and claim the cost back on your insurance rather than undertake yourself a risky journey with a horse liable to collapse whilst on the motorway.)

Wobblers horses do not roll their eyes. They are simply 'drunk' looking as they do not know where to place their hind limbs. Wobblers can come on very quickly following a fall in the field. If the horse hurts its neck new bone will be formed on the vetebrae which will impinge on the spinal cord causing weakness and in some cases collapse and recumbency.

Xrays at a hospital are necessary to rule out CVM or wobblers. Here is a brilliant link about wobblers, but from your description it isn't wobblers (I'm not a vet) but don't think it is for one minute. I have personal experience in this. It is typical in Shire/Warmblood/Quarter Horse breeds, geldings and horses with long necks (due to easier neck damage I think).

I'd say in your horses case there is a inpingement of some sort which is preventing blood getting to the brain which is making the horse collapse as its not getting enough oxygen to the brain. I suppose you could call this wobblers in a way but its not in its truest form. If wobblers is confirmed in your horses case through xrays then diagnosis and treatment (if applicable) can be discussed. ~The myelogram requires your horse under a GA and that can be risky in itself. Don't use a portable xray machine though for xrays, insist the horse is transported to a proper vet hospital. My horse was portably xrayed and I was told he didn't have wobblrers but it was because the xray machine couldn't penetrate the neck muscles so gave an incorrect reading. When he went somewhere with a proper machine the diagnosis was extensive damage and he was pts on humane grounds at the age of ten.

Hope that all makes sense, just that I was in a rush as my lunch break is nearly over.

http://www.meadowherbs.com/Info Center PDFs/Wooblers_EPM.pdf

Good luck hun xx

Thank you Applecart.

The vets are 110% certain that this little horse doesn't have wobblers.

I have a bit of mixed news today as he is still better than what he was on Friday. The treating vet and the head vet from the practice came out to see him this morning. The head vet mentioned that the difference in him from Friday when he saw him was remarkable but being the very sensible and with his doom goblin (his words not mine lol) hat on is wondering if the improvement is actually improvement or if it is because he is learning what he can do and what he cant do?? I do sort of agree with this.

We haven't had him out of the stable over the weekend so we walked him out of the stable into the front pen to see if he was fit enough to travel and whilst walking out of the stable he was fine but once in the "big wide world" instantly became very unsteady on his feet. I wonder if he is more stable inside as there are less perifiral (sp) distractions and he has worked out his focal point in there which keeps him steady. He does however still have a very noticable head tilt.

The outcome of this is that he is still not ready to travel as there is no way he would be able to walk up even a very low ramp.

The menace reaction is getting slightly better and you can push (for want of a better word) on his front end and also pull his tail to the side and he will brace against which is a definate improvement.

He had more pen and gent this morning and more steroids this evening, the vet will be back tomorrow AM with the plan to change him to oral anti b's (a broad spectrum one that i cant remember the name of) then reassess his movement over the next few days so we can get him off to liphook to have xrays and CFS tap.

So still a very long way to go but we do still have our fingers crossed but all very guardedly (is that even a word???0

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Fingers still crossed here.

 

[chickeninabun]

Sounds so awful, your friend must be heartbroken.
Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping all comes right soon. x

 

[racebuddy]

Hi just catching up late finish tonight poor little man sending u vibes ur way xx

 

[applecart14]

Thank you Applecart.





He had more pen and gent this morning and more steroids this evening, the vet will be back tomorrow AM with the plan to change him to oral anti b's (a broad spectrum one that i cant remember the name of) then reassess his movement over the next few days so we can get him off to liphook to have xrays and CFS tap.

So still a very long way to go but we do still have our fingers crossed but all very guardedly (is that even a word???0

Thank goodness its not wobblers. You are not out of the woods yet though, it sounds like an impingement somewhere on the spinal cord but hopefully something that may be able to be cured or 'treated' at the very least.

May be worth mentioning to your vets that my vet administered a three day course of finadyne to my horse which was sufficient enough to allow a grade 3, pushing 4 wobbler to travel to Liverpool, a three hour journey by box. Not suggesting for one minute my vets or I know more than your vets but it may be something that they haven't thought of. Not sure why it stabilised him, may not even have been the finadyne but the box rest prior to travelling that stabilised him but whatever it was it worked!

 

[BarmyC]

Thanks applecart.

Yesterday he was taken off the iv anti b's and moved on to oral ones. He is still steady in the stable but outside it all goes downhill again. They are coming back tomorrow to reasses again. I will ask them for my friend if finadyne might help with that.

They are thinking that he has vestibular diesease as he is showing all the signs of that now. The problem is that we still need to find out what has triggered it.

I feel so awful for my friend as I keep having to tell her that he needs to completely recover to even be just field safe which I dont think she wants to hear but I need to be truthful about it and not just say what she wants to hear.

 

[Pigeon]

There's a horse up my yard who had this. Also a tradi cob. Exactly the same thing, with him he would sit down on his hindquarters and chuck himself backwards, and then seize on the floor, I was the only one up the yard when one happened and it was terrifying. Went on for a couple of months, vets found a bone chip floating around in his neck which they removed, and whether this was the cause or not, the seizures stopped, and he hasn't had one for a couple of years. He has since been diagnosed with cushings, I have no experience of the disease and don't know if it can cause seizures.

 

[Gracie21]

Only just seen this thread. What a horrible experience. OP I hope the gorgeous little pony makes a recovery, and I hope your friend is well within herself, well done for holding her together!

I am sending you all my most positive healing vibes and praying for the lovely little pony x

 

[applecart14]

That's really interesting. I've just googled it and found this interesting link. It says ataxia but without weakness which is along what you were saying.

Never heard of it before today. I hope your friends little chap makes a good recovery xx

 

[Maesfen]

I hope he stablizes so you can get him in for that assessment; it must be so frustrating to be so near able to travel but so far.

Best of luck, it's been a very interesting thread although I'm the first to say everyone would have preferred it not to have been necessary at all.

 

[racebuddy]

Fingers crossed for vet check tomoz keep us updated x

 

[Rueysmum]

I hope you manage to get him well enough to travel. Do you think there's a possibility something has got into his ear, hence the vestibulitis concern? A bee, horsefly, wasp etc. could easily have gone in and been unable to get out.

Good vibes for the poor chap and your friend!

 

[Bobbly]

He hasn't got a skull fracture has he?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Well you learn something new every day!

Fingers still crossed for all of you OP.

 

[Mince Pie]

On a side note if he seems happier in smaller, enclosed spaces such as a stable, do you think he would be OK on a box? If so would it be worth seeing if you can get the box/trailer to a bank so the ramp would be straight?

 

[BarmyC]

Thank you all. There may be a possibility of fractures in either head or neck which is why we really need to get him to liphook.

We can get a box ramp on to a slope as our yard has a hill at the entrance but we also need to get him up this hill to load him so we are stuck between a rock and a hard place really.

Fingers crossed for the vets visit today

 

[racebuddy]

Hi any news has the vet been x

 

[Briony&Anakin]

Fingers crossed for you guys, what a worry

 

[racebuddy]

Hi how did the vet visit go x

 

[racebuddy]

Morning how did the vet visit go yesterday x

 

[Maesfen]

We can get a box ramp on to a slope as our yard has a hill at the entrance but we also need to get him up this hill to load him so we are stuck between a rock and a hard place really.

Can you not drive wagon into yard facing bottom of hill so ramp is level so he doesn't have to climb the hill then he can load and you can then back out?