Worrying Horse Behavior - Any Help?

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DecidedlyDestiel

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My horse has been exhibiting strange symptoms for the past 5 days. He has started shaking his head and having muscle spasms along his back whenever I touch his belly between his two front legs, and the back of his left hind.
This is only the beginning of it however. 3 days ago I noticed his neck would seize up and he would rapidly shake his head up and down for approx 10-20 seconds. Today, he has started to keep his head lying on the ground as if he cannot support it himself, and trying to lie down in the middle of the yard.

What on earth could be causing this? He has never done this a day in his life, before it started 5 days ago. The above symptoms occur sporadically, and by no means are they constant. They last for 5-10 minutes and then he's fine as if nothing had happened.

3 weeks ago he lost his footing and banged his head against the concrete floor of the yard, where he didn't get back up for 45 minutes. The vet was called but nothing was detected. Could this have anything to do with it?

Safe to say, I'm rather concerned over why this has started happening, he has had no changes in his feed / routine. If anyone could throw any light on the subject it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Personally I would have called the vet a few days ago. I am not a vet so can't say what it maybe but would urge you to seek veterinary advice asap.

I hope you get him sorted, keep us posted.
 
I would say the fall may well be behind this behaviour, just like people head injuries can cause unseen damage that flairs up after time or another blow to the head, it may well be damage to his neck, I would be getting the vet ASAP and asking for a referral if they are unsure what to do.
 
I'm a bit baffled myself but purely ideas for you, as you've mentioned that it happens sporadically and lasts 5-10 minutes and has started after a fall where he banged his head, I am wondering whether the bang to head could have started an epilepsy type problem, I would be contacting the vet and explain the symptoms and I would imagine they will swiftly want to come out to do further exams, he may well need a scan to see if there are any potential blood clots or swelling in the head that wasn't apparent at the time of the fall. I will keep my fingers crossed for you and do let us know how you get on. x
 
Falconers said:
Just a thought, what did the vet do initially? Were x-rays taken?
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If the horse had clearly banged its head and was down for 45 minutes it should have been assumed that head injury had occurred and the horse put on steriods immediately to reduce potential brain swelling. Have the vet out immediately and don't ask, TELL him to do a full neurological work up. A visit by a physio wouldn't go amiss either to check the neck bones and poll.
 
It sounds like he could have damaged his spinal cord in some way. Definitely vet out for tests or better still if possible, take him to the surgery where they will have everything needed in the right situation.
 
Thanks all for the quick and informative replies, I only share this horse (forgot to mention that) and have no part in his veterinary care, but the physio is coming down tomorrow as he was stiff on his hip after slipping, so I'll get her to have a look at everything else as well, I have said to his owner that he will need to have a vet come and have a proper look at him, so that should be organised soon as she's very worried about him.

It just seemed a little odd that it has taken 3 weeks for something to surface, assuming it is as a result of his accident 3 weeks ago.
Good idea to try and video it, as it may or may not happen while the vet is down.

I'll try and keep this updated, and fingers crossed, hopefully it's nothing majorly serious :)

When the vet came down first, all he did was check him for lameness, check heart rate, temperature, etc. Nothing with internal injuries. They came back a week later to reassess, and again nothing other than what I mentioned above. We also had a second vet who has treated him since he was 3 (he's 20 now), who didn't identify any issues at all. This was a week before the symptoms started.
 
definitely call the vet but also i'd get a chiro out to check if anything is out of alignment. A physio deals with muscles not bones although a visit from both wouldn't be a bad idea. He's bound to be sore but it could be possible swelling internally in the neck causing a nerve compression of some sort which would account for the twitching muscles and the inability to keep his head up properly.
 
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