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Message thread at CPP
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***trouble horse ***
Its where people can talk about their trouble maker horses and ask questions about them Hi Molly
Do you know why your horse has colic? It can be caused by a lot of things. Is he old?
JC | 
Jane Crandal & JB | | 2012-02-25 02:51:19 | | I looked it up and got this from equisearch.com quoting articles from Equus magazine ....
The blood test detects antibodies to S. neurona. A negative blood test can virtually rule out EPM, missing only those horses who have so recently (one to two weeks) been exposed to the protozoa that they have not yet produced specific antibodies. A positive test, however, does not necessarily mean a horse has the disease-EPM occurs only when protozoa cross the blood-brain barrier, multiply and damage the nervous system. Experts estimate that in some areas of Kentucky as many as 90 percent of horses carry blood antibodies to S. neurona--and the vast majority show no signs of disease. In addition, some surveys suggest that, nationwide, some 5O percent of all horses carry antibodies to S. neurona. As a result, the blood test alone is generally considered useless in diagnosing EPM, and some veterinarians prefer to by- pass it altogether.
EPM blood tests show antibodies in most horses, so diagnosis is difficult because the blood test shows that many if not most horses have been exposed to the parasite, but we know that only a few of the exposed horses get the disease.
There are a number of other conditions and diseases of horses that can look like EPM and should be considered if your horse has neurologic symptoms. These include West Nile virus, Equine herpesvirus-1 (the neurologic form), Eastern or Western Encephalitis, Wobbler syndrome (usually horses under age 4), EPSM and related diseases, and some less common conditions such as Cauda Equina syndrome.
Here is a discussion of a complete neurological exam and the symptoms of EPM. The most common symptoms are some degree of lack of coordination: perhaps stumbling more than before, slipping easily, bumping into trees on the trail, dragging toes like your horse is, and back or muscle soreness for no apparent reason.
Conditions that can cause similar symptoms and are often not considered in a regular neurologic work-up are Lyme disease and a sprain or damage to the neck or back leading to chiropractic subluxations. A chiropractic subluxation is a fancy word for the loss of normal motion in the vertebra of the spine including the neck, which is essentially a sprain of the spine.
About treatment......
Various combinations of sulfa drugs and other medications with anti-protozoal actions are currently used to treat EPM. All of these medications, so far, are "off label for EPM, meaning they haven't received Food and Drug Administration approval for use in horses. However, their hazards are known and dealt with in the dosing regimen. The most common treatment is a mixture of sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine, usually made by a compounding pharmacy. Just about all of the drugs available, while moderately expensive, are quite safe.
If laboratory tests are inconclusive, a positive response to treatment may be an indicator that a horse is indeed infected. If, on the other hand, the horse keeps getting worse even as he receives a full course of treatment, he probably doesn't have EPM. A reasonable argument can and often is made that response to treatment is one of the best diagnostic tools available, says Mackay, who starts a horse on a course of anti-protozoal medication when he strongly suspects EPM but can't make an immediate, definitive diagnosis, or when he is awaiting consultation with a specialist. If the horse improves with medication, EPM could very well have been the cause, Mackay says. You can always stop treatment if something else is uncovered. |
Jane Crandal & JB | | 2012-02-25 03:22:17 | | | dearjane, he is really young actually,he is 4.We think it is mostly weather change because in Idaho the weather is always changing. | 
MollyDitmore123 & Rocket | | 2012-02-25 03:42:01 | | | i would check his grain and hay just to make sure and water if you haven't already molly the weather has been crazy too where i live somedays its in the 70s and others its in the 40s | 
mollie 123 & Cammo | | 2012-02-25 03:59:39 | | | yah mollie is right | 
TShorses & Meghan | | 2012-02-25 12:14:38 | | | Well we are putting him back on grain and we put electrolites in it(they help with collic).A couple weeks a go he at some moldy hay but that was a while ago. |
MollyDitmore123 & Rocket | | 2012-02-25 16:36:02 | | | my mom is going to let my sister start training sinbad instead of me it should be fun to watcch!the reason she stop riding 6months ago was because he took off and bucked her off and then i got on and he was fine for me ha ha ha and on another bright side if she 'trains' him i'll have a great horse by the time she goes to college in augest:) |
mollie 123 & Cammo | | 2012-02-26 04:26:56 | | | that might have been what caused it |
TShorses & Meghan | | 2012-02-26 12:54:01 | | | The weather where I live is crazy too! That's awesome about Sinbad and your sis! |
mybuety & Pressed | | 2012-02-27 01:20:28 | | | hope he gets better molly! |
mollie 123 & Cammo | | 2012-02-27 02:06:00 | |
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