EPM. Any dealt with this before?

[aoconnor]

The mare I brought in back in July that was in such poor condition and lost her filly at birth, has possibly got EPM. We drew blood today to check for sure, will know in a few days if it's positive or negative. Would like any comments if you have had a horse with this.

Thanks.

[horseyrider]

I have, although it's been some years ago. At first, when EPM started showing up in horses, diagnosis was made by a spinal tap. Then, due to the high number of false positives, they went on clinical signs (signs of neurological issues) alone. I'm glad to hear that now they can tell with a simple blood draw.

My old mare, retired many years, was fine that morning. By 3:30 in the afternoon she was staggering, with gross incoordination in the back end. Doc came rushing out and felt that it was EPM, and told me to start her on Marquis. Since it was a spendy med, Doc didn't keep any on hand, so I went to the nearest horsepital and picked some up there. Eight hundred bucks for the first round of treatment. I had to chuckle a little because she was old, retired, toothless, and had heaves, and I'd paid all of five hundred bucks for her in her younger years. But she was safe and gentle, and the love of my daughter's life; so we do what we need to. She needed another box before she was done (and another $800), and this was just the meds. She resolved well enough to be pasture sound, and had her lungs been better, she probably could have handled light riding. We just wanted her to be comfortable.

A dear friend went through similar with her dressage mare. She did everything recommended, and the mare recovered enough to be safe to ride; but she had issues with one-sidedness. She needed a really supportive rider with a deep understanding of biomechanics to get her through, but with that she did fine.

I've known a few that had such radical impairment that came on really fast, the prognosis was not good and the cost of treatment was too high for the owners, so they let them go.

My heart goes out to you and your mare. This can be a tough one.

[aoconnor]

horseyrider, Thanks for your story. I am hoping that since this mare is barely symptomatic (but enough so to tip my vet off), that we have caught it in time and she will make a full recovery. Right now, she has some muscle declining in her rump, and she has a leaky bladder. She moves cautiously but not so much that you would really think about it since she also foundered and had a coffin bone come through the already very thin soled bottom of her left front hoof. This mare has been through SO much, I am praying we can get her all the way healthy. She is only 8 years old, and a lovely treasure.

Thanks again,

[here to stay]

I! Ve never dealt with this but wanted to wish you the best with her.

[aoconnor]

here to stay, Thank you so much:-) I love this mare, she has very solidly become part of my heart.

[horseyrider]

aoconnor, please let us know when you get the bloodwork back. It sounds like she's a heart horse.

[aoconnor]

horseyrider, She is indeed a heart horse. He's such a fighter, absolutely as sweet as can be. And lovely, to boot.

[mollymckee]

When do yo expect the test results?

[Mari-in-IN]

aoconnor,
Here I am "lurking" again... Are you talking about "Bella"? The one you got a while back along with a young male? And by the way, how is he doing?
Regards,
Mari

[motdaugrnds]

I know nothing about horses; however, loved as she is, she must be a sweetheart. I'm wishing the best for her.

[aoconnor]

mollymckee, Results came in yesterday and Bella tested positive for EPM. She is a slow onset case, thank GOD for that, and she is has already received her first dose of meds last night. My vet texted me yesterday that the test was positive, so I picked up the meds immediately. Bella has a very good prognosis and we expect a full recovery.

Mari-in-IN, yes, this is Bella that came here along with Banner, the little 2 year old paint colt (now a gelding). Banner is doing fantastic, fit right in with my other geldings, and is trying to catch up on a little growing. He will never be as big as he should have been, but he is coming up nicely and will make a good riding horse. He is a Tennessee Walker as far as we can tell, and he is gaited, and I am delighted! Never had a fully gaited horse, it will be a lot of fun to ride him:-)

motdaugrnds, Bella is one of the sweetest mares I've had. She holds my heart, I am pulling for and praying for this mare so much. She certainly didn't deserve what she has gotten in her life, and is such a sweetheart to handle. My farrier has dibs on her if I die:-) He loves her:-) Thanks for your post, it was very kind:-)

[mollymckee]

I guess at least you know what is wrong. I'm glad the prognosis is good. Keep us posted!

[aoconnor]

mollymckee, Yes, at least now we know. There were really very few symptoms, and my vet is quite sure Bella will be ok. I am praying...

[mollymckee]

Prayers from here as well.

[bergere]

Sending healing thoughts she will pull through!

[aoconnor]

bergere, Thanks bergere, I have a lot of hope for this mare. This morning, she has had 3 doses of mess so far, she was not interested in her feed so much and kind of had me worried. I tried a different feed, she loved it, made me feel a little better:-). Tonight, she came galloping in with my lead gelding, she ate her whole dinner, drank a lot....yea!!!

[Mari-in-IN]

aoconnor,
Wanted you to know you and Bella are in my prayers...  Heck, most of the time you and your animals are anyway!
~Mari

[bergere]

Very glad to hear that Connor. Keeping my fingers crossed she keeps improving!

[aoconnor]

Bella has been on meds for a little over 2 weeks now. She is doing well, on the road to recovery I believe. She has been much more alert and active, though still moving a little unsteadily at times, mostly when she is in a hurry getting in or out of the barn. Otherwise I think she is far better overall than 2 weeks ago! She has a solid appetite again, is happy out on pasture, trots and lopes with the herd as they move in and out. Keep praying for her if you guys all would!

[horseyrider]

aoconnor, your mare has been on my mind. How is her recovery coming along?

[aoconnor]

Horseyrider, thanks for asking about Bella! She is doing fantastic, can't tell she was sick! The poor girl, she also foundered badly during all of this and her left front coffin bone rotated, coming out of her very thin sole. We have really fought to get her healthy, and now all the hard work is paying off. She is out of hoof pads as of a few days ago, and has a week left of Protazil. Fingers crossed and lots of praying that she will go forward healthy at last!

[mollymckee]

Bless you for saving her. I don't think many people would go to the extent you have to save her----except maybe me as well. She certainly looked like a pretty mare, and if her disposition is great too, she will be worth all the time and effort you have put into her.

[horseyrider]

Dec 13, 2015 22:57:14 GMT aoconnor said:

Horseyrider, thanks for asking about Bella! She is doing fantastic, can't tell she was sick! The poor girl, she also foundered badly during all of this and her left front coffin bone rotated, coming out of her very thin sole. We have really fought to get her healthy, and now all the hard work is paying off. She is out of hoof pads as of a few days ago, and has a week left of Protazil. Fingers crossed and lots of praying that she will go forward healthy at last!

That's awesome!  I'm so glad to hear it!  That kind of founder is enough to leave a person sleepless; it's amazing she came through that too.  Does she have any residual lameness?  And do you have a job planned for her, if she recovers enough?

I commend you for your determination to help her.  Sometimes good horses are good horses because they have great owners. 

[aoconnor]

I plan on taking her into the ring if she becomes completely sound. I'd love to get her in Western Pleasure, she is just beautifully built for it and is calm and quite in all of the situations I have seen her in so far. I don't know if she will become all the way sound yet, but she is doing really well so far!!

[aoconnor]

An update on Bella...

Her EPM seems under control. I asked my vet about a recurrence, she said that unless the mare is exposed to the protozoa again and is infected again, there will be no recurrence of the disease. It is gone once it's gone...I am seriously thankful for that! Bella is also walking very well now. She had her hoof pads removed and is in regular shoes, she seems to be doing really great so far. My farrier comes out Tuesday to trim her again, her hooves are growing out very well. He says she is a walking miracle, she has recovered so quickly from so much, though it seems long, but she is already showing great signs of overall health, and she is showing no lameness at a walk. Not sure yet about a trot, it has been so wet out that I really don't want ANY of my herd out running around! No slips or sprains, thank you! I am excited about getting her in the round pen for some easy lessons, nothing more than sacking out and learning to yield her front and back side, being saddled, bridled, etc. I won't get on her for at least another few months, when we will be able to know much better what her riding outcome will be. I still want to do Western Pleasure on her, she is just so perfect for it.

Hope all of you are doing well here! I would love to see more posts about horses, surely mine aren't the only goofballs, dingbats, and nutty bananas out there!

[mollymckee]

Glad she is doing so well! She certainly looked like a nice mare from the pictures.

We have two feet of snow on the ground, and ice in spots that are plowed. We aren't going to do much riding any time soon, usually our snow melts in a few days but this looks like it will stick. We seem to be on the snow side of the rain-snow line this year, we are often on the rain side, then we get more rain and fast snow melting.

[horseyrider]

Ha! Nope, yours aren't the only goofballs, dingbats, or nutty bananas out there. I have a few myself. I'm down to three now, which is a comfortable number for winter choring. Herd boss is Forrest Gump, my retired HUS; and my girls are Temperance, a two year old Dutch Friesian filly, and Zanetta, her dam. I am so glad that the girls have manes that lay on opposite sides of their necks! While they're really different on closer inspection, sometimes I have to look for something bold to tell them apart. When I still had Zanetta's first colt, I used to check out the underline to tell which was which.

I love hearing about other people's horses! I love hearing what they like about them, what they don't like, and all the details of the horse/human relationship. Our species' relationship goes back a very long way. Perhaps that's why most horse owners also have dogs. I think that relationship's the most ancient of all.