Amber Episode
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Don't you just hate it when Neo eats your message - grrrr
Yesterday, my 31 year old IR/Cushings mare had some sort of episode. She fell down (I heard a crash) in an uphill situation and on her wrong side (she usually lays down on her left side and was on her right). I had noticed her kind of walking a little sideways before she fell. Called the vet because my husband and I couldn't get her up or turn her over by ourselves. When we turned her over, she did get up shakily, stood for a few minutes, and walked a little unsteadily out. After a few steps she was walking fine. Vet checked her over, did a neurological test (pulled her tail from side to side), took temperature, pulse, listened to heart and lungs and everything was normal. The vet had just been out to do shots and her Spring blood test which came back better then it has been, ACTH 36.5, Insulin 20.9, and Glucose 118. He took blood yesterday as well to see if everything was normal. The only thing he told me was that her sodium was low. She does get iodized salt in her feed and has a white salt block in her stall but if I put too much salt in her feed she will not eat it. I did notice on her blood results from yesterday that her Glucose was 67. Could this have caused her episode? I was just getting ready to feed her. Also, he wants me to give her some Previcox because she will be sore and he wants her to move around some. I also give her Spirulina and Jioagulan for her allergies. Should I discontinue the Jioagulan while she is on the Previcox? I will give her Aloe Vera juice with the Previcox? Jean and Amber South Carolina August 2004 EC Case History 2
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Jean, I'm so sorry to hear about Amber. I think you took all the right precautions. I would use the Aloe Vera as you have suggested.
The jiaogulan can be given while she's on the Previcox however will not work so just a waste. I'll have to leave the glucose question to the vets. Normal is usually be tween 80 and 100 but don't know if this is low enough to cause your incident. Assume here that the blood was handled correctly, right? FWIW, I still love looking at her portrait. Hope this link works For more information about PPID (Equine... - ECIR Group - Equine Cushings and Insulin Resistance | Facebook
Nancy C in NH ECIR Moderator 2003 Learn the facts about IR, PPID, equine nutrition, exercise and the foot. www.ECIRhorse.org Check out the FACTS on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ECIRGroup Support the ECIR Group Inc., the nonprofit arm of the ECIR Group http://ecirhorse.org/index.php/ecir-group-inc ---In EquineCushings@..., <JKemmerer@...> wrote : Don't you just hate it when Neo eats your message - grrrr Yesterday, my 31 year old IR/Cushings mare had some sort of episode. Jean and Amber South Carolina August 2004 EC Case History 2
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Hey Nancy - Amber seems to be just fine. My husband monitored her Friday and I stayed home on Saturday to watch her. I even got my riding instructor to come to my house to give me a lesson in my front pasture on my gelding. My vet seems to think she slipped and fell. I'm not so sure of that but hope it was a one time thing. She has gotten three meals for the past three days because of the low Glucose reading.
My vet handles the blood correctly, has for years. He has a Cushings/IR appaloosa mare himself but he still uses liquid pergolide. I can't convince him that capsules are better. Vet said that if it was neurological it will get worse. So far so good. I looked Amber in the eye and told her it was not time and she winked back at me.
I love the portrait of her also - had it put on canvas.
Jean and Amber South Carolina August 2004 |
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N Cook
My 27 yr old mare had a similar "episode". I got to the barn one day and her trough was tipped over and she was walking wind swept. Meaning her nose and neck pointed forward, but her hinds were tracking at an angle so she was walking slightly sideways. She also had dirt scrapes all over her legs. Vet came out, examined her and put her on a low dose of banamine. He thought she may have had a pinched nerve in her back from a fall. **This too happened to her one day after her Spring west nile shot. She seemed to be doing better with exercise so after a week, I turned her out with the other old horses. She ran next to a tree, misjudged where her hips were since they we not in alignment with her head and hit the tree with her hip bone. She fell to the ground and immediately sprang back up. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. She has never been the same since. She is still wobbly and sometimes when I pick up her feet, she starts to loose her balance. I am wondering if continuing to give old cushings immune challenged horses annual shots is a bad idea. I know that many small animal vets are now recommending not to vaccinate health compromised dogs..... Nina and Shadow On Apr 8, 2016, at 9:01 AM, "JKemmerer@... [EquineCushings]" <EquineCushings@...> wrote:
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janieclougher@...
Jean, I am so glad Amber is feeling better. What a crummy experience for you both! I, too, love that portrait of her.
Jaini (BVSc),Merlin,Maggie,Gypsy BC 09 ECIR mod/support https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/ groups/ECHistory/files/Jaini% 20Clougher%2C%20Smithers%20BC/ ---In EquineCushings@..., <JKemmerer@...> wrote : Hey Nancy - Amber seems to be just fine.
I love the portrait of her also - had it put on canvas.
Jean and Amber South Carolina August 2004 |
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janieclougher@...
Hi, Nina, and welcome to the list! I am sorry Shadow had such a scary experience. It may or may not have had anything to do with the vaccine - what else happened at about the same time as the vaccine?
How are her numbers? (ACTH, insulin, glucose and leptin). What is her diet?
---In EquineCushings@..., <justflax@...> wrote : My 27 yr old mare had a similar "episode"..... I am wondering if continuing to give old cushings immune challenged horses annual shots is a bad idea. I know that many small animal vets are now recommending not to vaccinate health compromised dogs..... Nina and Shadow |
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... her hinds were tracking at an angle so she was walking slightly sideways.
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=========== This is common enough in older horses that it has been given a name, "Sidewinder Syndrome". It is also sometimes described as crab-walking. Affected horses commonly circle, lean on walls for support and are reluctant to lie down to sleep. Trauma to the hips, pelvis or back has been documented in some cases. Low positive CSF EPM titer in some horses has led to a suspicion this is sometimes somehow a complication of EPM. Still others suspect some other type of neurological compromise of uncertain cause. As for the West Nile vaccine somehow causing this, there really is no plausible mechanism for that to happen. All vaccines contain either dead WNV or live Canarypox that contains some WNV DNA but does not multiply in equine cells or cause disease. When you give a vaccine booster it causes a rise in antibodies. This could theoretically cause a problem if you have an active infection. However, it would involve antibody attack at locations of live virus and WNV does not preferentially involve only the caudal spinal cord. It also takes several days to a week for those antibody levels to rise in response to the vaccine. That said, no animal of any species should be vaccinated when ill or debilitated. Being aged or having PPID does not automatically mean there should be no vaccinations though. We do know that horses with chronic laminitis (presumably IR) overreact to injected foreign material. Actively laminitic horses should not be vaccinated IMO. Horses with a history of exaggerated vaccine reactions should definitely avoid the specific brand that caused this in the past and should always receive prophylaxis (typically Banamine) before vaccinations. If you fear reaction in a PPID/IR horse, only consider those for life-threatening diseases and you can always test titers before administering the vaccine. Getting back to the sidewinder symptoms, could the stress of vaccination precipitate this? Never say never but as a direct reaction to the vaccine probably not. Could the horse be ill and weak enough from the vaccine stress to have trouble rising and aggravate whatever the underlying cause is that way? Maybe. Eleanor in PA |
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