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  Discussion on Ataxia from EHV 4/1 booster shot?
Author Message
Member:
Mike29az

Posted on Sunday, Nov 26, 2006 - 6:28 pm:

I purchased a 3YO Standardbred race horse 1 year ago. In order to race, we are required to give the EHV vaccine. I did so when I purchased him. Afterward, he raced poorly, was tying up and was also anemic. My vet surmised he was going through drug or steroid withdrawls seeing he was so anemic and I just purchased him. Who knows what the trainer before had given him. I layed him off over the winter and brought him back slowly over the summer. He was the picture of health and was starting to race good by the end of summer. His coat glistened, wonderful appetite, and was easy to keep weight on. This is wonderful for a race horse. The EHV vaccination became required again in my state (Michigan) in order to race him. I gave it to him on Oct. 27 and raced him 4 days later. In that race he tied up badly for the first time this year. He was treated for the tie up but then seemed to become lame in the rear end. The progression was extremely slow but none-the-less his hair coat became rough, and he just seemed to be getting more lame. I retested his SGOT/CK thinking he was like this due to muscle damage but they came back normal. By Nov. 17 he was moving very stiffly all over. He never ran a fever and continued to eat well but his muscles were beginning to atropy and he was losing weight. My vet looked at him on Nov. 20 and agreed something was neurologically wrong. I told him I suspected he may be reacting to the EHV vaccination. He agreed and drew blood to test for Rhino. On Nov. 22nd the clinic called and said the University said he was negative for WNV but needed more blood and a throat sample to test for Rhino. (I have no idea why Rhino was not tested for first) But, because of Thanksgiving nothing can be sent in until 11/27. I told them I did not think my horse will make it until then. They said hope for the best. My vet suggested he get Dexamethasone, 30cc every other day or every 2 days which I have done along with banamine. I write this on 11/26 and my horse is probably not going to make the night. He never ran a temperature, got a runny nose or even coughed. He is still eating grain but no longer will eat hay. He can barely walk or stand but did manage to get up when he fell today. I have never seen anything like this. If he makes it, the sample will be collected tomorrow to test for the rhino. However, I don't think I will get any chance to treat him. Has anyone had such a think happen after a EHV vaccination? Any suggestions on what else I can test for? I don't want any of my other horses getting this and I want to get to the bottom of this horrible illness. This horse was so healthy before that shot. Perhaps it is coincidence but I am just sick to my stomach for this horse. I wish I could help him but it seems impossible. Any information is appreciated.
Member:
Canter

Posted on Sunday, Nov 26, 2006 - 7:06 pm:

I am so sorry to say that I don't have any helpful info for you, but I hope your horse pulls through and that he can be treated and returned to good health and I hope that you find an answer to whatever has made him so sick.
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Sunday, Nov 26, 2006 - 7:48 pm:

Just read your post, trotters, and I feel sick for you. I sympathize totally and pray that by the grace of God will give you and your horse strength during this painful time.
Member:
Mike29az

Posted on Sunday, Nov 26, 2006 - 8:10 pm:

Thank you for your kind words and thoughts. I continue to hope he pulls through and will update what happens. I forgot to put in my initial post he had a CBC ran on 11/20. Everything was normal.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Nov 27, 2006 - 7:38 am:

Hello trotters,
Since the muscle enzymes came back normal and assuming the timing for the testing was done appropriately, the horse did not tie up but the nature of the hind end lameness is unclear from your post.

The rapid onset of poor hair coat, muscle atrophy, and weakness sound like either a nutritional problem or poisoning. Some of things that come to mind first are selenium, ionophores, and possibly chronic botulism as may be seen in "grass sickness". Though not reported in this country occasionally problems similar sounding are reported. We have articles on all these which will provide you with more complete lists of rule outs. See:
1) Equine Diseases » Nervous System » Dementia: Depression, Excitement, Coma » Livestock Growth Promoters Poisoning
2) Diseases of Horses » Respiratory System » Selenium Toxicosis
3) Diseases of Horses » Nervous System » Dementia: Depression, Excitement, Coma » Grass Sickness, Equine Dysautonomia, and Mal Seco.
I do not see anything that suggests a vaccine reaction.
DrO
Member:
Frances

Posted on Monday, Nov 27, 2006 - 7:59 am:

I really hope your horse has made it through the night, trotters, and that you're finally getting the proper diagnosis/help.

Please let us know what's happening. All the best.
Member:
Mike29az

Posted on Monday, Nov 27, 2006 - 1:12 pm:

Thank you for your responses. My horse, Zoom as I call him, did make it through the night. He whinnied for his grain as usual but looks worse. Dr. O, I looked through your suggestions and none of them seem to fit. My vet ran his BUN and Creatine and both were normal on 11/20. He has never spiked a temperature and continues to eat grain quite well. His manure was normal until this past Sunday where it is a little looser than normal but not at all what I would call diarrhea. His heart and lungs sounded normal to my vet on 11/20. He has stopped eating hay but I have purchased hay cubes and he is consuming those. However, his muscles continue to waste away and he can barely hold his head up or walk. He holds his head to the side and it trembles from time to time. He stumbles and can not seem to coordinate any of his legs very well. It did start in the hind legs but has moved to the front legs as well. Any move he makes is slow and deliberate. In addition, his throat has now swollen up with nodules - similar to strangles but he does not have a snotty nose or cough and again no temp. I have just never seen anything like this. He does not want to hold his head all the way up nor does he put it on the grown to eat hay. All his food and water is at nose level and he can eat/drink that way. I have never seen a horse so sick continue to eat like he does. I am thankful he can eat and realize there is hope as long he is eating.

You mentioned poisoning. I have fed him Omolene 200 (as well as other horses in my stable) so I am doubtful he would get anything from that grain. It would seem to me other horses would have a problem like this as well. He has not shown any signs of colic either. He is just wasting away a little bit more every day. Up until yesterday he would go out to his paddock (he has a paddock attached to his stall). Now he just gazes out his door. I can tell he wants to go out but just can't get his body to cooperate. His mind is still there 100% but his body is giving out. Each day is just a bit worse than the one before.
As far as possible selenium poisoning he has not lost any mane or tail hair, no rings on his hooves and no laminitis. He was anemic last year but not this year - his CBC on 11/20 was still normal. I am very conscious of what I feed my race horses and while selenium does help with muscle soreness I have never had a problem with over feeding it. He is one of 5 race horses on the same vitamin E/Se supplement and no one else has this problem. It equates to 2mg of selenium with Vitamine E. The omolene has .6 ppm guaranteed analysis but I am not sure what that would equate to in mg per day.

I only wonder if he isn't reacting to the vaccine because he was sick last year after the vaccination but not nearly as bad. Could his body be building up a severe intolerance to the vaccine with each dose making him react worse?

My vet is coming this afternoon to get the samples needed for the university. I believe they are most concerned about the neurological form of Rhino. I should get the results on Wednesday and I will update my post then.

Thank you again for all of your support.
Member:
Mcbizz

Posted on Monday, Nov 27, 2006 - 1:35 pm:

Hello, trotters...
I have been following your post and thought I might give some input based on a similar problem with my Arabian gelding. He was on and off his feed for over two weeks, then started colicking. He was losing weight rapidly and the muscle tone deteriorated. He did pass stools, though they were quite dry and small. My vet examined him and took bloodwork which showed severe anemia and very low white cell count as well. The horse does have a 4/5 grade heart murmur. Banamine was given and I began feeding him warm bran mash. The vet put him on SMZ (15 pills twice daily). He began improving immediately. He did not run a temp. He wasn't scoped for ulcers, though that would have been the next step. With his heart condition, we wanted to make sure it was necessary.
He is now back to normal, gained his weight back, doing great. He is thriving on a Timothy/Alfalfa mix, one lb. of crimped oats, 1/2 cup corn oil and Ultra Fire vitamins. (High in B vitamins)
Please keep us posted on how this goes...
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Monday, Nov 27, 2006 - 1:49 pm:

I am thankful that your fellow made it through the night, trotters. I just read Carolyn's post, and maybe there is hope for you there. I also just read about the neurological manifestation of Rhino and see that with the nodules, that might be a possibility with your horse. The coincidence of the innoculations and the illness is troubling, for sure. Please let us know what your vet finds out. Best wishes to you and your horse, and wisdom for the vet.
Member:
Mike29az

Posted on Monday, Nov 27, 2006 - 6:53 pm:

Another update.
My vet came and attained the samples he need to send to Michigan State University. I should know the results in a couple days. Zooms heart rate, breathing rate, and temp. are all normal. Otherwise, he looks like heck but still standing.

My vet is very stumped at the moment and he has seen a lot of horses over the years. He is thinking it may be 1 of 3 things.
1) West Nile Virus. Even though he has already tested negative on this he wants to test again.
2)Poison. Dr. O mentioned this and my vet agrees it is a possibility. He inspected his stall and paddock and found no offending plants, trees, leaves, etc so if it is poison he is not sure what. I mentioned the grass sickness to him but he did not think it was a possibility but I am wondering about it in my mind. It was a fairly dry summer and an extremely rainy fall here.
3. Neurological form of Rhino. He said the vaccination does not give them rhino so to speak but in some horses the virus is there but not activated. Perhaps from a previous exposure. It is rare but sometimes the vaccination can activate the virus again and it comes on full force. This is also a possibility. The tests should point us in the right direction. I am sure Dr. O could explain this better than I.

In the meantime, my vet is giving my horse 5-10L of fluids along with vitamins and banamine. Hopefully he will stabilize enough to make it to the university but for now I could never get him into and out of the trailer. I can't even get him out of his stall. I will post again with the results.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 28, 2006 - 7:50 am:

trotters, I don't know of a equine vaccine reaction that has symptoms like you describe and if it were the vaccine you might have seen a response from the prior steroid administration. There are other problems with using it as a hypothetical working diagnosis: it may prevent you from correctly identifying something that needs to be treated differently.

You say none of the recommendations fits but your horses symptoms sound very much like horses I have seen with either selenium or ionophore toxicity. You do not always get classical presentations. You cannot rule out toxicity based on the other horses on a similar diet that have not become ill. Individual sensitivities, errors in administration, malicious intent, and probably another dozen things can result is one horse being effected. Is there nothing you can think of that this horse has made contact with the others have not?

From a therapeutic standpoint though Carolyn's symptoms are really too general to draw a parallel and it is unclear the antibiotic actually cured her horse, I think her message of, if infection is not impossible a course of antibiotics might be worth a risk. Considering the grass sickness hypothesis I would choose a oral drug with efficacy against clostrdia: metronidazole? Considering the selenium you leave out your forage in your evaluation. If you are feeding hay from areas high in selenium this could push your horse over. Alfalfa is a selenium concentrator. I guess my point here is until you get a firm diagnosis you need to dig hard, and as long as the disease is a mystery look at it from the view point of what is possible and not throw things off the rule off list because they don't seem likely, particularly if treatable. After all if the disease were a typical presentation of a commonly encountered disease you would have a diagnosis already.

Whatever the cause I get the feeling the way things are going now, there is not much time. I highly recommend you refer this horse to a major equine hospital for reevaluation. This will do two things: you get a fresh pair of eyes on the horse and it removes him from his current environment.
DrO
Member:
Canter

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 28, 2006 - 8:06 am:

So glad to hear that your horse is hanging in there! Something came to mind when you mentioned poisoning. This a very long shot, but did you examen the containers used to dish out the horses feed (and/or vitamins/supplements). Could it be a remote possibility that someone used one of these for something toxic and then put it back in the feed room? Think back to the day or two before your horse got sick and think about EVERYTHING he was exposed to...is it possible that any one of these things may have been contaminated? If so, can you narrow down what it might have been?

I bring this up because it appears to be such a puzzling case and I know you're desperate for answers. At an old barn, I watched a helper use a water bucket for emptying oil out of a leaf blower; he gave the bucket a quick rinse and then tried to put it back in a stall. Needless to say, I had that bucket removed in a second. My point is, people often do dumb things without meaning to do harm - they just don't think through the consequences. Could something like this have happened to your horse?...Just a thought.

I hope he stabilizes enough so you can get him to MSU. I brought a horse there several years ago and we received excellent care.
Member:
Mike29az

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 28, 2006 - 6:51 pm:

Another day passes and Zoom is still here but worse. I have him in a sling to support him. He wants to stand but falls when he goes to walk. He is still eating and drinking.

My vet ran another CBC as well as another test that measures about 20 different items including BUN Creatine, Glucose, protein. Everything is normal with the exception of the protein being just a tick below normal. My vet said nothing to be concerned with on the protein. Hard to believe these blood results are coming from this horse.

As far as the poison situation goes, I can not think of anything this horse may have gotten that others did not. This horse is on a small farm. Only myself and my partner (also my Mom!) take care of these horses so there have been no mix up in feed canisters or grains. I am the only one to feed my race horses. I am really stumped if it is a poison but certainly can not rule it out. Dr. O, will Baytril help with grass sickness? If not, I will see if we can't switch the antibiotic to the one you mentioned.

I agree with you Dr. O that a new set of eyes would be good. Unfortunately I can't get my horse on my trailer - he is just to unstable. My vet is conferring with MSU on this as well, and they are just as stumped at this point, according to my vet.

Today my vet gave him the 5L jug with Hemo 15, Vit. B12, DMSO, Vit. C and Baytril and Banamine. Thiamine a.m. and p.m. IM. He also has started him on EPM treatment sulfa/prymethin(sp?). He said he just doesn't know what to treat him with so we are just trying these things and hoping to turn him around, at least enough to be able to transport him to MSU. He has just never seen a case like this (he has been a vet for about 40+ years) and Zoom doesn't "fit" any particular problem or illness.

As far as the selenium goes, I certainly do not believe it is impossible but I live in Michigan and selenium content is naturally poor here. Until the hay cubes a few days ago, he never got alfalfa but instead my 1st cutting grass hay from my own field which all my horses get. The only other place he could get selenium is his salt lick and perhaps he may ingest to much from having free choice to that? I will see if I can get that tested if the blood tests I receive back tomorrow yield no answers.

Thanks again to all who are trying to come up with ideas as to what is wrong. This is why I subscribe to this site - it is a wonderful place to try and figure problems out. All of your comments are very much appreciated.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 29, 2006 - 8:51 am:

There is little proven to help trotters but the suspected pathogenesis is toxin formed by clostridia, in the bowel. This may be difficult to treat with a IM or IV drug. Better is a antibiotic with known efficacy against intestinal clostridiosis. If it is exposure to a ionophore, there is no treatment I am afraid so let's put it at the bottom. I would consider adding to the treatment high doses (6000 mg daily) of vitamin E.
DrO
Member:
Astbury

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 29, 2006 - 3:38 pm:

I do so hope Zoom pulls through, Trotters. Have been reading your posts and my thoughts are with you.
Member:
Zarr

Posted on Thursday, Nov 30, 2006 - 2:04 pm:

trotters, hope things are going well.Have mustang who reacted badly to vaccines and my vet and I concluded best not given unless absolutly needed.You might think of giving probiotics and see if gut can"t be stabilized.Both my horses and my husbands racing pigeons have benefited greatly by using them on a regular bases.I even use them if big weather change is coming our way. Cindy
Member:
Mike29az

Posted on Sunday, Dec 3, 2006 - 9:17 am:

Sorry for the delay in posting Zoom's condition but is has been a very long week and I was with Zoom night and day trying to get him through this. Sadly Zoom lost his battle Friday night. He just did not respond to any treatment and I was able to try your antibiotic Dr. O for 2 days, but it may have not been working or did not have enough time to work. He was treated as aggressively as possible but to to no avail.

His mind worked until the end - he knew me and to eat and drink but his muscles just kept giving away. My vet said because he knew to eat and drink, whinny to me, the disease did not appear to go to his brain which rules some things out.

Disappointingly, I still do not have the blood test results on Zoom for the EHV and poison panel and whatever else my vet was testing for. Actually no other blood tests results have come in since I last posted. A rush was put on them and I was told I should have them Wednesday. Well, they still were not done on Thursday and Friday/Saturday my vets office was mysteriously closed with no emergency number to call or even a note on the door. My family and I have been going to this vet for over 30 years and never has this happened so I am worried about him as well. Maybe the tests came back Friday but I have not been able to find out what is going on at my vet clinic. Just when you think things can't get any worse they do.

My vet was going to do the necropsy within 3 hours of his death. That of course did not happen as I could not find him or even the other vet that works for him. However, the vaccine manufacturer has one of their vets involved with this case since 11/27. They too are concerned about what happened with this horse and have offered to pick up all the diagnostic costs and the autopsy. When I could not find my vet, I called them on Saturday and together we found out the university would take the whole body and do the autopsy. It was impossible to find a local vet to do the necropsy on the farm when you are not a regular client. So, I took Zoom to the University yesterday. I can only hope the autopsy will reveal the cause of this. I never want to see another horse get this hideous disease again. If it is poison, I need to find what it is as it certainly is not obvious.

I could not find anything like this on the internet so I wanted to post what was going on in case someone else ever has this happen to one of their horses. Maybe it will help. I will post the results from the autopsy when available.
Member:
Mike29az

Posted on Sunday, Dec 3, 2006 - 9:20 am:

One more thing - THANK YOU for all of your well wishes. They were appreciated and it is nice to have a place like this on the net where we all understand the love we share for our horses......
Member:
Dres

Posted on Sunday, Dec 3, 2006 - 9:56 am:

Trotters, what an awful experience you have gone thru.. My sympathies are sent your way... Thank you for sharing and maybe helping others ...

On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Sunday, Dec 3, 2006 - 9:57 am:

Trotters, I am so sorry to read of the outcome for Zoom. I can only imagine your tiredness, frustration, and sadness. I really hope you are somehow able to find some answers even after his death. I have been following your postings but have had nothing to add. This is so puzzling! Please do post whatever findings the autopsy and any lab work reveal. Perhaps those findings might save another horse's life in the future and they might bring you a little peace. Best wishes and condolences to you.
Member:
Frances

Posted on Sunday, Dec 3, 2006 - 10:15 am:

What a terrible time you and your horse have had, trotters, and what a weird illness. I'm so sorry Zoom didn't make it after all your care.

I too hope that you can gain some closure from learning what caused this illness - and that your vet is alright (another mystery).

Once again, my deepest sympathy.
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Sunday, Dec 3, 2006 - 11:45 am:

trotters, I am so saddened to hear of Zoom's death. What a humiliating and emotionally painful death for a truly noble animal who obviously had great heart.
It's quite heartening that the vaccine company has helped and supported you when you weren't able to find the support from your long-time vet. I am very interested, as the other posters, to understand what caused Zoom's debilitation and death.
YOU are to be commended for your excellent care of Zoom. You have done all you could do and more than some people would even think of doing. Zoom was a blessed horse to have you, and I think he knew it.
Member:
Canter

Posted on Sunday, Dec 3, 2006 - 11:57 am:

Trotters, I am so saddened to hear of your loss. You did everything in your power to save Zoom; take comfort in knowing you did your best.

My deepest condolences.
Member:
Cheryl

Posted on Sunday, Dec 3, 2006 - 12:06 pm:

The mystic that draws us to horses is the same thing we curse when they need our help and we don't know what - how - or why. It won't lessen your loss but hopefully the autopsy will provide some much needed answers. It's such a helpless feeling to know that if you just knew what and why the how could be worked out. Thank you so much for sharing what has happened to Zoom. Hopefully it will keep it from happening to another owner and horse.
CK
Member:
Mcbizz

Posted on Sunday, Dec 3, 2006 - 12:32 pm:

Trotters, I am so sorry. Zoom put up a tremendous fight for his life, for sure. As did you. I thought about him Friday many times and wondered how he was...my father died a year ago, same date. Thank you for letting us know.
Member:
Zarr

Posted on Sunday, Dec 3, 2006 - 2:31 pm:

We love them with all our hearts and lose them in an ocean of pain and tears but they never leave our souls, their gift to us ..... Cindy
Member:
Astbury

Posted on Sunday, Dec 3, 2006 - 2:59 pm:

Trotters

I am so very sorry to learn about Zoom - I read your postings and like all on the site, was truly hoping that he would recover. You did so much for him and I am sure he felt safe in your care.

I read a poem some time ago by someone called Garth Brooks - may even have been posted here - but I kept it because it seemed so fitting when we lose those we love in such sad circumstances. Anyway, here it is:

"And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end...the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance...I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance"

Take care.

Jenny
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Dec 3, 2006 - 7:53 pm:

My condolences trotter, please let us know the results of the necropsy. Maybe your misfortune can save another through education.
DrO
Member:
Paul303

Posted on Monday, Dec 4, 2006 - 3:35 am:

Awww trotter, I'm so terribly sorry....please, if you can, let us know....
Member:
Lilo

Posted on Monday, Dec 4, 2006 - 5:00 pm:

Trotters, my condolences. You did everything in your power to help Zoom. It is so sad it had to end like this. Hopefully you will find out what was wrong with him.
Lilo
Member:
Mike29az

Posted on Friday, Dec 15, 2006 - 1:56 pm:

Thank you all for your very kind words. It makes my cry... Also, Carolyn B. you have my deepest sympathy in the loss of your father a year ago.....:-(

The necropsy is yet to be finalized but he has tested negative for WNV, EEE, WEE, poison. They have found extensive lesions on his spinal cord and cranial nerve. The vet at Fort Dodge, the vaccine manufacturer, has told me the believe this is indicative of EPM. She says it is rare for EPM to be so aggressive but it appears that is what has happened. The horse was completely asymptomatic of EPM until the last month of his life. He never did quit eating and drinking and had large muscles and very good weight until that last month. I have had EPM horses in the past and I have never seen anything like this. I have never seen EPM move so quickly and deadly. I had a holisitic vet out to my farm who specializes in EPM a month earlier. I had him look at all my race horses and he did not think Zoom was EPM at that time. My experience with EPM has been poor appetite, hard to keep weight on, lameness in the rear end. I just have never seen anything like this...... So, I wanted to update you all on the necropsy. Thank you again for your support and I would love to hear from anyone else who has seen EPM develop symptoms and kill what was an extremely healthy 4 year old horse this quickly. Thank you again for your kind words and help.....
Member:
Mcbizz

Posted on Friday, Dec 15, 2006 - 5:09 pm:

Trotters, thank you so much for keeping us informed on this. So many things can go wrong and it can be so helpful to have some idea of the cause when it progresses at such a rapid pace.
And thank you for mentioning my father...losing a person of that significance is so hard. I no doubt also will think of Zoom each year December approaches.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Dec 15, 2006 - 7:24 pm:

Though you see it reported on occasion EPM rarely has the systemic symptoms you describe nor the kind of lesions you describe in the spinal cord. EPM is known to be hard to find on necropsy because of the lack of inflammation and the size of most lesions (I will double check the pathological information in the morn when I am in my library). So this would be a very atypical case EPM case.

Your necropsy description sounds like classic Equine Herpes Virus-1 lesions to me. I also think it consistent with your history, though perhaps a bit atypical with the tying up episode. Unfortunately the vaccine is not completely protective.
DrO
Member:
Mike29az

Posted on Saturday, Dec 16, 2006 - 8:13 am:

Thank you for your input Dr. O. Now and through this whole miserable illness. I appreciate you looking into your pathological info. as well. I have had some horses diagnosed with EPM over the years but I've always felt it was diagnosed when nothing else could be found (over diagnosed). However, I do have one horse with EPM in my barn now that is confirmed but I have never, never, never seen EPM do to any horse what it did to my Zoom. Even with other trainers in the industry. My horse that has it now has never even gotten close to what Zoom went through. Thank God for that. I always thought EPM was slow moving disease that could end up in death but rarely does- not death in a few weeks. We did start him on EPM treatment as well but obviously there was no response to it. Each day was always worse - never an improvement.

Anyway, thanks again for your input. I've truly appreciated it and will belong to this site as long as I have my horses.
Member:
Jockyrdg

Posted on Saturday, Dec 16, 2006 - 12:39 pm:

Hello Trotters;
I have been following your posts. EPM and most neurological diseases are like the human counterpart. It's hard to confirm and the truth, that the medical community likes to avoid saying, is that this is the great frontier territory. Only a little bit is known for sure.
In 1985 I had a horse put down with EPM. Zorba went from jumping to being euthanised in 10 days. We had a very educated, forward vet who tried every conceivable test to track it down. From the beginning he thought it was EPM. In '85 there were no tests for EPM so he tested to eliminate everything else.
First signs were unsteady walk from the hind end. He did keep his appetite to the end, but used his head oddly and it also affected his vision. Within 6 days Zorba could not use his hind end at all. He only stood and just pivoted around the back legs, never lifting them. We had made the decision to put him down with the first fall.
We did not do an autopsy, so perhaps it was something else. I will accept EPM; however, as this vet had my respect and kept trying to find it to be something else.
It was an interesting vet lesson. John was the model for crotchety and always warned you the horse might die when he came for a pimple. (infection you know - keep it clean) The first time he came on this call he never said a word except for the next test to try. I also had to tell him to put Zorba down and when I asked him why he didn't direct me, his comment was, as a vet, his calling was to save life and he hated ending it as much as the owners. I don't find this attitude with the newer vets, but he continued to earn my respect despite his crotchety manner.
It is a wound with a scab that never resolves when we lose them.
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