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  Discussion on Seizures
Author Message
New Member:
Camc

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 11, 2002 - 12:24 am:

We have a 7 year old warmblood mare that has had 2 seizures a day apart. Both witnessed by a stall hand. Evidently he heard a thump checked on our horse and found her on the ground all 4 limbs shaking violently, He ran to get help by the time the trainer arrived she was finished seizing. they were able to get her up and walk her to a large arena ( she was very unsteady on her feet collapsing in her hind end) She then laid down and was unarousable for 45 minutes moaning, periods of not breathing for 30 seconds, laying on her back, legs straight up in the air. They called the vet and right before he arrived she jumped up as though nothing was wrong, Got a drink of water and began nibbling playfully on the handlers. The vet gave some banamine and said it souned like a seizure. It happened the next day again but the recovery time was less. She hasn't been ill the past 3 months except for left hind lameness which we have battled for the past year. All of this happened while we were on vacation. Our dilema is what to do. What causes seizures. I'm not comfortable letting my children ride her. I haven't really been able to find much info on seizures. We are being encouraged to just let her be a pasture horse or possibly put her down. We can't really afford to do a MRI or EEG. Last year she had a terrible case of dryland distemper where she abcessed for 5 months. People have suggested brain tumors or abcesses as the cause of seizures. Would appreciate any thoughts or experiences on this subject. thank you cheryl
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 11, 2002 - 10:59 am:

Hello Cheryl,
The fact that your horse is perfectly normal between seizures suggest epilepsy. We do not know what causes epilepsy.

Read carefully the other posts in this section they cover quite a bit of detail about the diagnosis and treatment of this type seizure and have references to articles on this site that also discuss it. Also are the discussions of other owners with horses that have epilepsy and there experiences. I think it is way to early to be making any long term predictions and decisions. While you learn more about this keep your horse out of areas he may hurt himself in, pasture would be best.

Once going through all of it if you have more questions bring them back here. I see you are new here you can back up using the navigation bar at the top of this page.
DrO
Member:
Canyon28

Posted on Sunday, Sep 7, 2003 - 4:45 pm:

I posted a while back about my mare that had one seizure last fall, and another one this summer. She has been home now for a month or so and has not had another episode. I had her tested for epm, hypp and several other things , but she doesnt have any of those diseases. Is it possible she will out grow them, she is only three years old? I know that people can outgrow seizures, I am thinking it has been something happening to her as she is maturing, hormones or something triggering them.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Sep 8, 2003 - 7:44 am:

At 2-3 years of age these are adult onset so not comparable to the disease in jueveniles. It is possible you may never see another seizure but it is more likely you will, or at least evidence of unexplained trauma occasionally.
DrO
New Member:
mlampo

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2012 - 3:35 pm:

I have a 17 year-old Oldenburg mare in Venezuela, Matea, with a series of symptoms that appear to be neurological, although vets here have not been able to diagnose her. I appreciate any information that can help me with the diagnosis and treatment if possible.

One morning, while doing routine dressage work, Matea started trembling and collapsed. She stood up and collapsed several time until she finally was able stay standing. After a few minutes, she walked normally to her stable. The vet suggested taking a blood sample right away to find out through Creatine Kinase- Myoglobin tests, if she could have had a heart attack. All values were found to be normal. She was given banamine and dexametasone. The next morning, while eating in her stall, Matea started trembling again. At times, it appeared as if she was going to fall. Symptoms disappeared within an hour. We took blood samples again and the results showed a significant decrease in red blood cells, and hemoglobin. We repeated all blood tests daily and within a week all counts returned to their normal values. We did an echo sonogram but found no evidence of abnormal follicles or ovaries.
Dosis of banamine and dexametasone were gradually reduced during that week and we started giving her a vitamin B complex.

As she showed no further symptoms, we started working her lightly on a lounge line. We observed nothing abnormal for three weeks, despite she was working daily. However, last week she had a new episode of trembling and lack of coordination. Again, blood samples were taken but results revealed no alterations. One thing I noticed -the vet has not been able to watch her during these short episodes- is that her pupil (she only has one eye) seemed to dilate during the episode. We gave her banamine and dexametasone for one day and all symptoms disappeared. This week the episode repeated exactly: trembling, instability but after a couple hours she seemed fine. Although she has been under observation during the day, these episodes seem to occur only during the morning.

Vets here have not been able diagnose her, as they have not experienced similar cases before.

Hoping that your experience will help us to diagnose Matea or to direct us on what to examine or look for.

Margarita}}
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2012 - 6:10 pm:

Welcome Margarita,
I believe we can help you with your question but let me get you started off right so you can get the best answer as quick as possible.

You will get more responses if you start your own discussion rather than post at the bottom on another member's discussion. Each discussion is "owned" by the original poster and all replies in that discussion should either directly or indirectly address the concerns of the original poster.

To start your own discussion back up one page using the navigation bar at the top of this page. This will be a Article Page on this topic. Below the article you will find a list of already existing discussions on this topic. Under this list you will find the "Start New Discussion" button. This is a good topic on your subject so you should first review the article as it will have important information on your subject. Next check the titles of the already existing discussions to see if your question has already been answered.

If your question remains unanswered, now is the time to Start a New Discussion. Select a short title that describes your specific concern. A title like "Help!!!" does not help others find your specific topic. Instead something like "Ace for Colic?" allows others to rapidly find and understand what your topic is about just by viewing the title. This is likely to bring more responses from those with some experience with your topic and allows members to find answers to their questions quicker.
DrO
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