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  Discussion on Polyneuritis equi ? How long time in general before symptoms show?
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New Member:
mammamia

Posted on Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 - 7:33 am:

We had to put down our Icelandic mare last month.

Was it PNE?

How long time was she probably suffering from PNE before the symptoms developed?
How long time does PNE in general need to develop before the symptoms get severe.

I would appreciate to get some feedback and opinions regarding the course of the disease.

Casuistic for the Icelandic mare:

Winter 2005 – 2006: Period of total loss of appetite - the mare was extremely tired and skinny. The vet. prohibited to use her for riding.

Summer 2006: the mare seemed depressed and apathetic. However, the owner neglected her so we thought her behaviour was due to lack of attention and loving care.

End of September 2006: new owner - lot of attention, grooming and care - very light training, mainly long walks and light training in hand. The mare responded positively, gained weight and started to look better. However, the tail was limp.

October 2006: she started whipping with her tail during lunging - very atypical for this extremely gentle and calm mare. Otherwise, the tail was very limp - she had on and off diarrhoea, washing, and cleaning was very easy due to the limp tail.

November – December: the whipping with the tail ceased. However, she developed an enormous hyperesthesia concerning the hind part. Nobody could detect injuries, bruises, wounds nor swelling. So we were advised to wait and see and observe her very closely.

The 5th of January she was very ill - cholic symptoms. However, it was du to paralysis of the rectum. The tail was now completely lame.
The rectum was emptied manually and she seemed better. The seventh we had to get the vet. to come again. This time there were a little bit of fresh blood on the glove when the vet. emptied the rectum. Other symptoms: severe hyperesthesia, completely lame tail and rectum, (incontinence regarding the faeces) slight ataxia of the hind legs. Medication: anti-inflammatory and painkilling drug plus broad-spectrum antibiotics. The blood samples test report (two pages)did not show anything significant.
She got special feed to keep the digestion going and the faeces soft.
For the next five weeks, her condition was more or less unchanged - slightly better and again slightly worse. Due to the special feed and the incontinence, she could get rid of the faeces herself. The bladder function was not good - but she could still urinate.

The 14th of February in the evening, she could not any longer urinate without rolling in the box. Nevertheless, as she could get rid of the urine by rolling, the vet. in "night charge" thought, it would be OK to wait overnight and to put her down next day.
Still the last morning she was whinnying happily to greet us, her appetite was good, the fur was shiny and the eyes clear.
However, it was time to put her down - as there was no hope for the mare to recover from the paralysis of the rectum and the bladder.

I would very much appreciate feedback!
Was it PNE?
Was there anything we could have done differently that maybe could have saved her life?
I would gladly have kept her for years even if she could never again have been used as a riding horse.
Member:
lilo

Posted on Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 - 9:25 am:

So sorry to hear about the loss of your Icelandic mare. Never heard of the symptoms you describe, so need to wait for Dr.O to weigh in on that.

My condolences,
Lilo
New Member:
mammamia

Posted on Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 - 10:59 am:

Hello Lilo,
thank you for your kind words.
PNE is not very common. Our mare was the first case of possible PNE for our vet. Our vet. has many years experience. That is why I would like to have opinions from other sources. It is not that I do not trust our vet fully, on the contrary.
Also it was the right thing to do to put her down when she still had appetite on life and most of her dignity intact. The paralysis was getting worse and spreading instead of getting better.
In spite of everything we tried to help her - medication, special feed, vitamins, minerals, oil, lecithin, chiropractor, osteopath, acupuncture, massage. Everything of course after green light from our vet.
In a way I do regret that I didn't choose to have an autopsy. Just to get the diagnosis confirmed. I have been reading all I could find on Internet about the PNE synDrOme and I think that our mares sum of symptoms more than indicates that it was PNE.
I just wonder - what if I would have taken action very early, when her tail was limp? Or later when she was whipping her tail? Or latest when she developed the hyperesthesia?
Or was she ill already last winter and "doomed"?

Nevertheless I think it was a privilege to take care of her in her last months. We got very close especially during the last six weeks of her illness. She had an extraordinary lovable character.
Mias Mamma
Member:
mrose

Posted on Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 - 11:44 am:

I'm so sorry about your mare. I agree that it was better for her to go while, as you said, she still had some dignity left. It would have been cruel, imo, to let her linger and waste away.

I will be following this post to educate myself. I've never heard of this condition. Thank you for posting.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 - 5:55 pm:

Welcome mammamia and my condolences on the mare,
While your symptoms are consistent with PNE it would not be possible from clinical signs alone to differentiate it from some of the rules outs listed in the article like undetected trauma to the spinal cord, EPM, or EHV-1. Still it seems PNE the most likely of the group. The article discusses treatment and prognosis, but in general it looks like you did about all you could.
DrO
Member:
paul303

Posted on Friday, Mar 16, 2007 - 3:17 pm:

Thank you so much for taking the time to record your experience. I, too, have never heard of this, and am grateful for the chance to learn.

Your love and dedication to this horse is obvious.
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