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  Discussion on Narcolepsy/syncope
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New Member:
aryder

Posted on Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - 6:24 pm:

Was looking at a horse today - 10 year old thoroughbred - with a history of collapsing. The first time was a few months ago when saddled up and waiting to go for a ride. He abruptly fell or collapsed as if falling asleep. He was down for 2 minutes then got up as if normal. The second episode happened at pasture shortly after being startled by a road traffic accident nearby. This time he was seen to collapse then rise agin on four occasions in quick succession.
Examination showed a slightly rapid resting heart rate (50) and a slow capillaary refill(2-3 seconds) Heart sounds and rhythm normal. A rudimentry neurological disorder revealed no abnormalities. There was a small amount of back pain round the whithers possibly associated with a poorly fitting saddle - i did not think this to be connected with the collapse.
Does this sound like narcolepsy? (seizures or syncope)
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - 7:06 am:

WelcomeAlasdair,
Yes it does. Recently EQUUS had a interesting report from a veterinarian that was investigating that some horses seem to suffer from sleep deprivation which he felt was do to an inability or unwillingness to lie down. These horses suffered from periodic fainting like episodes. I read the piece, know this veterinarian slightly, and remain unconvinced but am looking for cases.

However you case of 4 rapid collapses in succession sounds more like seizure activity than sleepy to me.
DrO
New Member:
aryder

Posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - 9:31 am:

Thanks Dr Oglesby. I dont have any experience of this but from the other message bords do I gather that you would classify narcolepsy as a form of seizure?
Member:
twhgait

Posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - 10:20 am:

Dr.O - I also had followed that EQUUS article and related it completely to my 26 y.o. who does not lay down anymore to sleep due to her inability to get back up (we believe it to be her stifles causing the inability to rise). I've seen her do the near-collapses (just like the article stated) and I've also found her down (either on purpose or she fell....I never know).

My vet had originally told me that horses don't need to lay down to sleep. He also is unconvinced this is what causes her to have these spells. Me? I'm still thinking it makes complete sense. Her daughter, my 10-y.o. mare, also did this twice during the fireworks season last year. She wasn't laying down due to nerves and started collapsing just like mom after a week. This is mostly FYI for you but if you need horses to investigate, I've got em!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - 10:38 am:

Alasdair, yes, see the article for a complete explanation.

Kim does it not also make since that she almost collapses due to the chronic pain in the stifles? And I am uncertain about the daughter who is both laying down more and collapsing, since she can lay down if tired, as described it does not seem to fit to me. I am not saying it is not possible just that there appear to be other possible explanations.
DrO
Member:
twhgait

Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 1:52 pm:

Yes DrO, the stifle pain idea makes sense too. I wish that old girl could talk to me!! I'm going to be watching the daughter again soon....fireworks will be starting up in the next few weeks for the 4th of July. This will make her nervous and reluctant to lay down to sleep. I will watch her and see her reactions and if she does any collapsing herself.

I don't know if you saw these videos or not, but I'll post the link here. This is very similar to how both my mares have looked. My old mare looks the most like the white mare in the second video.

https://equisearch.com/horses_care/health/behavior/sleepdisorder_121506/
Member:
brandi

Posted on Sunday, Jan 22, 2012 - 9:31 pm:

Dr. O.,
Any update on this condition? I have a 12/13 yo TB who suffers from "this condition" if it is one. He falls asleep and starts to wobble and buckle at the knees. He rarely goes all the way down that I see (during grooming or resting outside), but he does get numerous (weekly) injuries on his legs and other places - with evidence that he falls against the back wall of the barn where he used to hang out at night. For years he was outside, with no access to a stall, but for a month now, he has had access to a well-bedded stall - not locked in, but eats and hangs out in there between other horses - on one side the horse is a bit of a bully, but the one on the other side is not. I see him lie down outside to roll on occasion, but can't be sure that he's lying down or falling down at night (bedding on his body just tells me he was down, but not how). The stall is often very churned up, doesn't appear to be from walking or circling, but rather looks as if he flails about - though I haven't seen this, so it's just speculation.
He is not comfortable being locked in, so I don't know what else I could do for him.
My vet speculates sleep deprivation, but aside from the management changes we've made, I don't know what else I can do for him. Last night it seems that he banged his head on the wall and cut his eye - and he's had 3 cuts on his legs this week alone, so the stall access doesn't seem to have made a big difference. I want to do more for him. Any thoughts?
Here is a link to a video of a mild episode:
https://youtu.be/9R1tK59KG94
Thank you.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 24, 2012 - 10:05 pm:

Hello Brandi,
The article associated with this discussion has the latest information on this topic. Read the article and if you have further questions post them in a new discussion. To reach the article click on the Narcolepsy link at the top of this page. The button for a new discussion is at the bottom of the article page and list of current discussions.
DrO
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