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Discussion on 3 year old mare will not go forward - could this be EPSM?
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Member:
Green007
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 21, 2004 - 4:10 pm:
Hello everyone,
have a 3 year old oldenburg mare in training that seems to be showing signs of muscle soreness when asked to do anything more than walking under saddle. She balks and will not go forward, resists heavily and even cow kicks sometimes when I put my leg on.
We haven't confirmed diagnosis for EPSM, but are thinking about changing the diet as a preventative measure.
My question is, does anyone know how the pasture grass comes into play with the high carbs/sugars? Our pasture grass is as follows:
55% TETON Tall Fescue Mix
15% QUANTUM Orchardgrass
10% MAMMOTH Orchardgrass
10% Tetrapolid P. Ryegrass
10% Kentucky Bluegrass
All of the horses are turned out 24/7 and only come into the stalls to eat. Could the grass be an issue? I also have a yearling welsh pony that shows high muscle enzyme counts on his CBC, but otherwise healthy. He only gets a handful of grain (Purina Strategy) along with corn oil and seems to be ok, with the exception of the CBC. Could the pasture grass be coming into play with both of these horses?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 22, 2004 - 8:20 pm:
Not likely Debbie, it is the concentrated starches in grains that are thought to be responsible for the problem with EPSM.
If you read just the new posts this week you will find this is a common training problem in the 3 year old.
DrO
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Member:
Presario
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Posted on Monday, Jul 26, 2004 - 3:21 pm:
And, if you wanted to satisfy your curiosity in a hurry, the muscle biopsy for EPSM isn't that pricey and is the only definitive (that I know of) test for it, other than waiting 4-6 months to see how the horse responds to a higher fat diet change. Unfortunately in the case of a 3yo, you won't really know 100% if it's the diet change or training that's making a difference.
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