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HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Nervous System » Incoordination, Weakness, Spasticity, Tremors » EPM, Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis »
  Discussion on Possible EPM
Author Message
New Member:
Dfries

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004 - 8:37 pm:

I have a 7 yr old Quarter horse mare, used for barrelracing, with a history of tying up, which we have done dietary changes and now muscle enzymes show only slightly elevated. We are in the process of doing a muscle biopsy for PSSM. Some of her past history includes a fall in Mid June which resulted in some muscle tearing under the left hip. In the past 6 weeks she has not been working up to her previous standards and is beginning to show neurological symptoms. She had a full lameness and Neurological exam at a vetinary hospital, the suggested a spinal tap for EPM, they feel that the muscle tearing is scarred over enough to not be causing the neurological changes, nor would the PSSM cause the changes. We are awaiting the tap results. Any thoughts or other ideas at this point?
Member:
Ryle

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004 - 9:07 pm:

You've already done the spinal tap to test for EPM?
Wow, most people do that dead last, or at least do blood testing first to check to see if their horse has been exposed to S. neurona prior to doing a CSF tap.
There is tons of good information out there on EPM and tons of bad, so don't take everything you read on the web as gospel. And don't be tempted to try a cure that makes crazy claims, but hasn't been tested or approved. And if your horse is positive for EPM and you or your vet have questions about treatment, have your vet look over the proceedings from the AAEP convention held in Oct of 2004 as they covered neurological topics (and specifically EPM).

There is a wonderful EPM support group on yahoo that you should consider joining too. They work hard to keep up-to-date on treatments and research and there is a vet on the list that is wonderful about answering questions.

One thing I would recommend, is not using Navigator. I know a few people who have tried it and they have all experienced at least minor adverse effects and one of them lost her horse to severe adverse effects. Check out Dr. O's info on EPM and read the label on Navigator thoroughly. There is also info online about their trial results at https://www.idexx.com/equine/pharmaceuticals/navigator/navigatorvetinsertletter.p df
If you do choose to use Navigator, proper weight calculation and close monitoring are very very important. In fact, some vets recommend having the horse hospitalized for the first week of treatment so that they can be monitored for problems.

Marquis would be my choice of treatment for my own horse as it is a much safer drug. If you choose to use it, consider dosing it at 1.5 to 2 times the labelled dosage for 28 days to prevent problems with under-dosing, which is believed to be one of the causes of relapse post treatment. That is a recommendation that several vets are making now and is noted in the proceedings from the AAEP convention.

Good luck!


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