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  Discussion on Horse falls asleep while being saddled
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 6, 2000 - 11:55 pm:

Hi,

I'm not sure if this is the right forum but . . . I have a four-your-old TB who has been off the track for 9 months (I've had him about 3 months). The horse is normal (though sometimes a bit aggressive) when I enter his stall and groom him, but when I put him in cross ties and start putting on his boots and saddle, he falls asleep. I thought he was just being wise; he'd still be there "asleep" when I went to put the bridle on him. But the last few times his legs have actually buckled and today he went down on his haunches and I had to wake him up and pull him forward to keep him from ripping the crossties down. He had a case of rain rot but that cleared up and I can't detect any back soreness. The vet has done bloodwork because he often seems too lethargic for a four-year-old TB but it came back normal. He's also only lethargic around the stable and in the ring; he's a lot better on trails. He was also a little stiff in the hocks and was resting and on bute for a week. So far, the hocks seem fine but I'm not sure that he doesn't have a physical problem somewhere.

Has anyone seen anything like this? Thanks. Scott

Posted on Thursday, Sep 7, 2000 - 12:51 am:

We boarded a mare for a while that had come from an abused situation. She had been locked in a stall as a yearling and never let out. The owner of the mother was behind in board and the stable owner thought she might come for the filly. She was locked up for a year and was quite undersized when rescued.

Surprisingly she was not difficult to handle and liked people. The problem she had was when saddled up and/or mounted. She would collapse, or rear, sometimes going over backward. At first it was thought it was behavioral but later she was diagnosed with epilepsy when this behavior occurred without reason while on crossties. She was eventually euthanized because it was unsafe to be around her as the seizures started to occur on a frequent basis in all sorts of situations.

Posted on Thursday, Sep 7, 2000 - 11:55 am:

Scott....have you considered that your horse might have narcolepsy? I knew one horse where I boarded who would fall asleep at inappropriate times, and this was his diagnosis. I don't know how they treated him, if at all. Kay in AK

Posted on Thursday, Sep 7, 2000 - 1:49 pm:

For more information on this see: Equine Diseases: Nervous System: Narcolepsy, Cataplexy, and Fainting.
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Sep 7, 2000 - 11:48 pm:

Thanks to everyone for your help. I read the article on narcolepsy and that really seems like what he has. Today I didn't put him on the crossties and just let him eat hay while I tacked him up and he was perfectly fine and even seemed more lively when I rode him (probably due to the cooler weather though). I guess I'll see if it
progresses. I also read that narcolepsy is sometimes connected with EPM but should I be worried about that, or not unless other symptoms come up? I just had a great time in a nice working trot down some narrow, winding, almost pitch dark (for me at least) trails and that doesn't seem like something a horse with EPM could do, no? I think he's the world's only young, green and totally spook-proof TB and I really don't want to give him up.

I'll put any other posts under the neurological forum. Thanks again.

Scott
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