I first met this 20 year old pinto warmblood cross gelding in 2022 when he became neurological after worming and, as his owner said, “his soul left his body.” His catastrophic reaction to the wormer turned out to be the result of an EPM infection with both S. neurona and N. hughesi. He was treated…
The owner who loves him tells this story. “Major was purchased as a recently gelded stud colt in November 2019; his feet were in terrible condition with his hind legs swollen from lack of heel and leg strain and he was underweight from being pushed off his food. We fixed his feet, he put on…
“It can’t be done.” The barn manager summed up the situation. “He is 26. He has been losing weight since the spring. We are heading into winter. There is no way to turn this around.” She was pressuring the owners to euthanize. One more important detail — this gentleman has no teeth (note the present…
Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (PSSM) Type 1 is a disease in which abnormally formed and/or excessive amounts of glycogen accumulate in the musculature. Glycogen is a complex sugar stored in muscles to be used as an energy source during exercise. Horses struggling with PSSM1 cannot use their stored glycogen normally; this impairment appears to be part…
When there is something wrong with your horse, ideally your vet has seen the problem many times and knows exactly how to fix it. Or, if the problem is less common, then there is a known strategy for resolution. The least desirable scenario is when your vet says she has never seen this problem before….
When a six-year old quarter horse colics five times in four months, something is terribly wrong. Colic is an emergency in all horses but chronic colic in young horses is a major indicator that one or more body systems is so impaired that the horse’s life is at risk. And with each episode of colic,…
Tinne (pronounced “tiny”) is the first registered Arabo-Friesian mare born in the U.S. She belongs to and is treasured by the Kafka family of Kafka Farms. She started life tiny. Her mother had to have emergency colic surgery in 2014 and she was born prematurely, weighing only 45 lbs at birth. A foal this premature…
Meet Tango. I mostly work with horses — and Tango is clearly not a horse. But the approach used to support Tango’s recovery from a fracture that refused to heal works in horses as well as in cats, dogs, and people (most recently it was used with a horse on stall rest for 7 months…
Baily is a 4 year old TB mare cherished by her family (the only existing cremello frame overo TB mare). The first picture was taken the day I met her. She had been sent home from the hospital to die — she had a colitis so severe (lymphocytic plasmacytic enterocolitis) that it was judged untreatable. …
Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a feared diagnosis among horse owners. This infection with a microscopic organism spread by possums can cause devastating disability because the protozoa attacks the brain and spinal cord — which run every system in the body. Almost any type of symptom is possible but the most common symptoms are loss…
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