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Discussion on Could this be a seizure?
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New Member:
dcooper
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Posted on Tuesday, Oct 9, 2007 - 11:22 pm:
On Saturday am our 16 yr old tb/sb cross had an "event". My oldest daughter was waiting in the car for us when she noticed he was lying flat in his pasture. She did not see how he got there. She was waiting for him to roll as he does in the am, but instead he began to shake all over with his lower jaw DrOpped open, necked arched, and tongue hanging out. He was non responsive and by the time I got there he looked dead. I went to push on him thinking maybe he choked and he bolted up, very scared, and walked slowly away from me. He then urinated, had a bowl movement, and was sluggish. I called the vet, she came over 4 hours later, did blood work and heart monitoring, with a physical exam. He looked fine and still seems to be fine. He is very dirty in the morning when we go to his stall, but no big cuts or marks are on him. Could this have been a seizure. If so, since he is appearing fine, is he safe to ride? Most horse seizures I have read about have not been this whole body laying down process and unable to respond to touch and sound. He had his fly mask on so it was not possible to see what his eyes were doing. The way his mouth hung open was very odd. Any one have a similar experience? The preliminary blood work showed nothing.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007 - 6:03 am:
Welcome Deb,
What you describe seeing in the pasture certainly sounds like seizure activity but I do not know if the coming in dirty in the morn is related.
Did your veterinarian find any abnormalities?
DrO
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New Member:
dcooper
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007 - 11:13 am:
Thank you very much for your response The labs only showed he was anemic. His exam was normal and the cardiac monitoring looked normal to her but she is going to have a equine cardiologist look the strip over. Would you continue to ride him since he has appeared fine since the event? Have you heard of horses having this total body seizure event? If so, is it usually the primary illness or secondary to a more global disease? Since he is 16, is it unlikely to develop a seizure disorder at this age? I hate the thought of not using him, but we need to be concern with safety--1000 lbs is not something to take likely.  Thanks for your help! I greatly appreciate it!
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 11, 2007 - 8:54 am:
Deb you describe a typical grand mal (whole body) type seizure. Reading your questions, they really should be answerable by the article but going over the article the answers are not as clear as they could be. I have revised and updated the article so that it is clearer so give it another try and if there are still questions bring'em back here.
DrO
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New Member:
dcooper
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 11, 2007 - 11:22 am:
Thank you Dr. O...the article is more specific and time will tell. We have riden since and he seems fine. Our fingers are crossed that this was a one time event. I appreciate your help and guidance. Deb
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