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  Discussion on Mild Seizures
Author Message
Member:
longhorn

Posted on Saturday, Feb 9, 2008 - 2:16 pm:

Dr. O, I've read your excellent articles on Temporohyoid Osteoarthropathy, EPM, Diagnosing Behavorial Changes, Dementia, and Seizures in Horses, and Seizures and Epilepsy in Horses. I also read most of the posts on seizures and am glad my horse, Bennie, doesn't have the extreme symptoms some horses seem to have. When Bennie is symptomatic, however, I'd like some advice on how to make him more comfortable if that's even possible.

Bennie is a 16 year old QH gelding out of Docs Superstud and Yucca's Bobbin (no Impressive). I've owned and cared for him on our property (one acre back yard) for six years so I and my husband are intimately familiar with his quirks and characteristics. In the six years, I've observed him exhibit behavior that I thought was just a "panic attack" about a dozen times starting from the first year I owned him. These attacks would last from 45 minutes to two hours or so. This last episode has convinced me that he's having mild seizures.

I don't know what triggers the event but most times I've observed its start when Bennie appears to be anxious about something, someone in the wash behind us, a dog or cat snuffling around in the underbrush, or the fear of his buddy leaving on a trail ride. Maybe a third of the time he just goes into the attack without an apparent outside stimulus. I just haven't been able to pinpoint a common circumstance that would trigger it like the time of year or time of day (for allergies), feed, supplements, wormers, physical activity, etc. We've got a pretty regular management regimen for both horses and I just can't discern a cause.

What he does is assume an alert posture, ears up, trotting around, sweating from his chest, shoulders then barrel. Then the erratic behavior starts. He appears overly agitated and nervous, he bobs his head, he backs up as if he's trying to back away from pain or discomfort, he'll go forward then backward, he'll shake his head, he'll swing his hindquarters around, he'll trot up and down the fence line (with his buddy in full sight), then he'll repeat all of this as if he's caught in a pattern. I took him to a gymkhana and tied him and his buddy to the trailer just to get them both acclimated to the gymkhana environment. He had an attack that an experienced horse friend of my observed. She agreed with me that Bennie wasn't just nervous or mad, his behavior had a pattern to it and she thought it might be akin Tourette's SynDrOme. (I don't think so, though.)

When he's like this, he's approachable and, actually, controllable although I have to watch myself when he suddenly moves around. It's as if he knows something is wrong but can't help himself. Yesterday, I haltered him and decided to lunge him while he was having this "attack." I thought it might help to distract him and rearrange some of his brain wiring and abate the seizure. I lunged him in the arena with his buddy and he responded to my commands on the lunge line albeit in a state of excitement or anxiety. The thing that convinced me he was having a seizure was when I asked him to canter to the left. He couldn't do it. It doesn't take much to motivate Bennie to canter in spite of the mild arthritis in his hocks. He's well trained, and will willingly walk, trot and canter in either direction merely by voice commands. But even with me getting after him and nipping him a bit on the hindquarters with the lunge rope, he just couldn't get into a canter. He just trotted as fast as he could. To the right, he was fine, no encouragement required, nice controlled canter. But I do believe (in retrospect) that he was suffering from some brain malfunction that just couldn't send that signal to his feet going to the left.

Because I always thought these episodes were a form of a panic attack, I stocked up on Quietex and gave him a tube of that. After I lunged him, I walked him for 20 minutes to cool and calm him down. It seemed the Quietex helped and he finally came down. I put him up and, as some of your articles indicate, he seemed depressed, a little off his feed, spreading the hay around and not really eating. Today, a day later, he's picking up, eating more normally although a bit subdued.

I will bring your article on Temporohyoid Osteoarthropathy to the attention of my vet. Bennie gapes his mouth a lot in the morning and at night when I blanket him in the winter and when I take his upside down bell boots on and off. He has never bitten me, but I always figured this was some kind of reflexive action when he's impatient, wants to get fed and wants to bite me but knowing better, gapes instead. I wonder if it isn't somehow associated with a hyoid bone problem.

If anyone else's horse has experienced this mild form of seizure and has had some success in cutting it short or calming the horse down, I'd appreciate your input.
Member:
ekaufman

Posted on Monday, Feb 11, 2008 - 12:05 am:

Hi Laura,

I'll be curious to see Dr. O's response to this post. From your description, I guess I would never think to label this activity-- even though it's highly patterned and shows some unexpected behavior-- as a seizure. To me it sounds like a stressed horse, and I guess I'd be inclined to treat it as a pattern that might yield to supportive training. Shows how much I know. So I'll watch this thread with interest.

Good luck with him.

- Elizabeth
Member:
scooter

Posted on Monday, Feb 11, 2008 - 5:20 pm:

Laura I have to agree with Elizabeth, might change my mind if I saw it.

I own a horse that acts alot like that when he is having a temper tantrum...sometimes for no obvious reason...to me anyway. I often wonder if he has a screw loose somewhere, but no he is actually very intelligent, just moody and weird sometimes. I just let him work it out himself. He has worked himself into a colic a very few times during his tantrums.


The lungeing to the left problem could be not related and have something to do with his arthritis or pain elsewhere OR he just don't want to. Just my experience with a goofy horse. I hope it is that simple for you.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008 - 6:52 am:

The horse seems to be alert and responsive but that does not rule out seizure activity. The above activity could be labeled as such if it is do to some unusual activity in the brain that has nothing to do with "reality". The behavior sounds like the horse is experiencing some adverse event but we cannot see the cause of the event. Though she describes anxiety as a trigger it really does not sound like a fight or flight response. But that is a possibility I guess.

So that leaves us with the question, "is there a painful disease process outside the brain or is this a seizure?". Careful examination and testing might answer the question by ruling out a disease process. When one is not found you are left with "intermittent mild seizure of no known cause".
DrO
Member:
longhorn

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008 - 9:34 am:

Good points about the behavior being like a temper tantrum.

My vet is coming over this morning for spring shots and to float teeth. I'm going to ask him about this discussion including the hyoid issue and see what he says. He's a horse-only vet with a lifetime of experience and is very pragmatic about horse issues. We'd probably explore the what if's. If it's a seizure or if it's a tumor or if it's a damaged hyoid bone, then what? Am I prepared to have him diagnosed with imaging and then follow up with medication or surgery? I'm not so sure I could afford that kind of treatment. I'd certainly go with something as simple as a bute regimen that might help. We'll see and I'll let you know.

Thanks all!
Member:
ekaufman

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008 - 9:58 am:

Very interesting-- good luck with him Laura and let us know what you find out.

I could have seen something similar a hundred times-- possibly I have-- and never thought "seizure." I have a lot to learn about horses, and am lucky that Dr. O supports this site, so I have a place to learn it!
Member:
longhorn

Posted on Friday, Feb 15, 2008 - 1:02 pm:

Well, my vet looked him over, just checked out his head, jaw, teeth and guttural pouches. Nothing out of order there. Obviously, even if he actually observed the behavior, he couldn't conclusively come up with a cause unless he took x-rays of Bennie's head, did blood work and ran other extensive testing. I'm not prepared to do that at this point.

He did observe the "gaping" and mouth movement while Bennie ate. He had examined Bennie's teeth and didn't find any sharp edges or points. He said there was some recent studies that came out suggesting that horses may suffer from a TMJ like affliction. Giving Bennie's personality, highly reactive and on guard all the time, that may be a possibility.

I dunno. As long as these episodes remain fairly rare and don't impact his functionality otherwise, I guess it'll be a wait-and-see game.

Thanks all for the input!
Member:
scooter

Posted on Friday, Feb 15, 2008 - 6:32 pm:

Thanks for the update Laura, Sounds like he'll be OK.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Feb 16, 2008 - 8:22 am:

Seems reasonable to me Laura.
DrO
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