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Location: Florida | My hyper barrel horse, Tiki, has gotten extremely lethargic over the past few months. At first I thought this was due to the inconsistent riding brought about by our extended Summer weather in Florida. However, we've been getting back at it and she only seems to be getting worse. My once fiery mare who was always alert and fidgeting with eagerness to get some energy out is now seemingly always tired. Under saddle, she stays at a small pleasure trot unless I squeeze her with my legs and cluck to her continuously. Getting her to keep the canter is even worse. It takes a lot of effort to motivate her to open up her stride a little bit - or even just remain from going back to her small trot. And she is not in bad shape at all right now.
Tiki has also gotten pretty clumsy with her feet. Cavaletti, which she is usually a champ with, has become very difficult for her. I also can no longer jump her because she is adding way too many strides to the jump and then only half-heartedly makes it over. My last time jumping her we trotted up to a small crossrail which she used to pretend was much higher than it actually was because, after all, she was quite the over-achiever. Well, when we approached it more recently, she barely lifted her forelegs, snagged them both on a rail, and fell straight to her knees. She seemed pretty unfazed or perhaps slow to registering it, too, because I was hanging on her neck wishing she'd pop right back up but she sure did take her time in doing so (another thing I found very strange for my somewhat spooky mare).
She is also a little short on occasion... She wears shoes and shows no signs of soreness, though, so I am at a loss. It comes and goes. On occasion she has been sensitive during grooming as well. And, last but not least, her nice topline has diminished some.
So with all this said, everything I could find online about horses exhibiting these types of symptoms has pointed to Lyme Disease or EPM. I had my vet come out to look her over and draw blood. Does anybody have any experience with horses and Lyme Disease, or do these symptoms sound like something else you've dealt with?
So sorry for the long post. Your help is greatly appreciated though!
P.S - Merry Christmas Eve!
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| Due to your location I would eliminate the following..
Birds can poop in your water tank and give your horse coccidiosis that makes one lethargic and most times has diarrhoea, weight loss, etc etc ... a fecal test can rule out this rather quickly ... if so .. sulpha drugs can be used one in water and one in feed .. use both at same time to get cured in a hurry .. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
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Go Get Em!
Posts: 13503
Location: OH. IO | EPM. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 477
Location: Lost in the swamps | Start by Pull blood and fecal first and nuro exam at your vet. I had one a few years ago was lethargic from being borderline anemic possibly from a slightly high fecal egg count. If nothing shows dig deeper, ulcers,epm, ect..
Edited by imturnin3 2015-12-24 9:34 PM
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 Texas Taco
Posts: 7499
Location: Bandera, TX | Regular blood work through vet and EPM test through Pathogenes Lab in Florida. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 975
Location: The barn...where else? SW Missouri | GoMistyGo - 2015-12-24 11:04 PM
Regular blood work through vet and EPM test through Pathogenes Lab in Florida.
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Member
Posts: 26
Location: Florida | Thank you for your input, everyone. I get results on Monday for Lyme... If that comes back negative then I'm going to have to have her tested for EPM. :( Does anyone know what type of medication is best? And would it hurt her to treat her without a diagnosis yet? |
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Texas Taco
Posts: 7499
Location: Bandera, TX | Hollie - 2015-12-25 8:44 PM
Thank you for your input, everyone. I get results on Monday for Lyme... If that comes back negative then I'm going to have to have her tested for EPM. :( Does anyone know what type of medication is best? And would it hurt her to treat her without a diagnosis yet?
Www.pathogenes.com for testing and treatment. Do a search on EPM and you will get lots of good info here. |
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 Having Smokin Bandits
Posts: 4572
Location: Woodstown, NJ | You didn't mention any feed changes but I'll share just in case. One of my horses was acting similar. He also fell to his knees when I was riding him and was so slow getting back up, I was able to step right off--that was a shock because I am slow moving myself--I am healing from a broken back. So that should tell you how slow he was. I had recently changed my horses' grain to Carb Guard because I was trying to get them off the sugar. None of my other horses were acting like this guy, though none of them really liked the Carb Guard and were eating it slowly. The only other symptom was he was farting more than usual. I stopped the Carb Guard and put everyone back on Omolene which was what I fed for years and he's back to normal. Hopefully it's something simple like this. |
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Member
Posts: 26
Location: Florida | Pathogenes.com - thank you!
And thank you for the additional information on feed! I had switched her feed months ago, and I believed that to be the source of the problem until she was switched back to her original feed toward the end of November and has had no change. If anything, she is getting worse. She is just so drowsy. :( The lameness in her hind end is getting more consistent, and she is becoming heavier on the forehand as a result. Monday - her next scheduled appointment - will not come fast enough!! |
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Member
Posts: 26
Location: Florida | Wait a second... Maybe she needs her hocks injected?! That would be a wonderful diagnosis compared to the latter. That would also fit her symptoms: come-and-go lameness/short stride, getting a little heavy on the forehand, definitely not willing to engage her hind end and participate in jumping/cavaletti (or doing it well, for that matter), not moving much in her pasture, and certainly not moving much under saddle (leghargy).
She is 11, and I have never had her hocks injected for the 2 years I've owned her. But perhaps now she's needing it. Could it be this is all that's wrong with her? |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | Hollie - 2015-12-24 2:08 PM My hyper barrel horse, Tiki, has gotten extremely lethargic over the past few months. At first I thought this was due to the inconsistent riding brought about by our extended Summer weather in Florida. However, we've been getting back at it and she only seems to be getting worse. My once fiery mare who was always alert and fidgeting with eagerness to get some energy out is now seemingly always tired. Under saddle, she stays at a small pleasure trot unless I squeeze her with my legs and cluck to her continuously. Getting her to keep the canter is even worse. It takes a lot of effort to motivate her to open up her stride a little bit - or even just remain from going back to her small trot. And she is not in bad shape at all right now. Tiki has also gotten pretty clumsy with her feet. Cavaletti, which she is usually a champ with, has become very difficult for her. I also can no longer jump her because she is adding way too many strides to the jump and then only half-heartedly makes it over. My last time jumping her we trotted up to a small crossrail which she used to pretend was much higher than it actually was because, after all, she was quite the over-achiever. Well, when we approached it more recently, she barely lifted her forelegs, snagged them both on a rail, and fell straight to her knees. She seemed pretty unfazed or perhaps slow to registering it, too, because I was hanging on her neck wishing she'd pop right back up but she sure did take her time in doing so (another thing I found very strange for my somewhat spooky mare). She is also a little short on occasion... She wears shoes and shows no signs of soreness, though, so I am at a loss. It comes and goes. On occasion she has been sensitive during grooming as well. And, last but not least, her nice topline has diminished some. So with all this said, everything I could find online about horses exhibiting these types of symptoms has pointed to Lyme Disease or EPM. I had my vet come out to look her over and draw blood. Does anybody have any experience with horses and Lyme Disease, or do these symptoms sound like something else you've dealt with? So sorry for the long post. Your help is greatly appreciated though! P.S - Merry Christmas Eve!
Yes and the pain may be making her lethargic.. not moving about etc..I would get Xrays |
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 Veteran
Posts: 216
| I just went through months of EPM treatment and I am praying that is not what's going on for you. If I were you I would test IMEDIATELY and treat if positive. If you have any questions or want to talk, I am here. God bless you! |
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Member
Posts: 26
Location: Florida | Thank you all for your help and support!
I did not go through with testing my mare for EPM because she came in from the pasture one day with swollen hocks. I talked to my vet and he agrees the hocks must be the problem. I'm taking her in for x-rays at my next appointment.
So if you don't hear from me again on this post, the health mystery was solved!   Thank you all for your help!! |
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Member
Posts: 26
Location: Florida | kathyward01 - 2015-12-28 7:50 AM
I just went through months of EPM treatment and I am praying that is not what's going on for you. If I were you I would test IMEDIATELY and treat if positive. If you have any questions or want to talk, I am here. God bless you!
Thank you! You are very kind! I am so sorry about what you've gone through with your horse. Prayers in return! |
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 Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | Let's start simple and work our way up? What are you feeding? Some horses on a high fat, low carb diet can be lethargic. I experienced this first. Had horses ranging in ages from 3 - 16 and all lost weight and became very lethargic and depressed on a high fat feed even at the maximum dose. Depending on what you're currently feeding, I would remove all processed grains and begin moving them over to whole oats with a cup or two of flax, BOSS, or regular old vegetable oil and alfalfa. I would be willing to bet that this change alone perks them up. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Hollie - 2015-12-31 8:29 AM Thank you all for your help and support! I did not go through with testing my mare for EPM because she came in from the pasture one day with swollen hocks. I talked to my vet and he agrees the hocks must be the problem. I'm taking her in for x-rays at my next appointment. So if you don't hear from me again on this post, the health mystery was solved! Thank you all for your help!!
At least let everybody know what the problem is when you find out, we hate to be left hanging after every one was giving you their thoughts on what the problem could be.  |
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Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | Hollie - 2015-12-31 8:29 AM Thank you all for your help and support! I did not go through with testing my mare for EPM because she came in from the pasture one day with swollen hocks. I talked to my vet and he agrees the hocks must be the problem. I'm taking her in for x-rays at my next appointment. So if you don't hear from me again on this post, the health mystery was solved! Thank you all for your help!!
This, again, sounds diet related to me. If you're feeding processed grain of any kind, please try removing it first. Eliminate anything that could be contributing to your inflammatory problem before you decide to inject a joint. If your vet injects an already "hot" joint, you're definitely asking for huge problems.
Diet alone can contribute to an extreme amount of inflammation in the body and cause the immune system to over react and create swelling, breathing problems, joint issues, etc.
Get the diet clean, give it a week or two, re-evaluate. |
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Common Sense and then some
Location: So. California | I would still test for WNV. PSSM1 and EPM. The other symptoms you describe seem to indicate something else going on. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 516
| This sounds an awful lot like my horse. Drags his feet really bad, no impulsion from the rear, just unwilling to move. Pulled up sore in front and behind so treated for Lyme but it turned out he needed his hocks injected. He's also SI sore but we're waiting on injecting that until we can see if the hock injection helps. |
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Member
Posts: 26
Location: Florida | Finally!! I brought Tiki to her appointment today, and the vet was amazing. He was very thorough with her examination. And, I have a diagnosis at last for my sweet mare:
Her hocks were in need of injections.
I am shocked but relieved that the answer was that simple.  We went ahead and injected her and she'll be good as new in a few days. :) Thank you to EVERYONE who helped out! The process of elimination was long and exhausting, as well as nerve-wracking! |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Hollie - 2016-01-05 3:09 PM Finally!! I brought Tiki to her appointment today, and the vet was amazing. He was very thorough with her examination. And, I have a diagnosis at last for my sweet mare: Her hocks were in need of injections. I am shocked but relieved that the answer was that simple. We went ahead and injected her and she'll be good as new in a few days. : ) Thank you to EVERYONE who helped out! The process of elimination was long and exhausting, as well as nerve-wracking!
Good deal  |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Hollie - 2016-01-05 3:09 PM
Finally!! I brought Tiki to her appointment today, and the vet was amazing. He was very thorough with her examination. And, I have a diagnosis at last for my sweet mare:
Her hocks were in need of injections.
I am shocked but relieved that the answer was that simple. We went ahead and injected her and she'll be good as new in a few days. : ) Thank you to EVERYONE who helped out! The process of elimination was long and exhausting, as well as nerve-wracking!
Woo hoo!! It's always good when it's not as bad as we have imagined. |
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Horse Health Mystery