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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 561
 
Location: somewhere in the south | Ok, long story but please hang with me! We bought a 13 yr old gelding in June, seemed to be just what my daughter wanted. We asked all the right questions, test rode him and made the purchase. We get him shipped to us and when he arrived he had the list from hell of "what he needed to stay sound"!!!! We immediately called our vet and had him come check him out (we bought in Tx and we live in NC ). We made some adjustments to the "list" and hoped for the best! Within the last 6 months we have had him injected in the hocks, stifles, si, treated for epm and a daily regimen of supplements for insulin resistence, daily Equioxx. Hope I haven't forgotten anything! Oh, he does get special shoes on the front for the dry, crumbling feet! The woman we bought him from never told us any of this and we did ask alot, even directly asked if he was on any meds, injections or supplements! Ok, so that's the background but my main question is would the epm cause his left side of his face to lose muscle? It has caved in over his eye and in his cheek.............really weird, the vet checked for tumors, blockages, etc.....xrays didn't show anything! He's still in good spirits but my gosh..........what else can we do! Any help would be great! We've done enough to pay for him again but what a sweetheart this horse is and a real powerhouse if we can ever get him going!!!! I just want my daughter to be able to ride something finished and have a good time! |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
  
| Did you do a pre-purchase exam?
I feel really badly for you if you did ask all the questions that should have been asked about maintenance and supplements and the woman flat out lied to you. Did you approach her about that fact when he showed up?
As for the EPM - I supppose it could be causing the facial issues, EPM can cause a whole host of strange issues.
If you haven’t already, consider working with someone really well versed in equine nutrition to overhaul his diet for his particular issues. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 561
Location: somewhere in the south | Did not do a pre purchase exam as we didn't know any vets in the area........... |
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  Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | That's just rotten. I hate to sell riding horses because even if I honestly don't know they have any issues, I'd feel terrible if something showed up with a new buyer. But this isn't even the case with you. To get a list!!! I sure hope you get him figured out. So sorry. The horse business is often such a dishonest affair. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 762
Location: NC | This is why i hate buying horses sometimes. To answer your question i knew a horse about 10-12 years ago that had epm at one time and half his face was sunken in. It didnt effect him and the girl who owned him ran barrels and gymkhana on him. (he did pass from colic later on but thats another story LOL) His owner at the time was a teenager and i dont think did anything special to help him |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12838
| EPM affects every horse differently. It would not hurt to give the horse a round of meds for that every 6 months or so.
There is a combination of herbs that controls IR very effectively and is not expensive. Also Kentucky Performance Products may make a feed for that.
Injections are certainly not uncommon but that many at one time is very strange. One of mine seemed to need a lot and turned out it was her shoes. She still gets stifles and hocks done regularly. (Trainer rides her). The one I ride gets hocks and one stifle. Many of those injections are only done once and may never need to be done again. Still seems like a lot at one time.
If seller lives in E TX would love to know her name. |
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Defense Attorney for The Horse
Location: Claremore, OK | Facial muscle paralysis or atrophy is pretty common with EPM. |
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