Sometimes the thought crosses my mind that my horse could possibly have EPM. Just little things here and there. He spooks ... a lot... but, hes always been that way... always. Hes just weird that way so that's not really a good indicator for me. Anyway, my question is, do you take your horse for testing? I've read countless times that the treatment is far cheaper than the testing? So how do you get treatment without testing thru your vet? Will they give meds to treat without actually testing? And what's the go to for suspected but not confirmed? 

spookiness can be caused from several things.  Some horses just more watchie than others, low magnesium, Epm, hurting somewhere, just young and havent been somewhere before and sees new things....

As far as treatments, Im in Oklahoma and the vets I have used doesnt put much stock in the tests bc you can get false readings.  My vets give me meds without having to test.  There is no cure and bc I know and my vet knows too without a shadow of doubt my horse has it I treat at least 2x year and more if I have symptoms. 

I believe that you should have your vet look at horse and access and go from there.  They can help you narrow down what your problem may be. 

Good Luck!

I bought the horse from the trainer who raised and started him. He told me he was always very "reactive" and watchy...  hes done alot of desensitizing with him, but he was always just going to be "that horse". Its not dangerous,  I'm use to it as I've owned him for the last 7 years. It's just one of his quirks. I can control it a little with diet and making sure hes kept busy... he loves to rope, so that's what I do with him. Hes great at his job and will give me 100% focus in the pen.  I trust him enough to put my youngest son on him to cool him down after we rope and he loves to bathe him. I've tried all the calming supplements,  treated for ulcers, feed him low starch no starch, high fat,  no grain etc etc.... all of it... hes always the same no matter what lol! Physically I dont see anything that stands out that there is a problem,  no weakness, no weird steps ... just the spooking issue... when I read spooking is a sign of EPM  it just makes me wonder if im.missing something.  I do not know what my vet would do as far as testing/treating .. I've never asked, all I've ever taken him in for is routine stuff yearly. Next time I'm going to bring it up. 

Spinal fluid is the only accurate way to test for EPM and not necessarily recommended due to risks, etc  The blood tests only show if your horse has been exposed, so is pretty worthless.  Most vets will dispense meds on symptoms - if you see no difference in a couple weeks of treatment, chances are, it's not EPM.