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 Big Gun
Posts: 2216
 
Location: Texas | how many horses have come down with epm at your barn?
i sent my horse off to a lady on this forum and a while back I noticed she listed about giving her horses for epm yearly. There is really no way of knowing for sure but I suspect my horse contacted epm whle he was at her house for a month. He came down with epm shortly after leaving her place. Like I said, really no way of knowing where he picked it up from, but it doesn't hurt to ask before you send them off. |
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 A Gopher's Worst Nightmare
Posts: 5094
 
Location: Southern Oregon | That is an awful big coincidence. Especially if she has SEVERAL horses with EPM. |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | maybe explain a little better.. the statement is confusing.. yearly? and what makes you beleive he contacted at that barn ? just curious.. |
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 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6437
Location: Montana | I thought EPM could only be contracted from certain animals doo-doo? |
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Defense Attorney for The Horse
Location: Claremore, OK | 3rdtimesacharm - 2015-02-21 2:15 AM
how many horses have come down with epm at your barn?
i sent my horse off to a lady on this forum and a while back I noticed she listed about giving her horses for epm yearly. There is really no way of knowing for sure but I suspect my horse contacted epm whle he was at her house for a month. He came down with epm shortly after leaving her place. Like I said, really no way of knowing where he picked it up from, but it doesn't hurt to ask before you send them off.
The more likely explanation is that your horse had been exposed to EPM ( as most have) and the stress of training/new surroundings/travel, caused it to become active.
Young horses are especially prone to it, since just being young, growing and having a nieve immune system makes them stressed. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 926
| Liana D - 2015-02-21 1:38 PM
3rdtimesacharm - 2015-02-21 2:15 AM
how many horses have come down with epm at your barn?
i sent my horse off to a lady on this forum and a while back I noticed she listed about giving her horses for epm yearly. There is really no way of knowing for sure but I suspect my horse contacted epm whle he was at her house for a month. He came down with epm shortly after leaving her place. Like I said, really no way of knowing where he picked it up from, but it doesn't hurt to ask before you send them off.
The more likely explanation is that your horse had been exposed to EPM ( as most have ) and the stress of training/new surroundings/travel, caused it to become active.
Young horses are especially prone to it, since just being young, growing and having a nieve immune system makes them stressed.
It typically takes months for EPM to show signs, so this is probably what happened, the horse had it in his system, was stressed at the trainer, and then showed symptoms when it got home. The protozoa is just about everywhere in Texas. I'm hearing some barns are starting to just treat for it on a regular basis. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12838
| My vet says that it is a problem and we have to deal with it. Unless you can provide actual proof that the horse actually contracted EPM at the trainer's you are leaving yourself open for legal action.
One of my horses has EPM and 3 different vets said he does not. I have been treating him for 3 1/2 years and he will probably have to be treated for the rest of his life. Since I had a horse contract EPM in 1992 and no one had any idea what he had, I am sure that my horses have contracted here at my house. (Had an exceptional vet in 92 that would not give up til she found the problem). Personally I think my horses are better off at the trainer's. |
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Take a Picture
Posts: 12838
| chicks2 - 2015-02-21 2:04 PM
Liana D - 2015-02-21 1:38 PM
3rdtimesacharm - 2015-02-21 2:15 AM
how many horses have come down with epm at your barn?
i sent my horse off to a lady on this forum and a while back I noticed she listed about giving her horses for epm yearly. There is really no way of knowing for sure but I suspect my horse contacted epm whle he was at her house for a month. He came down with epm shortly after leaving her place. Like I said, really no way of knowing where he picked it up from, but it doesn't hurt to ask before you send them off.
The more likely explanation is that your horse had been exposed to EPM ( as most have ) and the stress of training/new surroundings/travel, caused it to become active.
Young horses are especially prone to it, since just being young, growing and having a nieve immune system makes them stressed.
It typically takes months for EPM to show signs, so this is probably what happened, the horse had it in his system, was stressed at the trainer, and then showed symptoms when it got home. The protozoa is just about everywhere in Texas. I'm hearing some barns are starting to just treat for it on a regular basis.
Just for the record, it does not take months for the symptoms to show up. Stress does exacerbate the problem but a horse with a severe case of EPM will be dead in less than a week without previous symptoms. |
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Big Gun
Posts: 2216
Location: Texas | Like I mentioned, I have no way of knowing where he picked it up at. I just saw where she posted a while back that she gives her horses something once a year to possibly ward off the epm. I don't remember what it was, I was just a little startled that she knew she had an epm problem at her barn and didn't mention it to me. I also took him to a swimming facility for a month, he could have easily picked it up there. My main point is to ask before you take your horse somewhere to leave for a while about diseases or current sicknesses. I can't be liable for something if I don't mention names. |
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 Queen Boobie 2
Posts: 7521
| Hmmmm, I don't really agree with you that she should have mentioned to you that she treats for it once a year. EPM is present a whole lot of places and I have heard of training barns across disciplines and across the country that treat horses for it once a year as a precaution. |
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I AM being nice
Posts: 4396
Location: MD | I actually have found annual treatment to be a norm in many performance horse programs where horses are being ridden and competed on heavily. |
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| Epm is actually a lot more common than people realize. And the bugs from the animal poop is everywhere like the hay we buy, our pastures. Until all those critters are gone from our area. And there are actually two different bugs. my horse i carried him to 4 different vets had a ton of different diagnoses, i used one proformance vet we gave him a top to bottom lamness ultrsounded his suspensories she said if we fused his hocks had to,give him 30 days off and start riding, i did that and the first day i lightly rode him next day he would not go right at all called he she said we should have injected stifles, so,we did and i just lunged him with a 60 foot rope so i did not fight with him he just did not look right got him legged up carried him to a show he balked at the gate each time he makes nice runs cause he is a nice horse and a nice mover could have been an english horse but would not fire and he was just choppy in rear called vet again she injected his stifles and at that time she told me that he was pretty much done due to all his joint problems i just walked away scratching my head after i spent 8k he is done. I called a couple of friends they suggusted another vet i carried just to do a lamness eval he watched him in a round pen and first thing was a nero test which he promptly failed, he drew blood and sent off to,uc davis i called got the results which where negative. I got him to call me back, he then suggected maybe kissing spine, si or something else. I got on the internet and found story after story like mine then they send or,have the vet send in blood work to pathogens and if postive do the treatment my horse was getting worse by the month now he good i need to do a recheck on the bloodwork. i did notice about a month after i treated him like i said i have been terribly sick all winter i went in the pasture and looked at my gelding out in field with my friend her husband was scouting my gelding looked like he had been worked he had a shine to his coat like i been feeding him up and muscles like i been riding the hair off of him. |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | exactly.. A horse can harbor it for months and years..pick it up anywhere....you cant place blame on a trainers barn.. certain illnesses yes.. but epm no.. imho.. |
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 Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | From reading this post you can tell that more time needs to be dedicated to educating ourselves on the diseases that are a possible threat to our horses. Unless this trainer has a yard full of pet possums you are complety off base in assuming that she had any more to do with your horses illness than you did. Stuff happens and it sucks, but that's part of owning horses. |
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Expert
Posts: 1543
Location: MI | So when trainers treat annually, what are they treating with? |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | Probably better she treats for it yearly than not....I don't know much about it but due to the fact it seems pretty common, I don't think you can be too safe.
ETA- OP you are right in that it is good to ask about any recent diseases. I turned my horse out in the back 40 at my boarding barn and he contracted strangles from another horse out there that had it and nobody told me. I didn't think he was in danger there but boy was I wrong.
Edited by cavyrunsbarrels 2015-02-22 11:14 AM
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 Expert
Posts: 3782
Location: Gainesville, TX | I agree with what's been said above. I had a gelding have issues with this. We had just moved him from a large pasture with a bunch of mares to a smaller turnout pen with new geldings. It was winter, cold, and he wasn't fond of the stemmier grass hay we had. He dropped weight and started showing symptoms of EPM. He would drag his toes and his weight would fall out from under him at a trot. A normally perky, even somewhat hot horse became dull. He didn't blink his eyes as fast either. He would set one leg up over the other and just rest them there, not even feeling it. We put him on Ultium to up his weight and treated him for the EPM. He rode out pretty good after that. I even placed at some barrel races with him. He was an older gelding. It was just the stress of a new situation and bad weather. |
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Big Gun
Posts: 2216
Location: Texas | bennie1 - 2015-02-21 10:55 PM Hmmmm, I don't really agree with you that she should have mentioned to you that she treats for it once a year. EPM is present a whole lot of places and I have heard of training barns across disciplines and across the country that treat horses for it once a year as a precaution.
I doubt seriously she would tell me out right without me asking her about it. It's a question I'll ask from now on. I have seen people post questions on what to ask the trainers. One I'm going to ask from now for sure. |
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