Percheron mare sick help?

[Florida chick]

Does anyone have any ideas? Its not EPM, not Tetnus, not WNV, not Rabies, not Seizures and all labwork and Liver Enzymes show a perfectly healthy horse. We have a Percheron mare, 12 yrs old about 1900 lbs. Last year was her 1st epidsode I found her circling left and uncoodinated. Facial stiffness and lips flapping and visible swelling over her eyes. She was put on Dex for swelling and they said no clue if she would make it. Once the Dex takes effect she seems to return to normal for sometime and then another episodes comes up out of no where. All blood panels and Liver enzymes come back a normal healthy horse. They thought maybe trauma or a brain lesion or tumor. Time went by and then the same thing happened over the summer and now last month and then again 2 days ago. After high dose Dex she returns to normal... Our vets haven't given us hope and believe its a tumor or lesion. Wouldn't this be progressive if that were the case? Do you have any ideas? We are trying to get funds together to get an MRI next. I have already spent $2000+ on her and still have not answers. Thank you Kari Cohen
Here are videos of an episode. email [email protected]

Then here she is returning to normal after Dex...

 

[ChicknJ]

Hi Kari, so sorry your horse is going through this.

Has your vet tested for Addison's or Addison's like disorders? Cushing's? With some endocrine diseases, improvement is seen with use of steriods. I didn't see in the list if sweats, anhydrosis? Prob not, vets in florida diagnose that quickly. What are they planning on MRI'ing...?

Hope the best for you both..., I will forward this as an email to my friend that's a vet up north, maybe she can just give a few new thoughts.


Good luck, Jae

 

[skirbo]

I have no thoughts, but I will copy this post and the links to a friend of mine who has tons of experience with bizarre equine medical problems. Maybe she'll have an idea.

Sarah

 

[Florida chick]

Thanks, Her Thyroid is normal. Sigh
She has been tested for everything they can think of or can perform. THey want to MRI her Brain and neck area for a tumor or lesion.

 

[ChicknJ]

ok, her thyroid, parathyroid or pituitary could have a lesion or tumor on it... that could explain some of those symptoms. She can have something wrong in those systems without it causing lab changes.

Does the MRI have to be performed in Gainesville?

Wishing the best for you both

 

[buck-wild-chick]

Sorry that your girl is having problems. She is really pretty. Hope they can find out whats wrong with her.

Is your vet Dr. Huston or Dr. Alford ?

 

[dfchaser]

Have they tested for lyme?

 

[lockedhearts]

This is a rare thing, but I have actually known it to happen in 2 cases. I have kown that if a horse eats leaves or bark from a Red Maple they can exhibit these symptons. It's another road to explore.

Sorry you are having trouble with her, hope you can figure it out and she gets better.

 

[PitterPaws]

So sorry to hear about your horse, Hope all is going well. About the leaves I have also heard that some oak leaves are toxic.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Any sign of jerk strangles ? sometimes the cavity behind the eye, an area that is part of the nasal passages gets infected and one can see anything in the nose. I can not remember what this sac is called, but I had a horse do the same thing. I finally took him to Columbia University in Missouri and they did a culture on him. It came up as a bacteria somehow related to strangles.
Hope this helps.

The post would not let me type the word, but in the "jerk" it is suppose to be an apparently bad word that begins with a b and ends with a d.