EPM and acupuncture

[Nezzy]

My horse was recently diagnosed with EPM and i was told to order Protazil and give extra vitamin E.

He is not that bad, to be honest. He was tripping a bit, but i had thought it was due to changing the angle of his hoof. He had been a bit under run and we were trying to slowing fix that. Farrier noticed he could not hold his hind right up long enough. When i took him to the round pen, there was obvious stiffness in the right hind at the trot and canter. But he has not gotten worse.

I am waiting on the meds and adding more vita E. Wondering if any of you have had acupuncture for an EPM horse and of you thought it helped at all? I want to keep him comfortable.

Also wondering how long it took for your horse to get back to light riding? Like i said my guy is not that bad as of yet.

[jherold]

It really depends on what nerves are affected. My mare was never not rideable. Hers was more hypersensitivity to superficial nerve endings. She tried to bite when curried and saddling was a challenge. Chiropractic caused her to become dangerously aggressive. She is fine now, but it took 4 years to be able to curry her and saddle her without her crabbing about it. Although she still gives the stink eye to anyone (other than me) on the ground messing with her saddle or going above her like they are going to adjust her. I doubt she will ever forget everything that caused her pain.

[BraveSC]

Your horse sounds a lot like mine that just went through a similar scenario earlier this year. He did come back with a high titer so we treated with the deq/lev and I didn’t ride him during the treatment days (10 days). We ended up doing a 2nd round of the lev so didn’t ride during that either. Once that was done, I went back to light riding. I’d start on the lunge to help him figure things out by himself then I would hop on and he has done really well ever since. Now he’s in full work and doing really well. Regular chiro seems to help, haven’t done the acupuncture.

[Ziva.Sparks]

I have only seen acupuncture work once, and it was on a horse that had a torn hamstring and was atrophied and walked with a hitch. She’ll never be back to 100%, but it has helped her grow more muscle. I think acupuncture is anecdotal at best, but it does no harm, so worth a try.

Had a friend who had a young mare who got EPM, and the only thing that helped was the Protazil and rest. It took 2 or 3 years before she was ridable, and in the super hot weather she’ll still stumble and drunk walk.

I don’t think horses live long enough for their nerves to heal back to 100%. Once it’s damaged, I think you just maintain their comfort.

[PaddockWood]

My personal experience with acupuncture is remarkable. Multiple pain issues totally resolved. I think it comes down the the practitioner’s ability and training.

There are also some podcasts talking about it - horse vets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYpPA8o8PpA

and

Alternative Therapies for Lameness: Acupuncture

[FjordBCRF]

I did multiple sessions of electro-stim acupuncture with my guy after a moderate EPM titer and before a chronic Lyme diagnosis. He enjoyed it, was very relaxed, but it didn’t “fix” the knee buckling that was presenting. I also did several rounds of shockwave on his neck where he has a small mineralization at his poll that he loved to zonk out for too, but again, didn’t “fix” anything. He’s doing a lot better now after nearly 3 months of antibiotics for the Lyme.

[Ziggy793]

Ha this is my experience as well. I did a couple rounds of acupuncture with my EPM gelding (who was never unridable, was just a little wonky/off in his hind end and had muscle loss) and he obviously enjoyed it and was totally zonked out in the cross ties but I cant say I noticed any particular improvement.

As others have said, its just meds and time with EPM (and vitamin e)- and make sure you’re keeping him on meds long enough to really kick it. I did end up giving mine ~8 months off over the winter for him to recover. I had kept him in very light work after his initial diagnosis but he had enough other health issues crop up that I felt like his immune system was shot and he needed a reset. So he spent a while turned out with buddies and came back great in the spring.

[FjordBCRF]

I did enjoy watching him completely zone out but I think Lyme was our issue from the get go. I did treat the EPM with Marquis but didn’t notice a lick of difference. My guess is the Lyme messed with his immune system which didn’t help anything EPM related.

[Nezzy]

Horse got worse since my OP. Laying down a lot, back end seems affected, he is pulling his hind legs under himself more.

Well, the Protazil finally arrived thursday and i rushed over and gave him some. He ate it right up. Next morning he was up and around and seemed better. But this morning, he was laying flat out and got up a bit wobbly. I know the protozoa need to die off and things won’t be perfect right away, but it really scares me. I don’t think i can ask him to stand in one place long enough for acupuncture or massage as of now. He has a regular massage person, but idk if he can deal with anything yet. I may give the acupuncture a try if he can improve a little bit.

I realize some horses are much worse, but seeing him like this is so scary. He is a perfect horse for me. People ask me all the time if i ever decide to sell him, to ask them first. He will never leave me until he passes. I wish i could clone him. Why does this crap always happen to the very best?

And yes i have increased his vitamin E up to 7000-8000 iu

[PaddockWood]

Ugh. I’m so sorry.

[sparkygrace]

EPM and ulcers go hand in hand. Before my horse was diagnosed with EPM, I treated for ulcers. There was a dramatic improvement. See the information below.

My horse recovered well with Protazil and Vitamin E. Unfortunately, he developed arthritis in his stifles, so he went on to another career and is thriving. He is kept on a maintenance dose of EPM meds and has not relapsed. (The stifle problem was not related to EPM, it was conformational.)

https://sunnycoastvet.com/ca/equine-disease-breaking-the-epm-stereotype/

[stargzng386]

I recommend joining this fb group. While the drug kills off the Protozoa there are supplements that can help the nerve damage. It’s a scary disease and I’ve seen them not survive if meds weren’t used long enough they can rebound.