Horse spins / turns in circles

[kb1223]

My 26 year old gelding (Morgan/Quarterhorse cross) has started spinning in circles in the field over the last month or two. Sometimes he spins 2-3 times, then walks 10-15 paces and does it again, then walks somewhere else and does it again. Then he starts eating grass. It seems to always be to the right, and it’s not at a frenzied pace - just turning in circles.

He does not stumble, fall or have trouble walking or moving in any way or at any time. He is still eating grain, hay and grass normally, and relating to his pasture mate in the usual manner. He does not seem to do it in preparation to lie down or roll, but he is physically able to lie down and/or roll at other times. My vet has never seen this before. Any ideas?

Many thanks!

[crosscreeksh]

I had a horse do this some years ago. Never got a satisfactory diagnosis by any vet. Experienced an acute episode …he was running is erratic circles resulting in being put to sleep…diagnosis…sort of…was a stroke!! We really don’t know what the cause was!! Good luck.

[csaper58]

We had an old pony that did this, it was diagnosed as seizures. Can you video the behavior and show your vet?

[OverandOnward]

Get a new vet. A MUCH better-educated one. Pronto.

This behavior is very probably a symptom of serious neurological problems. It may look harmless, but the symptoms can be the cause of equine distress and suffering. They can’t control it, and it seems to cause anxiety, which can become extreme.

It can’t be diagnosed over the internet. You need better science on the spot to help your horse.

Don’t delay. Please.

[Weluvhaha]

He needs a full neuro exam by someone who does a lot of them or really likes neuro cases. You can go to AAEP.org and read what is in a neuro test and you can prolly do some assessment yourself, like leg misplacement, circling, skin sensitivity, tail tone. There are prolly signs that you aren’t recognizing.

One thing my (new) vet did was she took pinchers and pinched all down my horse’s neck and body from poll to tail. My horse had several “dead zones” where he felt absolutely nothing. It’s good to know what you’re dealing with. I give him Pentosan to reduce the arthritis inflammation in his neck and it helps a great deal.

[Feliz]

I’ve seen exactly that with a pony belonging to a friend. Pony started spinning in place, also to the right, very fast. Stopped, got a halter on, then started twitching head to the right, lead rope was removed just in time for it to start again. It was very distressing to watch, head was tilted to the right and pony looked so frightened. It did stop after minute or two, and within 5min she was eating grass. That was a few months ago hasn’t reoccured. Multiple vets have seen her & closest neuro vet has been consulted but said he couldn’t do any more than local (very good) vets.

Basically neuro vet said it’s wait and see, if she goes 6mths without another episode then she’ll probably be ok. The biggest concern is that she could hurt herself really badly doing it. Fingers crossed, she’s a lovely pony.

Good luck with your horse - I would be very concerned that it’s happening regularly.

[maunder]

I had a horse that did this after a stroke. It did get better for him but his prognosis was so bad the vet recommended that I put him down.

I have a mini now that tends to circle due to neurological symptoms, but part of the mini’s condition was caused by being locked in a small stall for 9 years.

[scheherazadetbmare]

I agree it is probably seizures. There is medication that can control some seizures. Get a good vet.

[Ranch]

I joined here specifically for this original post as my elderly mare started doing the same thing.

Diagnosis is the horse version of sciatica. My vet had never seen this before either. Good thing I recorded it. Vet did a thorough exam and that’s what he thinks it was. It’s basically a pinched nerve in the hip area that can cause pain at any time. The only way the horse has to try and deal with it is to spin hoping they can relieve the pressure on the nerve,

Don’t give up hope and give your horse time to see if the issue resolves itself. My girl was still bright and alert with no other issues so I knew she was not going to be a candidate for euthanasia.

My old girl is going on 34 and she exibited the same thing as the original post, but after a week she was fine. I made sure to give her plenty of room to move around in so she would not get hurt and kept a close eye on her. She may have additional bouts as she continues to age, but I have bute for her and she is regularly fed LMF senior with gluecosemine in it to help with her joints.

[SusanO]

I had this happen with an old pony ( likely 40+ years old). It started out as an occasional incident and got worse. The pony had additional problems and was very stressed out when this occurred so was euthanized. The vet thought that maybe there were tumors pressing on his spinal cord which caused this but I don’t know for sure. It was definitely a neurological event and not seizures.