Marquis, Viva-Stem and EPM...

[Woodstocklover8]

Hi everyone! My horse was recently diagnosed with EPM and is currently undergoing treatment with Marquis. He has 13 days left of treatment for this round (possibly considering a second round). He was diagnosed at 1.5 out of 5 but I think he could have possibly been a 2. He is currently showing signs of improvement. He’s still young and I want him to have the best fighting chance possible.

I was wondering if anyone had ever used Marquis before? What were the results? Was there a relapse? Did they ever return to normal?

I’ve also been researching a product called Viva-stem which is a stem cell fluid therapy. The case studies are very promising and I was wondering if anyone had heard of/used it before? I’m particularly interested in the cost, if anyone knows…

[Bastile]

i dont know anything about Vita stem but I have a tube ofMarquis that I used one dose out of. I have no need for the rest as the vets at Ohio State were SURE my horse had EPM and had me start treatment before the test results came back. Well he didnt have EPM and now I have this tube. you can have it for free if you want it (or anyone else out there) it is due to expire soon. should have offered it for free long ago. forgot i had it. anyway - let me know if you want it.

good luck with your horse.

[deltawave]

Viva Stem’s research is a long way from being “very promising” in the real world of actual animals with diseases.

[Rio_Blanco]

Get in the Orogin trial. Meds are $150 for each round, most horses only need one or two. My mare is in round 2, but she’s also 24+.

http://pathogenes.com/orogin

Dr. Ellison is really good to work with.

[AliCat518]

You’ll find a lot of info about Marquis if you do a search on here.

I treated my old retired gelding with it when he was about 25. He recovered quite well, though not 100%. I was able to flat him and do trails which was fine for me since he was mostly retired anyway. He did relapse 8 years later when he was 33. We (vets and myself) decided to euth at that time.

[deltawave]

My experience with Marquis was similar to AliCat’s. 95% improvement, enough that my old event mare was functional and comfortable and rideable on the flat, but no more jumping. (she was 20 anyway and owed me nothing) She had to be euthanized 2 years after her diagnosis/treatment due to a pasture accident probably caused by either a recurrence or an injury due to the residual balance issues.

[twhs]

Sorry to hear about your horse. EPM is nasty stuff. We treated our pony w 2 rounds of Marquis followed by the traditional sulfa combo referred to as “the cocktail”. Pony recovered beautifully. A little bit of muscle loss on one hip but that’s filling in nicely w exercise. I would say she’s back to where she was performance-wise.

[eventingismylife]

I had a 8yo ISH mare that ended up getting EPM. We went through two rounds of Marquis to make sure we got it all. She ended up sound, but it really ended up messing with her brain to the point where she wasn’t safe to be around even as a pasture puff. I also had her on vit e which is supposed to help, but really anything that will improve the immune system should aid recovery.

[csb]

Another vote for investigating Pathogenes.com and the med Oroquin. I tried everything else with no result, but The Oroquin protocol worked.PM me if you want to talk.

[mroades]

I had trouble with relapses with Marquis. I have used toltrazuril, diclazuril and now the Oroquin with much better results.

[yellowbritches]

Our chronic EPM horse just finished up his 10 day round of Orogin. I’ve only ever known this horse as slightly to quite a bit neurological. All I can say is WOW. His vet just rechecked him this morning…first time anyone has said “Maybe he can actually go do stuff.” (versus easy dressage/hacking).

I think, honestly, a lot depends on the horse and the severity of the EPM. There are a lot of options and a lot of stuff works well, depending on the horse. Realize that you may be dealing with this, to some degree, for the rest of his life.

As for the stem cell stuff…very new and very early in its development. I wouldn’t necessarily go looking down the road for a young horse with a mild-ish case. Our horse is a candidate if all else fails him…maybe.