Mystery Lameness -- then watched security camera footage -- collapse

[ParadoxFarm]

So last night we brought one of our horses in from his turnout. He’s normally a fairly feisty fellow, but he was really calm. We didn’t notice anything other than that. I fed him, and stood there watching him, and he just seemed very docile, which is not his normal personality. He finished most of his dinner, but not all of it right away, again, very odd. This morning, his left hind was completely swollen and he was having trouble putting weight on it. The vet is coming, but can’t get here till this afternoon.

So, I decided to see if I can see anything obvious on the video footage. This is not a good system for clear playback, but I figured I’d see if he hit a patch of mud or remnant of snow and wiped out. I didn’t see any of that. However, at one point he was just standing in his round pen (turned out in round pen for now) and he was just standing. He started to drop his head slowly. Then he dropped it all the way, and all of a sudden he just collapsed, as if maybe he fell asleep? Has anyone seen this happen before. He’s 11 years old and has never done this before. Sorry for blurry footage. https://youtu.be/nJLoAxrIWak?si=MelzY7Xr_tgIWWWF

[sherian]

does look like he feel asleep and the knees didn’t lock - look at sleep deprivation, various reasons for it and see if any make sense

[Posting_Trot]

Yes, he looks surprised that he’s on the ground, and then immediately gets back up it seems!

I’ve never dealt with it, although others on this board have, but it looks what I’ve seen described as narcolepsy in horses.

Here’s a discussion of it from the UC Davis Veterinary School:

Narcoloepsy in horses

[ParadoxFarm]

Yeah, it certainly does look a bit narcoleptic…but this horse has never even been “sleepy” before. So strange.

Thanks for the link. I’ll still check it out.

sherian, I can’t think of why he’d be sleep deprived either, but who knows? They are out during the day and in their stalls overnight. Same routine for the past 5 years for him.

[GraceLikeRain]

Pain could cause less sleep/willingness to lay down and then in the fall he cut himself and ended up with cellulitis?

[Demerara_Stables]

Do you have a camera in his stall that allows you to see if he’s been laying down at night less (or more) recently?

[Djones]

He popped right back up like he doesn’t hurt, so I am not thinking he’s too sore or stiff to lie down.

Does he come in with a muddy/dirty side from napping?

When stalled are you finding him with shavings in his tail, on his belly, etc? In the before times cameras weren’t always necessary to read what’s before you.

[ParadoxFarm]

The camera I have in the barn covers the aisles and not the stalls, so I don’t know. But I’ve never even considered to check on his sleeping habits because he’s always been super energetic and he has not had a problem resting in his stall. But I don’t know about recently. So I’m not sure if he is lethargic because of sleep deprevation or lethargic because he’s just not feeling good with his leg, etc. (Chicken and the egg.)

[FjordBCRF]

Wow! For all the times we try and imagine what a horse did, thats pretty wild (and so helpful) you got something like that on video.

I hope you can get him sorted back out soon!

[ParadoxFarm]

Yes, I never would have guessed. The things they likely do when you’re not watching!

[Lost_Shoe]

A horse that is deficient in REM sleep may collapse. When a horse is in REM sleep, their stay apparatus does not work; they have to be lying down to enter REM sleep. However, a REM sleep deprived horse may enter REM sleep while standing, which causes them to immediately fall down. With these horses it is important to investigate the root cause of why they can’t or won’t lie down. There are a couple of threads on this here. For example, there may be a physical issue making it uncomfortable to lie down, or the horse may not feel safe lying down without a companion to stand guard (because their instincts tell them they are vulnerable to predators when lying down). Experimenting with different turnout buddies can help. I had a horse that used to do this, and changing his turnout companion fixed it.

[ParadoxFarm]

Thanks. Yes, I can try turning him out with another. He used to be out with one of my older geldings, but he picked on that gelding, and I felt sorry for the other horse. I’ll see what I can do, good points. To make matters a little complicated, this was a ridgeling and when he was gelded, the doctor couldn’t find the “hidden gem” so he still acts a bit studdish. That’s why he’s in a separate area right now. But I can figure something out.

Thanks, all, for your responses.

[Highflyer1]

Idk, it’s hard to tell with the camera quality, but I’ve seen two horses with sleep issues do this (one sleep-deprived and one diagnosed with narcolepsy) and both seemed more gradual then that. Like full on dozing with their heads low, knee buckling, catching themselves and straightening up, then dozing again and eventually falling usually with several cycles.

[TWH_Girl]

Any update after the vet was out? Praying for nothing major!

[ParadoxFarm]

Thanks for asking. I just got in from the barn (barn in back yard). Late vet call. Well, we did a blood test and it is cellulitis. So treating for that. He thinks the horse was already sore when he fell by the way he got up. So at least it is hopefully a quick recovery.

[ParadoxFarm]

This morning the big guy is back to being feisty, but his leg is still pretty swollen. However, he’s moving around better on it, so that’s a start.

Thanks, all!

[TWH_Girl]

Yeah! Great news!