I have a narcoleptic OTTB. He has never collapsed under saddle but watching the episodes in his paddock or stall are very distressing. We put a camera in his stall a few days ago and to watch him collapse over and over is gutting. Has anyone worked with any experts or know of any new research regarding the condition? Most readily available research is so old- is anyone doing any research into the condition?
Here’s what it looks like.
https://video.nest.com/clip/4361e9d8…411fac8158.mp4
I’m not aware of anyone doing research currently. My understanding from New Bolton many years ago is that some horses are narcoleptic with no known cause, and some develop it as a protective reaction to pain/fear that they will lay down and not be able to rise. Has your horse had a thorough lameness exam? Have you tried bute and gabapentin trials to rule out skeletal/neurological pain?
Despite him having shown symptoms for some time, we are at the beginning of the investigation process. We just put a camera in his stall and can rule out anxious behavior, which leaves skeletal/neuro pain or neurological causes. My vet has said she doesn’t know what to do and is bumping us up to the local veterinary university- the trouble is that we had the last appointment the day before she went on vacation so I’m in a holding pattern for the next 2 weeks. He’s currently doing a firocoxib trial because he doesn’t have the stomach to tolerate bute. So far, no improvement has been seen but it’s early days. Maybe I’ll ask her backup vet for a script for gabapentin so we can get that done while she’s on vacation so we have more info to tell the hospital when he goes up for an evaluation. It’s a miracle drug for my own nerve pain- maybe it can help.
He’s had the telltale marks on the front of his legs since I got him 2 years ago but we only just put the camera on him and it’s so incredibly distressing to watch. I want to help him yesterday if you know what I mean.
Does he ever lay down and sleep normally? Episodes of semi-collapse like those you filmed of your horse are common in horses with sleep deprivation. Here are a few things I found with just a quick search:
http://vetmed.ucdavis.edu/compneuro/research/equine-narcolepsy.cfm
https://www.equisearch.com/articles/sleepdisorder_121506-20199
https://equusmagazine.com/management/horse_sleep_deprived_092308-10689
You might check with Tufts Vet School and see if they have any research going on. From my understanding they do a lot of work with “crossover” medical conditions that affect both animals and humans.
I had one, many years ago. It is distressing to watch, and more distressing to sit on. There was no information at all available to me at the time, and every vet I consulted looked at me like I was imagining it (I wasn’t). I was pretty much on my own trying to deal with it. (This would have been 40+ years ago). All I can say is “treat the symptoms” and try to supply what he needs to try to keep him safe. A strong stall door, with padding (a neck cradle would be nice) for him to use. I used to use stable bandages and figure 8 bandages on the knees, to try to splint them closed with a bit of pressure on the fronts of the knee joints. Seemed to help a bit. Keep the stall deep bedded. This all started when he was a 3 yr old. He was a TB, but unraced, we bought him as a yearling. I was sitting on him the first time it happened, I was 14 years old. It was a couple of years before I realized that this was something that was really happening, I thought it was a “one off” at first. I think it probably got worse over the years.
He would lay down to roll, then lay flat for a few minutes. Then moan and groan, and get up again, “forcing” himself to get up even though it looked like he wished he could stay down. He would not sleep laying down, ever. I always wondered if there was a breathing problem with his weight on his chest when laying down. He would sometimes sit for a while before getting up (hock and/or hind end trouble). He was kept at home so I saw him 24/7/12 and did all care myself, always with a soft paddock available as well as a large stall. He would fall down in both places. He would use the stall door and the paddock fences as supports to hold himself up while sleeping. Definitely sleep deprived.
It’s a strange malady, it’s not “narcolepsy” like is seen in dogs (in which much of the experimentation has been done), it’s different from that. My horse also had unsoundness issues, hocks and pelvic issues (also mostly undiagnosed at the time), possibly “kissing spines” (which was not something that was diagnosed at the time as far as I know). My horse lived on bute for many years, and was fine with this, no side effects. This horse was my main show horse through my junior years, from hunters, equitation, to the jumper divisions and was a local Grand Prix jumper for the last 5 years of his career. So, it is possible to manage the problem, to some extent, at least for a while. My horse was not long lived, he was put down at 14 years old, after 2 years of pasture retirement. He presented with ataxia one morning, no one knows why, and was put down that day. Vet suggested a stroke at the time but it could have been anything. Don’t know if it was related to the falling down issues, or if he injured himself while falling down (broken neck?), or completely unrelated.
I hope you can get more information than I could at the time. It is a fairly rare problem I think, though I have heard of it happening more often in old horses.
In terms of treating symptoms while you start getting to the bottom of this, I’d recommend Professional’s Choice bed sore boots. They don’t last forever, but they prevented mine from opening the cuts on the front of her fetlocks in her last few years and they were simple enough for her retirement barn to manage easily.
Looks like recumbent sleep deprivation, not necessarily narcolepsy. From what I understand, the former causes resting horses to collapse when they go into profound sleep stages while standing (as a result of not lying down and sleeping deeply for a while); the latter is a central nervous system issue that causes horses to fall asleep rather suddenly, often in response to stimuli like girth tightening and not necessarily in moments when they’re already drowsy or sleeping lightly.
I have a chronic sleep deprivation horse whose episodes look just like your guy’s. Also has the knee and front of fetlock scars from doing this for a while (10 years and counting). I never saw this particular matter improve from equioxx or gabapentin, but when it started she had ulcers and treating that made a pretty big difference. From there managing the problem has been about reducing stress and finding a boarding option where the routine is very reliable, and where the layout (24/7 outdoor access, always within sight of other horses) makes her comfortable. I’m also very proactive about treating soundness issues lest anything physical exacerbate it. Getting it down to about 25% of its original frequency is the best I’ve been able to do.
IME some horses are just unnerved by certain conditions (e.g. not being able to see ‘herd-mates’, claustrophobia, inconsistent feeding/turnout/etc. routines) and it manifests only in their not being comfortable enough to lie down for sleep often (not as other obvious anxious behavior). I worked with two regular vets and a big vet hospital when I first confronted this in my horse, and we did a lot to make sure it wasn’t a neurological symptom, and later to rule out pain that might make it hard to lie down (horse has always had no problem lying down to roll, but we did multiple thorough lameness exams with attention to the t-spine and SI areas, hocks). It was really frustrating when I was just working with my original regular vet, but a second opinion vet got the big teaching hospital involved, and the folks who see all sorts of less-common stuff were quickly able to figure out what was going on. Hopefully your vet’s decision to consult the local vet school will pay off!
I am not a fan of the Professional’s Choice bedsore boots, because they slipped and rotated on my horse almost every time I used them. The best thing I found was neoprene scalping boots (a brand called Equipro makes them), but turned upside down so the flap covers the front of fetlocks, not the coronary band. No straps around the tendons, but they fit closer and thus provide better protection than upside down bell boots (and don’t get dirt, bedding, etc. in them as much as bell boots).
Joseph Bertone,DVM is the vet who did a bit of research on this about a decade ago. I think some of his work has been linked above.
As noted above, narcolepsy would mean your horse falls asleep while doing something - meaning moving around and/or under saddle.
I have a horse that has had sleep deprivation since he had to be on stall rest for an injury and some of his herd mates changed. He wears these fetlock shields 24/7. People have observed him falling down outside and in his stall and he’s fallen asleep and almost gone all the way down in the cross ties.
Things to try:
More bedding, banked bedding, different bedding
Switching stalls or neighbors
Different size (larger) stall
Changing herd mates (having a dominant mare in the herd can help others feel safe enough to lay down)
24/7 turnout or swapping the turnout schedule to days or nights
A week or so of pretty strong pain relief in case the lack of laying down is due to sleep
I am in a boarding barn where making some the changes noted above are not an option, so we just deal with it the best we can.
I am aware that the more commonly used term- equine narcolepsy- is a bit of a misnomer and agree that for the most part, we are talking about a sleep deprivation issue. BUT… he has spontaneously feel asleep several times when one would not expect it. He has not done it while in work but once was while I was grazing him- one minute he was happily grazing, the next minute his legs were buckling. Sometimes he starts to go out when I’m bridling him when 2 seconds before he was giving me a hard time about putting his fly bonnet on. Those two situations COULD be more sleep deprivation but the suddenness of the onset when seconds before he was active (rather than very relaxed) is concerning.
I appreciate others’ stories and suggestions. In February I switched barns. Before then, he only collapsed at night and frequently had bloody sores on the front of his legs. The new barn is extremely responsive and provides a very horse-friendly and secure environment. His ulcer situation has improved dramatically with the improved care. Bedding and stall size are generous and they have tried him with different combinations of neighbors. At the old barn he never, ever laid down to sleep though he frequently rolled. At this barn he very rarely will lie down and when he does, he falls into a very active REM sleep and seems to relive his racing days. It’s pretty creepy to watch, actually, because his eyes are open and he looks almost seizure-y, but he wakes up normally and has no post-ictal phase so I think it’s just disordered sleep.
We will be taking him to the local university to do a scan to look for underlying physical issues. I just wanted to hear what others’ experiences were and wondered if there was any hope. It looks so unpleasant for him.
this thread is very enlightening, thanks to all who shared their stories.
I had a mare who did the same thing. Did not do it at every barn, some places she would lay down no problem, never any issues riding. She then had a pretty severe injury and had a leg in a cast for a time. She would fall asleep standing up and crash. On the off chance she would lay down to sleep she would be in a very active sleep and “gallop” while laying down and then suddenly jump up and look very worried. I always likened it to a nightmare. I bred her and she slept calmly during her pregnancy. When the filly was born she refused to lay down for about a week and would just try to stand guard regardless of how tired she was - she did always know where her filly was and never stepped on her even though filly liked to sleep right in front of her. After a week or so they would lay down together. I put her down due to a secondary injury 3 years after the first. Her daughter’s favorite thing to do at 3 years old is come in and lay down in the stall for a snooze after turnout. In my mare’s case I would relate it to either stress, feeling vulnerable, or feeling the need to be on high alert.
Thank you for sharing your story. It’s one reason we put the Nest camera on him. We wanted to see if there was a stress component but watching him for several days, it does not appear to be the case. I wish I could diagnose the problem just by watching the video but I can’t.
Tonight’s clip: (I really have to stop watching him because it’s making ME incredibly anxious.)
https://video.nest.com/clip/c2fb6e54192e4c4d986ed5bcbb71b74e.mp4
My mare never looked stress, always had a bit of a soft eye, no other anxious behavior… just super easy to deal with all around. She did better when she had tons of group turnout or had the filly with her which to me makes it a security/vulnerability issue. She had also fallen asleep in the cross ties quieter days in the barn where she would doze off while getting groomed or tacked up. Does he get turned out with his neighbors? If I had another one with that issue I’d also be inclined to also try a calming supplement/magnesium.
Interesting, Skip. My horse used to have group turnout and would absolutely not lie down during turnout. He’d lightly doze but never saw him collapse. He would collapse in his stall at night, judging by the open wounds on his legs. He was boss of the herd so maybe he didn’t want to show vulnerability or something. Now he’s in an individual paddock with neighbors close by. Now he will (very rarely) lie down and his cuts are better - almost never open wounds any more, just leftover scars I think. But as the video shows, still collapses regularly. He now collapses in his paddock as well as in his stall. I honestly can’t tell how he feels about the new place. His sleep pattern makes it seem like he feels safer and he seems less herd-bound but he’s slightly more anxious overall. He already is on magnesium, for whatever that’s worth.
Someone I know had a horse diagnosed relatively recently via New Bolton. They recommended 24/7 turnout with a very easy going buddy, and making sure that horse had a large, well-bedded, safe area to sleep in. The horse seemed to be doing well but AFAIK they did retire her. (She had behavioral issues under saddle they thought were related to sleep deprivation).
Any updates? Such an interesting topic and the videos are quite striking.
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