Nerve Paralysis & Neurological Symptoms

[Simkie]

@Lieslot

Thank you Simkie, I didn’t dare to disagree with him at that time and had nothing to counter his thought process, but yes with the latest advances in vet med, he probably was still going by old school thinking.

So frustrating to be in that position!

If you want something to mention next time, Seattle Slew’s neck problems are widely known. He presented with hind end neuro deficit and had two bagby basket surgeries to fuse the neck.

https://thehorse.com/132704/slews-successful-surgery/

There’s a lot out there about it :yes:

[Lieslot]

Oh waw, thanks for that link, interesting!!

[beowulf]

how is your boy this morning?

[Jealoushe]

@IPEsq

IME, ataxia such as OP’s horse is experiencing from sudden trauma needs to be evaluated for acute injury first to the back, pelvis, and neck (and may resolve when the actue inflammation is resolved) but then as beowulf says, the fall could have been caused by what had been mild proprioceptive deficits already occurring, and investigating that is important if we want to try to prevent another similar trauma (or even worse, if something bad happens jumping XC).

My only thought as to why I am 99% positive there was nothing there prior, is because he ripped his front shoe off that day, and it was twisted worse than any shoe I have ever seen. He did something similar a month earlier, running around like a hooligan and slid toward the fence line, turned and burned and ripped the same shoe off.

Question, if the neck rads do show something, what might it be? A fracture? Arthritis? What would be any possible treatment?

[Jealoushe]

@beowulf

how is your boy this morning?

He’s alright. He seemed to be moving fairly well last night and was in good spirits. I noticed it seems as though he is trying to move his hind end a bit more than he was. Before he would keep his feet still as long as possible when eating etc in the stall but now he seems to be moving more. He has taken to leaning on his bum in the stall at night, and he has half rubber walls, so where his tail hits the rubber mat meeting the wall all the hair is gone. So now I am trying to find a solution for that. Either put more rubber or a tail wrap, but I cant imagine a tail wrap every night is a good idea.

I am struggling a bit mentally feeling sorry for him. Do you think he wonders why this happened to him? It breaks my heart to see him in his stall looking a bit uncomfortable. Or yesterday my dog ran into the paddock and spooked the horses mildy and they cantered off…Indy tried to but then trotted two steps and stopped. I just feel this enormous heartbreak for him not knowing why he can’t do what he used to be able to. He normally follows my mare everywhere but now he spends a lot of time at the hay feeder alone while the girls are off grazing. He is grazing too, just not like he used to.

[IPEsq]

With his fall/accident, I wouldn’t be all that surprised to see a fracture. He might have just really wrenched it (in which case, Xray could look good but maybe ultrasound would pick up inflammation). Might have just aggravated things with some preexisting arthritis.

Since it’s been a little while, it sounds like it’s maybe too late to do DMSO IV? I’m not really sure. Other possible treatments include keeping up with the steroids, using different steroids (such as injecting joints in the neck), other NSAIDs, acupuncture, laser, PEMF (probably NOT chiro at this stage).

I’d want to know what was going on in his body, whether it is the neck or the back or his pelvis. And then treat that medically as best as you can. Then based on that information, move on to some proprioceptive training. Lots of ways to work on this if he can at least walk around ok on controlled footing. Using things like the Equicore bands, using the T-Touch figure 8 wrap or something like that, putting a cat collar on a fetlock to increase awareness. Hand walking very carefully over changing surfaces (nothing crazy here but maybe like from road to grass or sand). Maybe backing up a couple steps.

I do think it’s unsettling for them to suddenly not be in control of their bodies like they used to.

[Peggy]

@Jealoushe

He’s alright. He seemed to be moving fairly well last night and was in good spirits. I noticed it seems as though he is trying to move his hind end a bit more than he was. Before he would keep his feet still as long as possible when eating etc in the stall but now he seems to be moving more. He has taken to leaning on his bum in the stall at night, and he has half rubber walls, so where his tail hits the rubber mat meeting the wall all the hair is gone. So now I am trying to find a solution for that. Either put more rubber or a tail wrap, but I cant imagine a tail wrap every night is a good idea.

I am struggling a bit mentally feeling sorry for him. Do you think he wonders why this happened to him? It breaks my heart to see him in his stall looking a bit uncomfortable. Or yesterday my dog ran into the paddock and spooked the horses mildy and they cantered off…Indy tried to but then trotted two steps and stopped. I just feel this enormous heartbreak for him not knowing why he can’t do what he used to be able to. He normally follows my mare everywhere but now he spends a lot of time at the hay feeder alone while the girls are off grazing. He is grazing too, just not like he used to.

My Skipper horse would lean his entire body against the wall of his stall (kind of like this Cat Balou clip - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz6fKjtQ1zI). I think it was always with his right side to the wall.

When a prey animal feels compromised like it can’t get away from a prey animal, that messes with its mind.

[khall]

I ended up euthanizing my CA gelding, and OTTB. He too would not lay down and would fall because he was narcoleptic from lack of REM sleep. He was mid 20’s when I called it. A friend had her late 20’s gelding somehow injury his hind end, think fracture of some sort but could not get rads, he was not able to be trailered. He was stalled for months and now is back out full time. Still NQR but much much better. He was not really neuro but was extremely painful on palpation of the pelvis internally.

[Jealoushe]

I got some videos of him walking around the pasture this weekend. I will make a little Youtube video and share it for your thoughts once I get it posted.