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[RC] Rascal's EPM diagnosed today - Laurie DurginI wrote the storey and accidently deleted it.Vet came today to draw coggins. Since hurting my hand , my son had been caring for horses, and with all the storms I had only been down to barn once.Was trying to protect my hand , knew I'd start working if I went down. After we turned Rascal and Honey out, the other horse came up to "see the company", and we watched Rascal trot down the slope.He stumbled sort of, I was only half paying attention, but my vet was watching and said,"watch him and see if he stumbles like that again;if he does call me"I said I thought he'd just tripped a bit.He said maybe. Then Rascal came back, and the vet said"wonder if we can get him to trot"I said "sure, he free lunges if I had the round pen still up." We'd just been talking about the voice commands he knew,I said "Rascal trot and flicked the lead rope at him while the two 2 yr olds and Champ and Honey crowded around.He trotted outsome and circled back, it looked like his whole hip and leg"missed or slipped".I cried "he's lame, that horse has never been lame, except when he got kicked as a yearling."The vet said 'let me turn him on a tight circle and took the lead rope and put it around his neck and led him,I was being blocked by the colts who came up for rubs so I didn't get to see it all> I'd felt him up and down his leg, no heat,tenderness or swelling after he'd trotted out and had said "is it in his hip?". He said," he's not lame, it's neurological.He's got EPM.I said," are you sure, what about West Nile?" He said, "he's not sick, he's not hurting, he just doesn't know where his feet are."I said the D word(I t ry not to cuss) and started crying. But I bit it back. I asked about treatment and diagnosis. he said on a ?serum/blood test 95% or so of horses would test positive. He said he's the right breed, the right age,typical symptoms.Ahe said something about the spinal tap, which I don't remember, but he was pretty sure. Treatment ,the convient expensive way, 28 days at 1400$Cheaper less convient way, 90 days at about 7-800$I asked about effectiveness.He said they both work,and I'll need a spinal tap at the end, 350$. I have to go with the cheaper, I only do some sewing,occasional horse sitting, and church nursery work for 'horse money" as I am a stay at home, homeschooling mom.And with 4 emergency room visits and 2 surgeries, we are up to our necks in dr. payments.Plus major vehicle repairs(like engine and trans. in my older pickup.this winter. He said it's not as bad as the articles paint it, he's treated lots of horses with it and they almost all recover to do what ever thay want.He said they usually are falling down before he sees them. I told him he was fine 2 tue. ago when I rode and had my hand crushed and stitches in. And I'd seen them all running and playing a couple days ago , and hadn't noticed anything.The "almost all" is the hard part. There goes our debut at the Oconee 30. Well Honey has needed more time, so maybe now I can get her some real training in. And I could trailride Champ (18, daughter just brought him home to semi-retire here for a yr . or so as a trail horse till I got Honey going, then we'd decide his future when she detached some emotionally, 1st horse)And my 'surprise 2 yr old' could be taught to ground drive and to the mechanical parts or a saddle , maybe some despooking(cept he isn't spooky, guess that half arab part didn't get passed on.)So I will have some horses to play with. But all rides off till at least fall, maybe winter now, and I am not sure yet about ; if he seems to recover fully how long before I can ride him and how long it will take after being off ,3x times this year adding up to about 6 months total. He is getting Daraprin 25 mg.1 a day at 78.21$ for 79 or them.And Ditrim 960 mg. 10 tablets every 12 hours for 90 days.I paid 102.$ for 500.(Well I paid for it partly, i'd paid for the coggins and a rabies for 87$, then when I went to pick up the meds.I paid another 100$, what I had in my "horse account" And Dang, I'd just sent in my AERC membership like 4 days ago, and bought some camping gear last week for the Ride, now I wish I had that money for the vet.Can you tell I'm depressed? I said if I didn't make this ride I was a Jonah. Maybe I shouldn't have said that outloud. If anyone knows if I can get the drugs cheaper somewhere, or knows any more details about their experience let me know. I will look up what I can find on the net. I melted his pills in warm water and mixed with shredded apple in his beetpulp and applecider vinager and bit of grain.Good boy he ate it all, usually that works , he is not a picky eater.Then I watched him walk to the trough,which is behind some drug up gravel mess from barn flooding. Then I saw it; he wasn't his surefooted self,he stepped funny, like "wheres the ground". I asked about vaccinating the others , he said I could try, the jurys still out on it,not proven yet. But I think I will order some this week. Well maybe I can volunteer at the GERA rides this season, at least learn something ad be helpful. Laurie/Rascal"whats epm mom, and why can't I walk right?" _________________________________________________________________ Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
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