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Re: [RC] EPM - Sarah WI had a colt diagnosed with EPM this past January. One of the first symptoms I noticed was the apparent difficulty to swallow. My first vet opinion was my colt had some sort of scratched tissue in his throat and wanted me to take him into the local university to be scoped. My second opinion threw that idea out completely and then said a spinal tap would be a waste of money because all horses in my area will show some level of exposure to EPM, the tap only indicates exposure. Best suggestion .. get the horse on EPM meds as soon as possible. The sooner you start treatment, the better chance the horse has at surviving. I had to dissolve the meds in water to create a paste, and they are costly. Get another vet to look at the horse if needed. A good way to check for EPM is have someon pull on the horse's tail and pull the hind end to one side or another - the automatic response should be to step out the side to catch himself from falling. Also, take a sharper object (like a key) and poke the horse randomly all over the body. If the horse doesn't act like he feels it, then there is something blocking that nerve reaction (hence, EPM). I lost my colt to this because I didn't get a him treated soon enough and the original vet that looked at him didn't know what to look for. It was too late by the time the second vet looked at him. Best of luck. Sarah Lansing, MI --- Julie Fuller <natira121@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Trying again on the EPM question. We've researchedEPM. Difficultyswallowing was one symptom, uncoordination onhills was another. Mystudent's horse has both. Her vet wants to scopethe horse which haschoked 5 times. Seems that a problem in the throatwould not accountfor the uncoordination. Wouldn't the scoping be awaste of money? Thisis a kid whose *really* having to pay her own waybut it's her pet soI want to help her avoid unnecessary costs. I knowa spinal tap is thediagnosis tool, but that many horses who aren'tsick are positive onthat so is it worth the money? The article weread listed a 28 dayoral gel treatment. Anybody know what that runs? Angie __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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