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> On Sunday, July 23, 2006, at 12:27 PM, rides2far@xxxxxxxx wrote:
> >  That whole tying up/Monday Morning Disease thing
> > > with
> > > draft horses turns out to be EPSM, right?
> >
> > Whoa. This is total news to me. Did I miss a big news flash? Explain? 
> > Got
> > a link to an article?
> >
> > Angie (and I only *thought* I knew everything)



> I don't pretend to know anything let alone everything!!!!  :-)
>
> Look up Dr. Beth Valentine's work at Oregon State University.  She's a 
> pioneer in the field of equine metabolics.  She works closely with the 
> regional Draft Horse group in Oregon as well.  Their web-journal as 
> well as several other EPSM sites (I remember one good one in 
> particular is from a Veterinary school in Ohio) state an alarming 
> statistic, that of all the draft horses that have EPSM (8% or 
> something along that order), 50% die.  Other breeds don't fare so 
> badly.  I guess it's becoming more prevalent in quarter horses and 
> more heavily muscled Arabians.
>
> Anyway, turns out that Draft horses, who were the original sufferers 
> of Monday Morning Disease, were probably prone to EPSM so tied up 
> after heavy doses of grain following a lay off.  I don't know much 
> more about that aspect of EPSM.  All I know is that my horse started 
> moving more and more reluctantly, become balky going downhill, then 
> started pulling front shoes every second.  He got great big fist-sized 
> lumps in his rump muscles--they felt contracted but were painless.  
> They very slowly resolved after 6 months of the diet change and 
> consistent exercise--mostly.  I can still feel them a little.  He 
> didn't actually tie-up;  we always stopped before that could happen.  
> But he came really really close and suffered many of the symptoms, 
> including the high numbers of whatever it is they measure in the 
> muscles after an episode.  Sorry, can't remember details--'tis 
> bedtime....
>
> Dr. Valentine very carefully avoids equating tying up with EPSM--she 
> seems comfortable equating Monday Morning Disease with EPSM however.  
> So do the other researchers publishing articles on EPSM. And she 
> privately suggests that someday we'll probably discover that many 
> cases of tying up are going to be traceable to the same metabolic 
> disorder.  According to her, I might as well feed all of my horses a 
> high fat diet if life's simpler that way--she says it certainly can't 
> hurt them and seems confident the diet should suit a distance horse in 
> particular.   One researcher who seems pretty bright published an 
> article all about the good luck he's had sticking with a careful 
> ramping up of exercise for affected horses without the diet change.  
> Dr. Valentine is skeptical about the long-term results of that and 
> stands by the consistent exercise and high fat diet formula.
>
> I gotta get to bed--kids arise early and all.....
>
> Mary K.
>
> >


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