Tying up due to soya allergy

[Jane.A]

As members of the site are may be aware my dressage horse tied up earlier in the year. It was unusual in that I feed high quantities of forage and my horses have great turnout onquality pasture. she recovered but had another attack at a competition on 4th Sept. I decided to have a quantum X-roid test done by Crossgates homeopathy and the results were quite staggering. the main trigger to her attacks was soya. I used to add soya oil for extra condition and bloom without fizz. It was indirectly the cause in september as I has re-introduced a feed balancer over the previous week. This limits my choice of additional feed as she loses condition in the winter. I feed no mollassed alfalfa and oat straw from Creature Comforts (as my cob has an intolerance to mollasses), carrots, ad lib hay and a vitamin and mineral supplement called Seaquim. She is receiving a homepathic rememdy which she will finish at the end of the month and seems to be returning to her old self. She had become lack lustre and lethargic and Iwas having problems with her legs filling badly when stabled overnight. This I believe was due to the liver and kidney damage done by the toxins released from the muscles after the attack.
Does anyone out there feed corn or vegetable oil in any sort of quantity and do you think it could provide a viable solution to her weight loss problem?

 

[Wally]

Yup, we use sunflower or veg oil, it's cheap and does the job. Have you asked you vet about the validity of potassium acetate in the drinking water, this is sometimes advised for horses who get recurrent attacks for no real good reason.

 

[Lgd]

ERS - equine rhabdomyolysis syndrome is the 'posh' term for tying up/azoturia. It has been recognised recently as being part of a group of metabolic syndromes which also include EPSM (equine poysaccharide storage myopathy) also sometimes referred to as PSSM.
EPSM is not well recognised but is commonest amongst draught crosses including warmbloods. It can occur in any breed but these are the primary sufferers.

My friends Fell Pony has EPSM hence my knowledge of the problem. EPSM sufferers cannot handle carbohydrate properly and there is a whole raft load of symptoms, many of which can be mistakenly attributed to behavioural problems. I don't have the specific details here but BJ deteriorated from Medium level affiliated to being unable to do a Prelim test. His main symptoms were - grouchy with humans and horses; sweating in minimal work - he had to be clipped every two weeks all year round; unwilling or as we now know unable to engage, to the point if asked for engagement or lateral work he would explode; very stiff in the hind end to the point of being unwilling to hold up the hind leg for farrier or to have feet picked out; unable to rein back or back up from the ground; needed huge amounts of feed to keep the weight on; in retrospect we also realise he was developing 'holes' in his muscles - only really noticed after we knew what was going on; oddly his very black coat was tinged brown. The only true diagnosis is by muscle biopsy but EPSM animals do not tolerate anaesthetic very well. Our vet suggested trying the diet and the improvement has been dramatic, he is now back to his normal cheeky, chirpy lovable self. His coat is black again, he is loose and supple and he is gradually returning to his former level of work.

ERS sufferers also do well on the EPSM diet. It consists of a high protein, high fat, low carbohydrate diet. Carbohydrate is kept to a minimum other than from natural sources such as hay or grass. Molasses and cereals are an absolute must not. She uses alfalfa cubes (I think from Dengie), readigrass and rape seed (canola) oil or corn oil. She uses less oil for him than is usually recommended, partly because he is a bit fussy and also because he doesn't need the calories (he was getting a bit porky). Becasue of the high levels of fat you also need to feed a vitamin E and Selenium supplement.

Having seen him I wonder how many 'problem' horses have EPSM and are suffering unnecessarily.

The main research has been done by a vet in the USA called Beth Valentine, try a search on the net using ERS, EPSM and PSSM to find further information. You can also contact me via e-mail if you wish and I will put you in contact with Lindsey who owns BJ and she can give you all the details of how she went about managing him.

 

[Jane.A]

Lgd,
Have tried to PM you but your box is full.