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Topic:Ataxia
Ataxia in horses refers to a neurological condition characterized by a lack of coordination and balance, often manifesting as unsteady or abnormal gait. The condition can result from various underlying causes, including spinal cord compression, brain lesions, or peripheral nerve damage. Ataxia is typically classified into three types: cerebellar, vestibular, and proprioceptive, each associated with different parts of the nervous system. Diagnosis involves a combination of clinical examination, neurological assessment, and diagnostic imaging. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the causes, diagnostic approaches, and management strategies for ataxia in equine patients.
Clinical report of a paralytic syndrome affecting stallions, mares and foals on a thoroughbred studfarm. An outbreak of ataxia and paralysis on a Thoroughbred studfarm is reported. The cause of the disease was attributed to equid herpesvirus (EHV1) infection which stemmed from a single 10-month abortion on the studfarm. Stallions, mares and foals were all affected but the most serious clinical signs occurred in the mares. there were 35 out of 39 mares, 2 out of 4 stallions and 5 out of 39 foals which exhibited signs of ataxia. Nine mares became recumbent and died or were euthanased. Treatment with betamethasone and antibiotics was given. The outbreak was contained to one area of the stud apart fr...
The slap test for laryngeal adductory function in horses with suspected cervical spinal cord damage. The paper describes the assessment and practical implications of a laryngeal adductory reflex in a series of 30 ataxic and 64 non-ataxic horses. The reflex was evoked by slapping the saddle region just caudal to the withers. In normal horses this produced a flickering adductory movement of the contralateral arytenoid cartilage which was observed endoscopically. Abolition of the laryngeal response was encountered in in 3 situations:--(1) Disruption of the afferent impulse occurred in those horses in which there was significant spinal cord pathology affecting the pathway from the cranial thoraci...
[Hypocalcemia in the horse. A case report]. With reference to previous reports on hypocalcemia in horses special attention is given to the principal symptoms such as anxiety, increased muscular tension, esp. of the musculature of the extremities, in severe cases leading to ataxia, and to a pulse-synchronized respiration (Synchronous Diaphragmatic Flutter). The time of appearance of the symptoms are much more variable than it is the case for hypocalcemic agalactia in cows. Furthermore the condition has been reported in foals as well as in geldings. Thus the triggering factor seems to be somewhat different from that of agalactia. Hypocalc...
Cardiopulmonary, behavioral, and pharmacokinetic effects of propoxyphene in horses. The acute behavioral cardiopulmonary and pharmacokinetic effects of propoxyphene hydrochloride were studied in seven adult horses. Each horse was given three different dosages of propoxyphene (0.5, 1.0, 2.2 mg/kg) IV. Fourteen days was allotted between each drug administration. The lower IV dosages of propoxyphene (0.5, 1.0 mg/kg) resulted in no changes in indices of cardiopulmonary function. Four horses demonstrated a transient period of muscle fasciculations when given 0.5 mg of propoxyphene/kg. Horses given 1.0 mg/kg demonstrated a brief period of euphoria, ataxia, and muscle fasciculations...
Basilar skull fractures in three horses. Of three horses with basilar skull fractures, two died within 48 hours. The remaining horse was euthanatized because of a locomotion deficit. Clinical signs included epistaxis followed by ataxia. In each case, the basi-occipital bone and ventral portion of the calvarium were involved in the fracture. Diagnosis was based on clinical signs or radiographic appearance of guttural pouches, or both.
Surgical decompression for traumatic atlantoaxial subluxation in a weanling filly. A filly with ataxia and splinting and crepitation in the neck was found to have atlantoaxial subluxation. Radiographic diagnosis was based on the same criteria as those used in other species, ie, increased distance between the atlas and spine of the axis and increased distance between the dens and floor of the atlas. Extensive hemilaminectomy was performed to decompress the spinal cord. Stabilization was not attempted. Immediate postoperative response was encouraging, but the untimely death of the filly prevented further evaluation of the procedure.
[Motor goals of therapeutic horseback riding for cerebral palsied children (author’s transl)]. The article reviews in a critical survey the current opinions on the possibilities of improving the motor functions of cerebral palsied children with the help of riding therapy. Furthermore, the essential motor difficulties with spasm, athetosis and ataxia are described. It is demonstrated that only a small number of these typical difficulties can be tackled by means of riding therapy and that some key problems, particularly encountered by the spastics, cannot be solved. If, despite these facts, the favourable effects of riding on the cerebral palsied cannot be denied, then this must be attrib...
Paradoxical excitement following the intravenous administration of azaperone in the horse. The rapid intravenous administration of the butyrophenone tranquilliser, azaperone, at a dose rate of 0.29-0.57 mg/kg body weight resulted in the immediate onset of excitement and ataxia of varying degree in over half the animals. The severity of the reaction appeared to be related to the size of the animal. Other side effects such as salivation, sweating, muscle tremor and vocalisation were also observed. The possible causes of this paradoxical reaction to the tranquilliser are discussed.
Spinal ataxia in the horse. A case report. The purpose of this communication is to report the first diagnosed case of spinal ataxia in the horse in Finland. The horse was atactic and had a wobbling gait. Especially in turning and backing the rear legs tended to swing outwards. Macroscopical studies revealed malformation of the cervical vertebral articular facets and narrowing of the cervical vertebral canal. The vertebral malformation caused the degeneration of the spinal cord, through the compression of the cord. In this paper the macroscopial and microscopical findings are discussed and compared with the findings of other authors.
Bromide intoxication of horses, goats, and cattle. During the summer and fall of 1973, a few horses, goats, and cattle in the Napa Valley of California became intoxicated by bromide via the ingestion of volunteer oat hay that had been cut from a field treated with methyl bromide, a soil fumigant. The bromide content of the hay ranged from 6,00 to 8,400 ppm. Signs of intoxication were lethargy, weakness, and ataxia. Animals experimentally fed the contaminated hay developed signs of intoxication between the 7th and 9th days.
Equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy. Five horses of mixed breeding and 1 zebra with symmetric tetraparesis and ataxia were studied. There were 2 females and 4 males. Signs of illness were first noticed from birth to 12 months of age. Clinical and pathologic studies were performed when the animals were 4 to 24 months old. Two of the horses were related. All of the subjects had diffuse degenerative myeloencephalopathy. The degeneration was most pronounced in thoracic segments of the spinal cord. Ventral and dorsolateral funiculi were most severely affected. Axonal swelling and abnormal neuronal cell bodies were seen in the gray mat...
Ataxia in a Welsh cob filly due to a venous malformation in the thoracic spinal cord. An 8-month old Welsh Cob filly had shown progressive ataxia of the hindquarters since about 3 months of age. Autopsy revealed a venous malformation resulting in malacia in the ninth thoracic segment of the spinal cord. It is proposed that the tissue destruction associated with this congenital lesion gave rise to the ataxia.
Evaluation of monensin toxicity in the horse. Gelded horses of mixed breeding, ranging in weight between 360 and 455 kg, were fed pellets that contained monensin at concentrations of 279, 124, 31, and 0 ppm. Of 2 horses fed 279 ppm (253 g/T), both died. Of 3 horses fed 125 ppm (113 g/T), 1 died; feed intake was reduced in the 2 survivors. Of 3 horses fed 31 ppm (28 g/T), 1 had a transitory reduction in feed intake and the other 2 remained clinically normal. The 2 horses fed 0 ppm remained clinically normal. Monensin was also given to horses by gavage, at dosages of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 20 mg/kg of body weight. The LD50 was estimated to be betwe...
An investigation into the genetics of ‘wobbler disease’ in thoroughbred horses in Britain. Sixty-seven TB horses in Britain suffering from clinical wobbler disease were divided into 5 groups, based on the presence or absence of pathological lesions and their nature. These groups were compared genetically with a control group of 67 TBs known not to exhibit signs of wobbling. Though analysed for both simple and complex modes of inheritance no evidence of a genetic basis was found in any group. The high breed incidence in TBs may be real or apparent. Considerably more male than female wobblers are reported. Other forms of possibly inherited ataxia in equidae are reviewed and reference ...
Meningoencephalomyelitis in horses associated with equine herpesvirus 1 infection. During an outbreak of abortion caused by equine herpesvirus 1, a neurologic disease characterized clinically by dullness and ataxia occurred in several mares. Equine herpesvirus 1 was isolated from brain and lung of two severely affected mares. Histologically, both mares had disseminated meningoencephalomyelitis characterized by necrotizing arteritis, focal malacia in grey and white matter of brain and spinal cord, and accumulation of lymphocytes and neutrophils in paravertebral ganglia. Eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies occurred in foci of necrosis in thyroid adenomas of both mares.
Disseminated necrotizing myeloencephalitis: a herpes-associated neurological disease of horses. Equine viral rhinopneumonitis type I virus was isolated from spinal cord and brain of a paraparetic horse with disseminated necrotizing myeloencephalitis. Necrotic arteriolitis,nonsuppurative necrotizing myeloencephalitis and Gasserian ganglioneuritis were present. On record were 12 more cases of horses with similar lesions. The horses had been ataxic or paretic for up to several weeks. A field survey indicated that 14 of 24 horses with acute myelitic signs developed them after recent exposure to respiratory disease.
