Foal siezures

[Ellen]

My friend had the vet out. The vet said that the foal he felt was not having ulcer issues, but is seizuring. Has anyone had experience with this?

I can give more info if needed, but would like signs and symptoms, we are not convinced.

 

[mizbeth]

Hello

Given the information you have just provided, if the foal were mine I would give him 3 CC Kayro Syrup one of more times a day. It sounds like his blood sugar is/has dropped and sounds like an incident I had some years agao with my foals. I would also wean the mare off of sweet feed and give her something without all the molasses,

It is less likely in my opinion that the foal is having seizures, than his blood sugar being low. Low blood sugar is very common in miniature horses and has not been mentioned much on this forum in some time but is a topic that was discussed in length many years ago. It was the advise of this forum that helped me with my problem then, and I use it still - it works! Some times a mare after foaling will drop blood sugar levels, wobble, stagger, drop her head etc. Kayro brings them right back, it also helps to increase their appetite if you have one that does not particularily want to eat.

Good luck,

 

[Ellen]

The mare is on a low starch grain. Pelleted, no sweet feed. Timothy Hay and minerals. The colt doesn't wobble, stagger or show any signs other then the common signs exhibited fro ulcers. Stretching out, posturing and casting up. No lethargic epesodes following this behaviour.

The colt is on sucralifate, gastrogaurd and ritadine. Karo Syrup and goats milk to coat the tummy and the same grain as mom as a creep feed. So, I am confused as to how the vet could rule this as a siezure disorder. Other then the fact that the colt was a dummy foal. He was treated and recovered and there have been no problems until the first bout with ulcers.

The falre ups come on the 90 degree days, which we attributed to stress until the vet came for other purposes and said he felt the behaviour was due to a nuerological problem. Although I must say, he did not witness anything.

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[wildoak]

We had a foal this year with seizures - there was no mistaking it. He was absolutely normal most of the time, then would suddenly go rigid and start convulsing. In just a minute or so it was over and he would wander off or go nurse. His did go away after 4-5 days, and we are guessing it might have been due to a pinched nerve in his neck...just an educated guess.

If this colt is having ulcer symptoms, they might try Stomach Soother for him in addition to whatever the vet recommends. It's pure papaya puree. I've had great luck with it, horses all seem to love it (although it smells like vomit to me

), and it's relatively cheap.

Jan

 

[Ellen]

Well, then I think he is ulcered. Life was hard for him in those first days.

I use the stomach soother on my stallion prior to shows and breeding season, it stinks. But he likes it. I don't know why I did't think about it.

So, thank you so much. You made me feel better. One less thing to worry about. Ulcers we can handle, seizures is a horse of a different color.

 

[Minimor]

I've had one fainting foal, and have a friend that had a foal with seizures. In that instance the seizures were perfectly obvious. As a young foal the seizures were perfectly obvious--there would have been no mistake that they were seizures rather than ulcer-related symptoms. The foal was a little older when I saw her, maybe 2 months? I did witness one seizure. She suddenly twisted her head around to one side, spun around & fell over, laid there for a moment or two kind of in a rigid convulsion, then she came out of it & got up. She looked a little dazed and wiped out afterward. That filly did gradually get worse & did not survive to weaning.