Slobbers
UPDATE: Great guesses! The clover plants themselves are non toxic. It is the fungus, which contains the toxin slaframine, that leads to an excessive amount of drooling or ‘slobbers’. It’s quite the nuisance and a bit unpleasant, but not life threatening.
A mare presented for a routine pregnancy check. She ‘slobbered’ excessively through the entire exam. Her vitals were normal, she was checked in foal and there were no other abnormal signs. She lives in a pasture in South Louisiana. Should we be concerned? What is one explanation for this condition?
Nothing quite like new shavings!!
Beautiful grey filly by Gold Heart Eagle V x Sheza Runaway(x Ocean Runaway)
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Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun!
There were lots of entries.
Thanks for all of the interaction on this case. You guys are pretty smart and I know I’ve kept you in suspense😂
This case was interesting mostly because of the presentation. The initial signs(off feed, lethargic, biting at sides) are definitely signs of colic and the caretakers thought the same. They administered the Banamine as it appeared to be a mild discomfort. However when she started stumbling and buckling they knew it was more than colic.
All of your guesses were on the differential list since she was definitely displaying neurologic signs, but she had fever, so that made some things stand out more than others. Also the ‘sleepy’ demeanor she was displaying is pretty characteristic of encephalitides. Some of these tests are expensive so I started with WNV/EEE.
She had been vaccinated a couple of weeks prior to presentation but the status of her initial vaccines were unknown.
It takes 2 full days to run those tests and of course it was the end of the week 🙄 so the results wouldn’t be in for 5 days so I got impatient and overnighted the EPM titers just in case.
Meanwhile, she was started on anti-inflammatories, steroids and EPM meds.
She remained stable and didn’t get any worse. By day 4 after treatment the buckling stopped.
On day 5 the West Nile test came back POSITIVE. Also odd because it’s so dry. We really didn’t have many mosquitoes like we usually do during our rainy seasons.
I had my diagnosis so we continued the anti inflammatories and steroids. I forgot I sent the EPM titers in and to my surprise they were sky high(off the charts). So what did this mean???
After consulting with other colleagues, it was most likely the stress and immunocompromised status due to the WNV causing her to have a flare up of EPM. As we know, most horses have been exposed to EPM but do not exhibit clinical signs. So we continued her EPM treatment and added some Vitamin E supplement.
Steroids are controversial in EPM treatment and she had improved immens
Case of the week:
Yearling filly in training presented for abnormal behavior. She had been off feed for a couple of days and a bit lethargic. Banamine was administered but on day 3 she started with some very strange signs. Stumbling when exiting stall, biting her sides and buckling on the front end. She also appeared ‘sleepy’ at times and had a temp of 102.5. She had regained her appetite but was also unsteady on her hind end and hypersensitive to the touch.
Vaccination history a little sketchy..
Any guesses? And what test would you run?
Well this was a first for me 🥁 🥁
Triplets😳😳
We knew the mare ovulated two follicles so we were checking early for twins. And then, low and behold, a third vesicle was located. You can see the first two close to each other and then the third one pop up.
Sadly, horses don’t do well carrying twins, much less triplets, so two of the vesicles were reduced leaving one vesicle to grow and mature.
Triplet pregnancy is very rare (Whitwell 1984). It is reported to occur at an incidence of 1 to 300,000 single births (Roberts 1986).
Here is a short article and some statistics on twinning:
https://horses.extension.org/twinning-in-mares/
Chunky pony(or horse) + big lush pasture + sweet feed = ouchy feet (laminitis).
It’s that time of year where we are seeing bouts of laminitis in horses that are overweight AKA ‘easy keepers’ and/or horses in lush green pastures. If your horse is suddenly lame on both front feet, rocking back to turn or walking very gingerly(like walking on eggshells) then contact your veterinarian for an exam. Laminitis has several causes but overweight horses/ponies and certain breeds are more susceptible. Many horses have metabolic issues that make them more prone to struggle with bouts of laminitis. Early intervention is important.
Here is a great article from AAEP on laminitis in horses:
https://aaep.org/horsehealth/laminitis-prevention-treatment
UPDATE: Excellent guesses everyone! When just looking at this horse, many may think Rabies for the excess salivation, but this is where the whole clinical picture is important. This horse only has the excess salivation with no other clinical sign that may support the idea of rabies. Choke was another good guess but with choke, you would see the horse in distress and feed colored green nasal discharge. As many of y’all mentioned, this is called “Slobbers”, a condition caused by a fungal toxin called Slaframine. In this area, the fungus commonly affects Red Clover, White Clover, and Aslike Clover. Luckily, this is a self limiting condition and the hypersalivation will resolve once you move the horse from the pasture.
Horse presents for ‘excessive drooling’. Owner says horse is ‘vomiting’ water/saliva out of her mouth. Horse is kept on pasture in South Louisiana. No changes in feed and no other abnormalities on physical exam. Two other horses in the same pasture are exhibiting the exact signs. Anyone want to take a guess??
Here is an interesting case with a not so common presentation. This 12 year old QH gelding initially presented for neurologic signs. The owner noticed him ‘staggering’ and behaving abnormally. Upon presentation, he was bright but definitely exhibiting neurologic signs. He was about 6 months overdue for his vaccines but had been vaccinated regularly before that. His temperature was within normal range. He was exhibiting bizarre behavior according to the owners. When put in the round pen he was just pacing around blindly and would run over you if you tried to catch him. We drew blood for testing and put him on some anti inflammatories pending test results. 3 days later the pacing and aggressive behavior were less but he started having frequent focal seizures. Can anyone list some possible causes for his signs?
