Just been told by my friend that a horse on our yard has been taken to Glasgow Veterinary Hospital with suspected grass sickness. Apparently there are also horses nearby who have died of it recently. Just feel really crap and want to go and hug my boy. I don't know really much about it apart from that its fatal. Poor pony, he is a lovely pony and has just been retired to live out the rest of his life at the Farm. Any one know much about grass sickness?
Grass Sickness
- Thread starter Lexter
- Start date
There is still lots unfortunately that is unknown about grass sickness. It damages parts of the horse's nervous system and leads to gut paralysis. If the horse has the acute or sub-acute form then there is nothing that can be done for them and most either have to be put down or die within a few days. Some horses may recover from chronic grass sickness. It is a horrid horrid disease and there are several proposed reasons as to why it happens, such as high nitrogen levels in grazing and there is a risk associated with cool, dry weather.
Check out: http://www.grasssickness.org.uk/
Check out: http://www.grasssickness.org.uk/
Not all cases are fatal. There are three types of GS, only the acute is definately fatal, sub acute can be treated but not always and chronic can usually be cured with a lot of time and effort. If the pony is at an equine hospital it is unlikely it is acute.
I lost my mare to it a couple of years ago.
I hope yours pulls through
I lost my mare to it a couple of years ago.
I hope yours pulls through
Bonnie was PTS because of grass sickness 
it's a truley horrific disease. You get 3 forms; acute (most severe and always fatal), subacute (more often than not fatal) and chronic (the most treatable form but still fatal in a lot of cases). Bonnie had acute What causes grass sickness, nobody is really sure about. But the UK, and scotland in particular are one of the hot spots for the disease. Young horses seem most susceptible to the disease and cases tend to be most prevalant in spring and autumn. I think the most horific of the symptoms is the paralysis of the horses gullet and swallow reflex. Once that has occurred then that's pretty much it
The EGSF was the chosen charity at Blair last year. They had 4 horses and ponies who had been nursed through grass sickness and survived. Was lovely to see but one in particular cannot eat anything that can't be sucked through a straw.
Grass sickness is what i fear most, having lost bons to it. There really is nothing you can do. And even with the treatable form, there is absolutely no guarentee of survival. I was speaking with a lady who's youngster was sent to edinburgh vets school and nursed for many weeks but sadly didn't survive. The link martini posted is excellent, and i've some pdf files of scientific papers and conference proceedings i've pulled off our subscription scientific database if anyone is interested.
it's a truley horrific disease. You get 3 forms; acute (most severe and always fatal), subacute (more often than not fatal) and chronic (the most treatable form but still fatal in a lot of cases). Bonnie had acute What causes grass sickness, nobody is really sure about. But the UK, and scotland in particular are one of the hot spots for the disease. Young horses seem most susceptible to the disease and cases tend to be most prevalant in spring and autumn. I think the most horific of the symptoms is the paralysis of the horses gullet and swallow reflex. Once that has occurred then that's pretty much it The EGSF was the chosen charity at Blair last year. They had 4 horses and ponies who had been nursed through grass sickness and survived. Was lovely to see but one in particular cannot eat anything that can't be sucked through a straw.
Grass sickness is what i fear most, having lost bons to it. There really is nothing you can do. And even with the treatable form, there is absolutely no guarentee of survival. I was speaking with a lady who's youngster was sent to edinburgh vets school and nursed for many weeks but sadly didn't survive. The link martini posted is excellent, and i've some pdf files of scientific papers and conference proceedings i've pulled off our subscription scientific database if anyone is interested.
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