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EPM.......I hate it!!!

I am with a horse rescue group and had a horse that I fostered. Well a friend of the family adopted the horse and I told him that he could keep the horse at my house for him if he would buy the feed. Well one day last week I went to feed and noticed that she was walking funny. My first thought was that she has slipped and hurt her back. Well I called the vet and she came out on Saturday 12/30. She could tell almost right way that she had EPM.

I have been riding since I was 5 years old and had NEVER seen anything like this in my life. So needless to say the horse was put down because she was just beyond help. The scary thing is that one of MY horse can get this and have the same fate.

The vet told me that not only to Possums carry this but also Raccons and CATS! That just blew me away!!

The vet also told me that they have a vacine BUT it is not effective in the fight for EPM!

Keep your babies close and kiss and love the every day!

Posted by Belinda Garza on 01/04/2007 05:01 PM

Comments (9)

Post is included in group: Equine and Rural Issues and Answers

9 Comments on EPM.......I hate it!!!

Raccoons and cats? This is the first I've heard of that, and I've researched the heck out of it (given that we have possums around frequently, even though we take care of any that we find, and we have ten cats and raccoons all over the place - in fact, I don't know of a barn without a barn cat or three). Back to google with me!

Horses CAN recover from this, but it's frequently a hard, expensive road, and the outcome is by no means certain even with all that.

I'm very sorry to hear this.

01/04/2007 08:30 PM

by Tricia Jumonville, EcoBroker® (ERA Colonial Real Estate)

I lost my Harmony to EPM. Don't know how you can avoid contact with fecal matter from all those animals in a barn area. Guess it's just luck.

02/12/2007 06:08 PM

by Diane Cipa (The Closing Specialists®)

Help! What is EPM? I have horses, cats and try hard to keep the raccoons and opossums away, but that is hard to do with 70 acres of woods surrounding me. Is there a prevention (like how to know if your barn cats have or are carrying this)?

04/08/2007 03:02 PM

by Theresa Cavanaugh (Global Realty Marketing)

Rather than try to explain it, I thought I'd take you directly to the AAEP page listing all their articles on it (years' worth, looks like): what is it, how to prevent it, how to know if your horse has it, etc. It's a nasty beast, it is.

04/08/2007 05:53 PM

by Tricia Jumonville, EcoBroker® (ERA Colonial Real Estate)

Tricia, thank you so much. I try to keep the wildlife out, but will work harder on controlling the cats. Thank you guys for the heads up.

04/08/2007 08:18 PM

by Theresa Cavanaugh (Global Realty Marketing)

I thought I vaccined against it. Is that wrong? I'll look for the answer. Thanks!

12/29/2007 04:40 PM

by Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty)

Belinda, what a sad story. Even though there's some degree of prevention that can be taken, as the poster above said, controlling cats is very difficult.

01/14/2008 11:58 PM

by Griselda Tealdo-Perez, REALTOR®, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Coldwell Banker Real Estate)

Does anyone know how long it takes before you see a result on the Marquese? I have a horse that has been on it for several weeks and so far not much in the way of a change.

There is no vaccine for epm. That is the scary part, because it is becoming so common. Didn't realize cats could carry it.

04/04/2008 09:09 AM

by Pam Dent -Charlottesville, Albemarle,VA horse farms, residential, country homes (Real Estate III)

So sad. I have never heard of EPM. It is stange that it is becoming more common.

06/27/2008 08:34 PM

by Sabrina Kelley,Colorado Mountain Homes, Woodland Park Colorado Real Estate (Prudential Colorado Real Estate )

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