My mare has been having some very mysterious lameness problems since Oct. We’ve done a bone scan, x-rays, untra-sounds, nerve blocks, etc and haven’t made much progress.

We tested her for Lyme disease, got the results back today that she was negative. Next up we’re testing her for EPM. Most of what I’ve found online talks about doing a spinal tap to test for it? My vet suggested that we just draw blood to test (cheaper and easier). Any thoughts on that? Will it be as accurate?

Hello,

A blood test is a good place to start. If it is EPM you may notice other symptoms such as:

The loss of tension in the tail. When you lift your horses tail they should naturally resist. A horse with EMP at sertain stages will no resist wthen you do this.

Loss of coordination. Horses with EPM often stumble or have abnormal gait, as well as spastic movement.

Sore back. You may notice your horses back is soar when riding.

Muscle weakness, usually noticed more in the large muscles of the hindquarters.

A friend of mine (sadly) had her horse accurately diagnosed with EPM using a blood test. I think you should trust your vet and go with what he thinks and suggests. 

Best of luck, I hope everything goes well.

Few equine diseases are as frightening—or confounding—as equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). A neurological condition caused by protozoal parasites, EPM often produces subtle, easy-to-miss signs early on. Yet, left untreated, the disease can cause irreversible damage to the spinal cord and brain. Although great strides have been made in understanding and treating EPM, the average horse owner can be forgiven for spending a bit more time worrying about this disease than most others.

hi,,,
I know that a positive EPM test could really be negative, but could a negative test really be positive? I don’t think so, but I have a 7yr old TB who started dragging his toes this summer, progressed into a hind end lameness that we can’t pinpoint, had a personality change, sensitivity to grooming which was new, and last week I was free lunging him and when I asked him to change directions he fell down, just crumbled in a heap- he didn’t care nearly as much as I did about the fall, but it scared me that things seem to be progressing. He has had 6weeks off, massages, Lymes and EPM blood work done- both negative, vet is sort of shrugging. Has anyone else delt with something that looks so much like EPM but with a negative blood test?

hello,
we tested my four-year old OTTB four times for EPM, each time it came back negative….we used two different types of tests each time. but his symptoms were never particularly severe; just dragging his hind feet and NQR. we put him on marquis for a month just to be safe and treat things aggressively… in any case, he is doing really well now, we don’t think he ever had EPM. we think he might have had a neurological form of rhino. i understand that wobblers can present similarly to EPM, so have you considered having your horse x-rayed? i hope everything works out. i’m sure you are feeling scared and upset about everything!!! good luck