Thank you. My mare was a Peruvian, a Nat'l Reserve Champion who was diagnosed at age 15. I ended up taking her to five different vets before she was diagnosed. Three of them could not see what I did. *I* could tell her gait was off before she presented any symptoms, but I guess others could not. Two vets saw no problems with her at all and pretty much dismissed me as a worrier. One told me she was off in the front, not the rear (her rear legs were affected), and one told me she had EPM but wasn't yet at a 1 on the lameness scale. The last vet listened to what I had to say, examined her, consulted with other vets, and then correctly diagnosed her. I remember watching her fetlocks begin to drop and can't count the number of times I cried over her diagnosis. But at least with a proper diagnosis I was able to find something to help her. I am grateful for that.fadetopurple said:
They're lovely horses with a wonderful gait, and I'd love to have another one, but I refuse to buy one until a test is available. Hopefully a test will be available soon and breeders will be able to assess which horses should be bred and which should not. Many are currently breeding the best horses they possibly can, using what few tests are available to them. But the tests we have now only show if the horse is currently affected -- not if it will be affected a few months or a few years from now. With so many horses displaying symptoms later in life, breeding becomes a huge crap shoot.
