This message is from: Shannon Kaplan <kaplank...@hotmail.com> Just a precaution about buying hay and knowing what is in it.
We had been feeding a blend of grass hay for about a week when one of our geldings (non-Fjord) had a sudden onset of ataxia. His temperature, heart rate, gut sounds, everything else was normal, although he had no coordination and swayed to keep balanced. We unfortunately learned that the hay we were feeding contained endophyte contaminated ryegrass, which caused a neurological condition called Ryegrass Staggers. Apparently this mycotoxicity can cause behavioral problems as well, and in hindsight, a couple of the Fjords had displayed some very subtle symptoms, such as upper arm muscle tremors. The condition is reversible once taken off of the toxic feed, however prolonged exposure can cause neurological damage. Wanted to pass along our experience to hopefully prevent it from happening to someone else. Hope you all are having a fun fall with Fjords! Take care and God bless. Shannon Kaplan Chehalem Mountain Therapy Riding Center _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsofts powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141664/direct/01/ Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
