Pax

Mari has graciously shared her information here on the blog.  Thank you Mari!  The entry below was initially posted on the Yahoo DSLD-Equine Group.

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Guest Post

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Greetings Everyone,

Horse in question:  Pax.  Age 13 as per neck freeze brand.  Ex-trotter and then former Amish buggy horse.  Free adoption from woman in Goshen, NY who rescued Pax from Nickerson's kill pen in Unadilla.  Has always been a complete pasture ornament, after his arrival here.  He has been on MSM since his has been here. 

When Pax arrived at age 9, despite his elongated rear pasterns, he was full of pep and vigor.  He loved to voluntarily run in the pasture.  In the last two years, he has steadily been declining at a slow rate.  At first, I thought he had innocuous windgalls or osselettes, due to his racing career and trotting on pavement as a buggy horse.   Now, I suspect he has more serious problems. 

In May of 2008, he began to limp on his left hind leg.  I attributed this limp to a possible strain as it was a very wet spring with slippery ground.  Because the limp did not subside, after a couple months, and he was also developing a roached back, I had him examined by an equine vet from the Wisconsin Equine Clinic and Hospital, which is about 1-1/2 miles west of me.  Her diagnosis was his limp and roached back was caused from his over-extended pastern ligaments.  She pointed out Pax was also losing muscle mass in his same left hind quarters.  I was skeptical about this because I had another elderly horse with a slightly roached back, but she was 29.  She said Pax would never live to a ripe old age; one day he would lie down and not be able to get up.  Treatment:  keep Pax on MSM, period.

Pax no longer holds his head high; he no longer even trots.  Currently, Pax is on MSM's regimen and also on 1/2 mg of bute twice a day, along with Gelusil to avoid any gastrointestinal side effects from the bute. 

I am here because of a dear friend who recognized Pax's symptoms as DSLD.  His rear legs appear exactly as the photo on your home page.  I am enclosing three attachments.   One taken after his rescue from the kill pen and two taken shortly after his arrival. 

Thank you for reading this long introduction.... 

Blessings,
Mari  :)

    

Another Sad Story

Here's another horse euthanized due to DSLD-ESPA:  A Sad Story

Esmeralda is a Paso, a Peruvian breed of horse with a smooth swaying gait. They are charming animals, but their breed is prone to DSLD, a disease where little tears form in the ligaments, but do not repair with the same elasticity as before. Eventually a horse with DSLD cannot walk or stand. They are in constant pain. There is no cure.

While this is tragic for the family, I hope they find some peace and comfort in knowing they allowed their beloved mare to pass away peacefully and with dignity.  Until the research provides us with more answers, that's about all any of us can do.

False Colic in QH w/DSLD - ESPA

The quote below comes from the a post in this thread on Horsetopia. Interesting observation from the vet (last sentence). Note that the vet didn't associate the colic/internal organs dying off as part of DSLD-ESPA.

my gelding (quarter horse) who I put down almost exactly one year ago. He was diagnosed with DSLD about 7 months before he died. Notice his low rear fetlocks. He had been having hard to identify hind end lameness, and back pain when the vet diagnosed him. We stopped ridding, put on corrective shoes and made him comfortable. He started laying down a lot and had a hard time keeping on weight. Just 4 week after I bought a new horse to ride, my gelding presented with colic. No impaction, no gas bubble, but it sure looked like colic. After 48hrs 4 vet calls (two tubings), fluids, blood work and no improvement it was obvious he was dying. The vet said they suspected it was some sort of organ failure, not colic.

Obviously, we need more education regarding DSLD-ESPA. False colic is but one of the myriad of symptoms we see as the horse breaks down. It bears repeating. DSLD-ESPA is a systemic connective tissue disease that can affect the legs, but it is NOT a leg disease. Breakdown of the suspensory ligaments is an outward symptom of the chaos that starts in many parts of the animal's connective tissues and progresses through acute degeneration and phases of relative stability. Necropsy results have shown that horses are affected in tendons, ligaments, eyes, aorta, internal organs, and skin.

Although we see nothing wrong on the outside, the horse is being attacked through many areas of it's system. For example, when a horse's skin hurts because the fascia is in an acute phase and they pull away from touch, we may think they're just cranky, when their lungs are in crisis, we think it's allergies, when their gut hurts from acute phase of the organ linings, we think they have colic, etc., etc.

This is how it's done!

Sometimes I get a bit discouraged when I see breeders from one particular breed who do not support the current research.  IMO, the research could be so much further along with more support, but even worse is that many of these same people try to thwart the ongoing research.  Despite the fact that many breeds have been diagnosed with DSLD-ESPA to date, I am aware of only one group of people from one breed who seem intent on turning this disease into some kind of personal affront. 

The aforementioned breeders have gone so far as to accuse researchers of making up a disease to dissuade buyers from purchasing horses from anyone but themselves.  Newsflash:  Many of the people who support the research are OWNERS of affected horses.  We don't breed horses, we BUY them.  You say your sales have dropped.  Well, if you want to treat this as a business, then know this.  Potential customers (like me) expect YOU to do YOUR part in ensuring they get a QUALITY product.  The stigma of this disease has been following your breed for YEARS -- long before the research started.  If you had supported research back then, perhaps this wouldn't be a problem for you NOW.  If you really want to know WHY your revenues have dropped, take a look at the following and see how professionals within other breeds/registries take a proactive approach to their breed's problems. 

From The Horse:  http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=12746

Test Allows Arabian Breeders to Scan for Inherited Neurologic Disorder

Equine cerebellar abiotrophy is a debilitating neurologic disorder that affects Arabian horses almost exclusively, and for which there is no treatment or cure. But, thanks to the work of veterinary researchers, breeders now have access to a new DNA test that could help them detect carriers of the condition so they do not propagate the problem in their herds.
The cerebellum is the part of the brain that plays an important role in the integration of sensory perception, coordination, and motor control. Equine cerebellar abiotrophy kills neurons in the cerebellum, causing head tremors and a lack of balance. Unfortunately, there is no treatment. Affected horses are routinely euthanized before adulthood because of the risk they pose to themselves and others.

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Researchers at the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory have developed an indirect DNA test to help determine if a horse is a carrier.

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While gene therapies to treat the disorder could become available in the future, Penedo said she doesn't expect to see them for years. Besides, the new test can front-load a solution to the issue.
"A cure is not needed if one doesn't produce affected foals," she said.

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And from: http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=13273

Test Reveals Arabian Sire as Carrier of Neurologic Disorder

A prominent Arabian horse breeding operation based in the United Arab Emirates recently became the first to publicly announce one of its stallions is a carrier of cerebellar abiotrophy (CA). Albidayer Stud released the news that World Champion Arabian stallion Marajj is a carrier for the inherited neurologic disease, for which a DNA test recently became available.

"We decided to test Marajj because a foal of his was suspected of having CA," said Dawn Martin, Marajj's breeding manager. "The decision to make an announcement wasn't really a difficult one to make. An announcement like this, about a horse of his caliber, will only help the breed, as well as the research into CA."

HOORAY for all the Arabian horse breeders and owners who confronted this issue head on and took steps to eliminate it!

Daniel, Welsh/Arab Cross Lost to DSLD-ESPA

Another one lost to this tragic disease. This comes from:

http://www.yourhorse.co.uk/Your-Horse-News/Search-Results/Your-news/News-from-your-area/Daniel-RIP/?&R=EPI-5223

QUOTE:
"Daniel, R.I.P

By haze

Your news

14 September 2008 16:42
my lovely welsh X arab, sadley lost aged 7 to Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis (DSLD, very sadley missed xx"

Mariposa Lazo - 20 May 1985 to 15 June 2005

Another one gone.

wolflahti: Mariposa Lazo - 20 May 1985 to 15 June 2005

Mariposa Lazo - 20 May 1985 to 15 June 2005


It’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining for the first time in weeks, the sky is a clear blue, and the wind is warm...

And my horse is dead.

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She is twenty, not really that old, even for a Peruvian Paso but she suffers from DSLD, degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis (equine connective tissue disorder).

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Good-bye, Mari. You were as good a horse as anyone has a right to ask for.

And from the comment section on this blog:

Alisandro was calling for Mari every fifteen minutes or so throughout the first night, but now that it's a few days later, he seems to have accepted that she's not coming back - at least not anytime soon. He too is a Peruvian Paso and likewise has early stages of DSLD, and he made himself quite sore pacing the fence that first evening.

Encouraging News

A new article in The Blood Horse indicates a new study on whether the Thoroughbred racehorse is as tough today as it was 30 to 40 years ago. What? Did they have proof of that? No. They went looking for proof. WHY? According to Eric Mitchell, an executive editor for The Blood-Horse, "There has been anecdotal evidence for years that the Thoroughbred of today is not as tough as it has been in the past."

Why do I find this interesting enough to post about? Why do I find it encouraging? It's not related to DSLD-ESPA.

I find this interesting because this study came about based on ANECDOTAL evidence. Anecdotal evidence means that the evidence was based on reports or observations of (usually) unscientific observers. It means the evidence has not yet been substantiated by studies. Just due to plain old word of mouth, they're actually concerned about a possible trend and are looking into it. Imagine that!

Wouldn't it be great if ALL registries and breeders were concerned about reported problems within their breed instead of pretending these problems don't exist and trying to sweep problems under the carpet or blaming the owners, or thwarting the research as some are when it comes to DSLD-ESPA research.

Click here if you'd like to read more about the Racehorse Durability study. The article includes a link to a FREE PDF copy of the study and a video of a discussion between prominent TB breeders and owners to evaluate the statistics.

British Equine Veterinary Association Congress 2007

Here are the DSLD-ESPA session highlights presented at the 46th British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) congress, held in Edinburgh, Scotland in September 2007. You'll find this (and much much more) located at The Horse: http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=11043

"They found excessive amounts of proteoglycans in the suspensory ligament, superficial digital flexor tendon, and the patellar and nuchal ligaments (which lies in the neck near the withers)," said Schramme. "This study demonstrates that DSLD is a systemic disorder of all connective tissues and should be more appropriately named.

"They have set up a service where they encourage you to take a biopsy of the nuchal ligament," said Schramme. "Send it to their lab and they will get a response to you at a fairly quick turnaround time. We've used the service several times. It's something that we've used on occasion in that particular scenario, to decide whether to do a neurectomy. If they come back positive, we paint a pretty bleak picture and prognosis." Veterinarians can access the service at www.angelfire.com/bc/curlygait/biopsy.html.

McIlwraith observed, "It's almost like we have a storage disease of proteoglycans," also noting, "we're always behind our human counterparts in (understanding) connective tissue disease. Where does the accumulation of proteoglycans fit in as far as disease goes?"

In Loving Memory

From Page 9 of the Maryland Arabian Horse Association Newsletter (this is a PDF file):

Magic Man Snickers, owned by Kathy Werner was euthanized due to severe DSLD (degenerative suspensary ligament desmetitis)

The Song Remains the Same

From the Ultimate Horse Board
Note: No mention of breed, but other horses owned by poster are QH.

DSLD,Info?
Feb 22 2008, 12:22 AM
Any information you guys can give me? Im going to be googeling it but have any of you guys had to deal with it before? I'm worried about my dads horse as he has really long back pasterns and they almost touch the ground if he goes any faster than a walk. Its just bizzar watching his trot and how he moves off his back feet.

We actually know nothing about what he was used for previously..so we have no idea of any injuries he could have had.. We bought him dirt cheap from a guy who was going to take himto auction cause his wife couldn't ride him and they couldn't keep him.

Lady and Freckles

From: http://www.freewebs.com/userl-tidewater/tidewatershorses.htm

Lady and Freckles (Two registered TBs).

Lady was an 18-month old TB filly euthanized due to DSLD-ESPA.









Freckles is Lady's dam, and she appears to have the upright form of D-E. The rescue director says that Freckles shifts her weight back and forth, and as you'll notice, she has a suspiciously post-legged look. The rescue would like to have Freckles ultrasounded to confirm whether or not she has DSLD-ESPA. Please contact them if you can donate a few $$ towards the ultrasound costs.

More horses diagosed..

Links and Quotes from other blogs with DSLD / ESPA horses:

http://along-the-crooked-path.blogspot.com/2007/10/around-farm.html

Lacy, my Connemara mare. Sadly, it has been determined that Lacy is suffering from a disease know as DSLD (more recently renamed ESPA).

http://distancerider.blogspot.com/2007/10/is-it-still-possible.html

First some background: I’ve got over 1000 endurance miles now and have done 50s on 4 different horses (my first endurance horse was retired due to DSLD but he sure taught me a lot!).

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=26431623&blogID=306847599

Well after a very long day at work...Liz decided to put her Fresian Nico to sleep. He has whats called DSLD and it's a disease in the ligaments...its really a bad thing i must say.

If You Ride Your DSLD/ESPA Horse, be Prepared

for comments like this one found in this forum. Scroll about halfway down the page. Look at the picture with the caption It was painful to see this poor Peruvian

Video: 1981 Peruvian Paso mare affected with DSLD - ESPA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FshquBJVeBw

Paso Fino horse suffering from DSLD-ESPA

on the Fugly Horse blog. Click and scroll down to read/view picture.

Another story of heartbreak

Long, but worthwhile reading IMO.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/PPasoRescue/message/732