The owner of a horse who is recovering from atypical myopathy has shared her story to highlight not only the often-fatal condition but the vital need for early veterinary treatment.
Karen Albutt’s part-Connemara sport horse Whittlie Burn Piccolo (Steve) spent a week at the Three Counties Equine Hospital, where he was given less than 25% chance of survival.
“The speed is what saved him, followed by the aggressive flushing treatment,” Karen told H&H. “The vets said it’s usually such a miserable prognosis with atypical myopathy so when they said he’d turned the corner, it was absolute elation.”
The Albutts bought Steve in January for Karen’s daughter Isla, 16, with the plan to event him and compete in working hunter classes. He was backed this summer and had been doing bits of work in preparation for his winter holiday.
But three weeks ago, he fell ill.
Karen said Steve is kept at home, living out, and that her daughter had found him lying down that morning.
“He neighed and got up, and she didn’t think anything of it,” Karen said. “We have a vet who lodges with us and he said the same; he looked fine.
“That was about 8 or 9am and by the time I got back at lunchtime, he was sitting in the field with his legs tucked under him. He’d eaten all the grass round him so he’d been there a while. I got his rug off and saw he was tucked up and had muscle trembling. I rang the vet and luckily, he was close by.”
The vet was not sure what the issue was but “knew something wasn’t right”. He ran bloods and by the time Karen arrived at the Three Counties with Steve, they had the results that confirmed atypical myopathy.
“Isla was at college and I had to ring her, then take her to see him in hospital and tell her he might not be coming home,” she said. “The vets said his [toxicity] levels were so high, they thought he wouldn’t survive.”
Every day, after Karen and Isla had visited Steve, vets told them they might still lose him.
“I think it was on Thursday they said he’d turned a massive corner and they thought he’d be ok,” said Karen. “They did all the checks on his heart and everything and they came back clear and they said there’s no reason he shouldn’t make a complete and full recovery, which is amazing.”
Karen said she wanted to share her experience to raise awareness of the condition. H&H reported last month that there has been a spate of cases this autumn.
“I think people need to be aware that it can happen,” she said. “We’ve got two other horses grazing the same paddock and their blood tests were fine; it’s just him who had the toxicity. He must have grazed on windblown seeds; people think it won’t happen to them but it can happen to anybody’s horse, and it doesn’t matter if you’ve had horses on that field for 30 years. I think this has been a really good season for seeds; each year is different so don’t think your trees are safe.”
Karen said Steve is now bright, happy and eating well, with just some weight and muscle loss to show for his brush with the fatal condition.
Three Counties intern Alice Addis agreed that it is vital horses with atypical myopathy have veterinary attention fast.
“Quick intervention and aggressive fluid therapy,” she told H&H, adding that horses are then usually kept comfortable with pain relief and monitored closely. “Those who make it to 72 hours and show improvement tend to be the ones who make it. Steve started showing signs of recovery at about the 48-hour mark, which was amazing.
“We’ve had a couple of cases where the horses go home, which is fabulous, and it’s the ones who get here quickly and are treated quickly.”
You might also be interested in:
‘He saved me, now I want to save others’: heartbroken owner speaks out on fatal atypical myopathy
Horse owners warned as vets report rise in atypical myopathy and acorn poisoning
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