Horses on pasture may be affected by equine motor neuron disease

Abstract

Summary Reasons for performing study : Equine motor neuron disease (EMND) was diagnosed in 3 horses maintained on lush, grass‐based pasture. This contrasted with North American studies which identified limited or no access to green herbage as an important risk factor for EMND. Hypothesis : Grazing horses that have an apparently adequate intake of pasture herbage to meet normal equine vitamin E requirements can develop EMND. Methods : Owners of 32 European horses diagnosed with EMND completed a questionnaire regarding intrinsic, managemental, nutritional and environmental factors that could potentially be risk factors for EMND, and also regarding clinical signs, treatments and case outcome. Plasma/serum vitamin E data for these horses were supplied by the veterinarians. No control population was studied. Results : Thirteen of 32 horses (termed the ‘grazing’ group) had part‐ or full‐time access to grass‐based pasture at the onset of EMND (median duration at pasture 12 h/day, range 3–24 h). Five of these horses were at pasture for at least 23.5 h/day at the onset of EMND, 2 of which were at pasture for at least 23.5 h/day throughout the year. Despite grazing, all these horses had a low vitamin E status. The remaining 19 horses resembled those cases reported from North America, in that they had no or limited access to pasture. Conclusions and potential relevance : A diagnosis of EMND should not be discounted on the basis that a horse has access, even full‐time, to lush grass‐based pasture. Inadequate vitamin E intake was probably not the sole cause of either the EMND or the low vitamin E status in the grazing horses; the latter was probably the result of abnormal bioavailability or excessive utilisation of vitamin E.