Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horses with staggers after eating paspalum grass infected
By Cawdell-Smith, A J et al.·Published in Australian veterinary journal·2010·School of Animal Studies, Australia·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Staggers in horses grazing paspalum infected with Claviceps paspali.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Three Australian Stockhorse foals developed ataxia, which is a lack of coordination, after eating grass infected with a fungus called Claviceps paspali. One foal sadly died, but the other two recovered within a week after being moved away from the infected grass. In a separate case, two out of eight Standardbred horses grazing in the same area showed weakness in their hindquarters. One horse worsened despite treatment with antibiotics and fluids and had to be euthanized, while the other recovered after two days. It's important to check pastures for this fungus before letting horses graze.
People also search for: horse ataxia causes · paspalum grass poisoning in horses · horse hindquarter weakness treatment
Abstract
Invasion of the flowering heads of grasses by Claviceps spp. can produce sclerotia (ergots) containing several toxins. Ingestion of these toxins, through the consumption of paspalum (Paspalum dilatatum), can induce a range of clinical symptoms, including staggers. Cattle are the most commonly affected species, but although sheep and horses have been reported affected there are no published descriptions of paspalum staggers in horses. We describe two occurrences of paspalum staggers, the first in three Australian Stockhorse foals and the second in mature Standardbred horses. All three foals presented with ataxia in all limbs after consuming infected paspalum. One foal died from misadventure and the other two recovered within 1 week of removal from the infected paddock. In the second case, two of eight mares and geldings grazing in an irrigation channel developed hindquarter paresis. After removal of all horses from the area, one of the affected horses continued to deteriorate. Both horses were treated with antibiotics. The more severely affected horse was also treated with fluids and electrolytes, but had to be euthanased. The second affected horse recovered after 2 days. Paspalum pastures should inspected for Claviceps paspali infection before the introduction of horses.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20854295/