On September 6th, 2017 my daughter Alex went out to feed the horses their mash. When she returned to me, she said, “Mom, Stiletto is acting strange!” I grabbed my jacket and ran out. When I approached her I noticed she was walking like a ‘drunken sailor’. She was upright on all four legs, but she was fumbling around. We tried to make her walk but it was obviously really difficult for her. Seeing these symptoms seemingly appear out of nowhere was distressing to say the least!

We immediately gave her some homeopathic remedies recommended by my friend Dr. Laura Taylor (holistic veterinarian). After looking for obvious wounds to determine if she had hit her head or fallen, we called the local vet right away. The vet came and assessed her and drew blood and gave her Banamine, and said that it was possibly West Nile virus. It would be a week to 10 days before test results would come back.

We gave her Banamine (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent that relieves pain, swelling and fever) twice, and by the next day, I realized that she was having difficulty eating and drinking. She wasn’t able to bring her lips together to drink or bring food into her mouth (see video below). Keeping her hydrated was the primary concern at this point. She was a bit overweight at the time, so I wasn’t hugely concerned about the lack of caloric intake - at least for the immediate future.

A thiamine (B1) injection was given to her by the vet in order to support her immune system against a possible West Nile Virus infection. The most well-known benefit of thiamine is its ability to soothe nervous and overexcited animals.

I reached out to friends, supplement providers and anyone else I thought could help me and Stiletto.

I found out I could give 10,000 international units of Vitamin E as it was clear that this was some kind of neurological attack by this point (read an in depth article about Vitamin E).

Since I sell Nano-E by KER (Kentucky Equine Research) and had plenty on hand, I thought it was a good idea to support her nervous system until a positive diagnosis could be made. The other important issue we had to address was the lack of forage in her belly which could quickly turn into an ulcer, so I gave her Equine Choice AFX 2-3 times per day to coat her stomach and protect it. A tube of Equine Choice Probiotic paste was also given to her every day to help stimulate her appetite and stimulate her thirst and to provide her gut with an abundance of probiotics to boost her immunity.

Nano-E is recommended for:

• Horses recovering from illness or injury

• Horses with neurological or neuromuscular disease

• Horses in confinement or those not receiving fresh green grass

Both of the Vitamin E supplements we carry are naturally sourced but the Animal Pro Vitamin E+ pellets contain Selenium and Magnesium to enhance absorption. KER Nano-E is a liquid and easy to give in high doses. Both are palatable and easy to feed. NEW** BUY A 3-PACK OF NANO-E AND SAVE 10%

I also had a friend come and teach me how to raindrop therapy so I could do it for Stiletto daily. Raindrop therapy involves combining 5 or 6 essential oils and applying them along the spine and the feet.

Stiletto’s inability to drink, regardless of the cause of the ataxia (drunken sailor gait), was our most urgent concern. I syringed water into her every waking hour. She was very close to needing intravenous fluids and we needed to decide whether she would need an IV to get her fluids up to safe levels. On Friday (3 days into the crisis), the vet came again but thankfully her hydration status had improved enough that she didn't need an IV. She got a soft (wet) mash daily from then on, containing all the vitamins, magnesium, and vitamin E, plus 2-3 teaspoons of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). I can’t tell you how relieved me and my family were to see her start to improve!

I continued the 10,000 iu Nano-E for a full two weeks.

Although I cannot recommend this protocol, given the dire situation my poor Stiletto was in, I made the call as her owner to give it my best shot and utilize whatever resources I had. We didn’t have anything to lose.

As Stiletto was able to eat more, I backed off the AFX as she could now buffer her stomach acid with the free choice forage we provide here on our farm. I continued the Banamine for almost a week, and we also did physical rehabilitation exercises to help her re-establish her proprioception by leading her over cavaletti’s every day. She began to regain her balance, and 10 days after the start of symptoms we were trail riding again.

On 10 days after onset of symptoms we did get confirmation that it was indeed West Nile Virus.

After three weeks, the only lingering symptom was her intolerance to activity and lack of endurance. I’m relieved she has no lingering deficits and recovered very quickly. Today she is an extremely strong and healthy lead mare and is my primary trail riding horse.

It’s amazing what we can do when we are pushed to explore outside of the normal parameters of what’s possible. Horses can certainly teach us this skill if we are willing!

~ Leah Hope