Demystifying Muscle Disease
The note on my desk said, “Client wants to buy a horse with PSSM. What do you think?” Good question! Equine muscle diseases are one of the hottest topics around these days and are the subject of a lot of active research—meaning we learn more every day. Any time I’m asked a question about one of these disorders, I turn to the most current research to learn what’s new. And every time I do, it seems more and more confusing. Between the alphabet soup of acronyms (PSSM, MH, RER to name just a few) and the similar-but-different explanations, it’s easy to get bogged down.
If I’m confused, chances are you are, too. In this article, I’m going to do my best to demystify the confusing world of equine muscle diseases by honing in on what you need to know, beginning with a description of signs you’ll see that might point toward a muscle disease. Next, we’ll focus our attention on the steps your vet is likely to recommend if you think your horse has a muscle problem, including how to make a diagnosis and what to do
