The experiences below were taken from forums across the internet.
At the end of the articles there are links for further HYPP reading.
at a registerd horse sale and I noticed the filly in the stall next to one of the horses we were in charge of,
seemed to be in pain. She had her stomach muscles drawn up tightly and she looked as though she had
colic. On closer inspection, I saw her skin was crawling from her back flank area, across her sides and back,
up to her neck. I looked at the copy of her papers taped to her stall and saw that it was a yearling filly by Kid
Clu.
She looked like she had bumps the size of large plums crawling under her skin. She was in a very small
makeshift stall and I was afraid if she got down in the stall, she would become cast. A young gentleman
helped me to keep the filly calm and on her feet while another lady who came over to help, went to the sales
office to see if she could find the owner. It took approximately 20 minutes for the owner to be found and get
back to take care of the filly. He administered medication and then blanketed and walked the filly for about 30
minutes before her episode finally ended and she was able to be put back in her stall. That poor filly looked
totally drained of energy when it was over. I have been told by many HyPP breeders that the horses are not in
any pain when they have episodes, but I can tell you THIS filly was in as much pain as any horse with a bad
colic attack!
My 9 year old grandson was there and also witnessed the episode. He asked me what was wrong with that
horse. The young man (about 20 years old) who had helped me with the filly also wanted to know what HyPP
was. I explained to both of them that HyPP is a disease that some Impressive-bred horses have and what the
different symptoms are, from mild up to and including, death. Both were shocked to learn that people actually
breed horses with this disease on purpose. Both asked WHY any one would breed sick horses. I explained
the best I could, although it is something I don't understand myself. I told them that AQHA doesn't not have any
rules against breeding for HyPP and that as long as there aren't, people will continue to do it, since they feel it
makes there horses easier to fit for showing. My grandson plans to start showing in 4-H next year, and he
decided to write a letter to the AQHA himself. He told them what he saw and asked them why they let people
breed horses who are sick, and would they please make them stop. If you haven't sent your letters to your
registry associations, PLEASE do so now.
Nancy
Five years ago I was helping a local 4-H club put on a two-day clinic about pattern classes, (horsemanship,
showmanship, eq etc.). As I was watching the kids warm-up the first morning, my eye’s immediately caught a
really pretty little sorrel. He was a nice little mover, above what we usually see in 4-H down here.
At the break I found this kids parents and asked them about the gelding. They were just over-joyed with him.
They had found him at a sale as a yearling, and knew that he was out of a WC stallion. I asked them what the
dams side was, and the dad said he didn’t know, the horse was not registered. I found that a bit strange, as a
horse this nice was obviously out of a good mare as well. But they were happy because they had gotten a
good deal on him, he had a fabulous disposition, and their little girl just adored him.
The rest of the clinic went on until the lunch break of the second day, when the whole group of parents and
kids were outside having a bbq, while the horses were put up in the stalls. All of a sudden the little girl comes
screaming down the barn aisle saying that something is wrong with ‘scooter’ she was crying, so all
immediately jumped up to find out what was going on. When I got to the stall, my heart was taken aback.
‘scooter’ was down in the stall amidst in a full blown
attack. Not a little muscle on the side attack, his whole body was racked with spasms. I recognized it
immediately, and had one of the parents call the vet
from the cell phone. Meanwhile this horse is literally screaming for breath. I have never seen the fear and
panic that was in that horses eyes. Luckily the Vet was only 3 miles away, and we thought he should be here
in time. We had no Karo, no acetazolamide. I asked the owners if he had ever had an attack before, they
asked an attack of what? They knew nothing about the disease, and had never seen the horse show
symptoms. Of course they might have, but just not known what it was.
To make this long story shorter. The Vet never made it in time. About a minute after getting off the phone, his
eyes went glassy, and the muscles stopped. I will also never forget the look on the faces of the parents and
the kids who were there. I won’t go into details into how they had to get the horse out of the stall.
Five kids quit the club that day. I seriously don’t know if they ever came back. The horse owner's daughter
never rode again. They sold the equipment to another 4-H kid, and the girl now plays soccer, and is very good
at it. I have seen her numerous times and have tried to get her to come out for a ride, or to help out with the
club. But she always says no. That look in her eyes when she remembers what happened could break steel.
I have seen some unnecessary things happen to horses with this disease. I knew a mare that had won a lot
she was 6th (top 10 at least) at the youth world had her Superior in Amateur, & in Youth and was very close to
getting it in Open. She was 3 they went out to feed her at 7:30, came back out at 12 and the mare was dead in
her stall. FROM A "Seizure" or whatever technical name you would like to call it.
I have another friend that had a gelding that wasn't symptomatic and then one day he had one. They abided by
everything that you are supposed to do. A month later they went out found him dead hanging in the panels.
They did an autopsy on him and found that when he had his seizure he fell into the panel and broke his neck.
No, hypp didn't kill him directly but in essence it did.
~S~
http://www.neosoft.com/~iaep/pages/protected/jissues/j1811/j1811p731.html
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLASMA POTASSIUM CONCENTRATION AND HYPP SYMPTOMS
The experiences of seizures and paralysis of HYPP N/H and H/H horses go on and on, and will, until positive
horses are no longer bred. Below is more links for further reading on HYPP.
Good luck and once again thanks for visiting our website
http://www.vita-tech.com/DNA/hypp.htm
What is Equine Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (HYPP)
http://nnalliance.org/myth.htm
Common Myths & Truths about HYPP
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