Horses that ingest contaminated hay and grain can contract botulism, a disease caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The disease causes progressive paralysis that eventually affects a horse's ability to swallow and breathe, causing death.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center completed a retractive study of 92 horses admitted to the hospital with botulism over a 24-year period. They found that the overall survival rate for the disease was 48 percent, but that survival rates were considerably higher – 67 percent—in horses that were still able to stand when they arrived at the clinic.
In horses that were recumbent, only 18 percent survived. Horses that remained on their feet throughout their hospital stay had a 95 percent survival rate.
Though complications like colic and pressure sores were common, they did not influence survival rates.
Read more at EQUUS magazine.
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