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Grass sickness: The facts
31 May, 2007
- Grass sickness was first recognised in eastern Scotland exactly 100 years ago in 1907.
- Very little is known about the cause of the disease, for which there is no cure. This devastating illness is usually fatal and many well-known horses have succumbed, including the racehorse stallion Dubai Millennium.
- Grass sickness affects all types of horses, ponies and donkeys.
- It is most frequently seen in young horses aged between two and seven, and is particularly prevalent during April, May and June, and later in the autumn, after a spurt of grass growth.
- Signs include patchy sweating, shivering, constipation, reflux of fluid from the nose and rapid weight loss.
- There are three main forms of grass sickness: acute, subacute and chronic. While acute and subacute are almost always fatal, some chronic cases can recover.
Read more about grass sickness >>
Read H&H's news report on the latest spate of grass sickness in today's magazine (31 May, '07)
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