Recovery

Of the three forms of grass sickness only chronic cases have any chance of survival. Horses with the acute or subacute form of grass sickness should be euthanized on humane grounds once a confident diagnosis has been made to avoid unnecessary suffering.

Treatment of very carefully selected chronic cases can be attempted if the animals are not in much pain, can still eat at least a small amount and are still showing an interest in life. Nursing chronic cases is not always successful despite dedicated nursing and owners should be aware of this.

A number of chronic grass sickness cases have survived and returned to work including hacking, riding school work, hunting, eventing, racing and breeding. Fortunately, we are able to report here some of the animals which have survived and provide details of their recovery.

For detailed information on nursing chronic cases see the article on Management of Chronic Grass Sickness Patients in the Advice section.