EPM Prevention

Unfortunately, there is little horse owners can do to adequately protect their horses from infection with EPM. At best, good horse-keeping practices will discourage unwanted visitors such as opossums from contaminating hay, grain, and bedding.
 

Here are a few suggestions:

• Keep feed rooms and containers closed and sealed.
• Use feeders which minimize spillage and are difficult for wild animals to access.
• Clean up any dropped grain immediately to discourage birds and other scavengers.
• Feed pelleted and extruded feeds since these heat-treated processes seem to kill the infective sporocysts.
• Keep water tanks clean and filled with clean fresh water.
• Maximize your horse's health and fitness through proper nutrition, regular exercise, and routine deworming and vaccinations.
• Schedule regular wellness appointments with your equine veterinarian.¹

Prior to treatment, EPM should be distinguished from other diseases that may cause ataxia in horses. Injuries or lameness may also complicate the evaluation of an animal with EPM. In most instances, ataxia due to EPM is asymmetrical and affects the hind limbs.

The safe use of Marquis^® in horses used for breeding purposes, during pregnancy, or in lactating mares, has not been evaluated.

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¹ Reed S. Neurology is Not a Euphemism for Necropsy: A Review of Selected Neurologic Diseases Affecting Horses, Precedings 54th Annual Conf AAEP, Dec 2008, San Diego CA, pg 78-109.