I have a 15 month old Arabian gelding who, this past week, has been observed three times lifing his front legs individually and nipping at them (no marks left) then turning in circles both directions like a dog chasing his tail. He does this for a minute or two, then wanders off and grazes with no continuation of the behavior.

He is in a stall at night, on pasture with other horses during the day. He doesn't get grain, but doesn't get fat added to his diet.

His musculature is even and smooth, and he shows none of the "normal" signs of EPSM as listed on your site. Other than this behavior he appears to be a healthy, weight appropriate, active, inquisitive youngster.

I was talking to a person who has attended your lectures and she said you described this type of behavior as being symptomatic of EPSM. Can you expand on whether or not I should be looking for EPSM and/or what next steps I should take?

This person also talked about liver failure in EPSM horses indicating there was a real possibility that this gelding might not live beyond five or six years (assuming he does have EPSM). I haven't seen this discussed and wondered about your thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

Since no one more knowledgeable has answered this, I'll take a stab at it and guess that people have mistaken EPSM for EPM. (It's happened to me, many people don't really understand about EPSM and the initials are so similar they confuse the two) The odd behavior could be neurological in nature, which could be an EPM symptom. It doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard or read about EPSM.