Mark

Mark of Cedardell is my 26-year-old Arabian gelding. He's lived in Tucson much longer than I have, about 19 years. He is originally from Cedardell Arabian Farm in Goodman, Missouri. He is descended from Arabian greats such as Raffles and Indraff.

I was fortunate enough to start riding Mark soon after I moved out to Tucson, and purchased him in September 2006.

In June 2008, Mark was diagnosed with Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM). I discovered a strange stumble to the right on his hind end, and after getting off and asking him to trot around in the round pen, he nearly fell down. That night he did fall down when being turned out. After testing to eliminate other diseases and to at least confirm exposure to EPM, he was started on a daily dose of Marquis (ponazuril) by Bayer. After two months of Marquis, Vitamin E, and daily short handwalking sessions, Mark made a remarkable recovery. Within six months of his diagnosis, you would never guess to look at him that he had so recently had a debilitating neurological disease.

This is a picture of him when he was sick. At some points he was so unsure of his footing and balance that he was scared to walk at all.

In this picture Mark nearly fell down due to the neurological impairment of EPM.

Mark and his buddy Spirit trotting around the arena.