Definition

Noun: A neurological disorder, primarily affecting livestock such as horses and cattle, characterized by a loss of coordination, an unsteady and swaying walk, and a tendency to stumble and fall.

Usage

This is a technical veterinary term. It is used to describe the observable symptoms of a specific medical condition in animals. * The veterinarian diagnosed the sick cow with blind staggers. * Blind staggers can be caused by certain toxins or nutritional deficiencies.

Advanced Usage

• The term is sometimes used metaphorically in informal contexts to describe a person who is walking very unsteadily, as if extremely dizzy or intoxicated.
  • After the roller coaster, he walked off with the blind staggers.

Variants and Related Words

• Staggers (noun): Often used as a shorter, synonymous term for the same condition.
  • The horse is showing signs of staggers.

Synonyms

• Cerebellar ataxia (a more general medical term for loss of coordination)
• Knuckling (describes a specific symptom where the animal's fetlock joints buckle)

Notes on Meaning

• Important Distinction: The term "blind staggers" is historically associated with specific conditions like moldy corn poisoning (ingestion of fumonisin toxins) or selenium deficiency. It is not a single disease but a syndrome describing a set of neurological symptoms.
• The "blind" in the name does not necessarily mean complete loss of eyesight, but rather suggests a disoriented, stumbling state as if the animal cannot see where it is going.

Noun

1. a disease of the central nervous system affecting especially horses and cattle; characterized by an unsteady swaying gait and frequent falling