anaemia, low blood protein and raised gut enzymes...???

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montysmum1

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My pony's blood results from tests last week are as the title says. Vet is concerned, but not very forthcoming with possible diagnosis/cause/cures, and I'm worrying a lot :(

Vet has advised that now he is home, to make sure he has access to good grass (but not too good to cause lami), he's been wormed (tested positive for tapeworm), and to continue with HB Formula, and Pro-soothe, and we'll re-test in a fortnight or so.

He was not found to have stomach ulcers as i had feared, but although is not under-weight, has prob lost about 50-75kg. Since getting home, his appetite is definitely back to normal, and he's a lot brighter in himself, though is being a bolshy and grumpy little brat, which is out of character for him.

What else can i do for him?
 
My first instinct would actually be to treat him for hind gut ulcers. those wouldn't show up on the scope and when severe can affect the protein absorption in the gut.
 
SCMSL - hindgut ulcers are my main worry.

My Vet is now on holiday for 2 weeks, although has said he is not out of the country, so if pony takes a turn for the worse is contactable, but i don't want to bother him just to mull over possibilities.

How likely is diagnosis/treatment/full recovery?

My only experience with this was pretty traumatic, last year, and the horse was sadly PTS, although he was in a very bad way when I got him, and severely underweight. My pony doesn't LOOK that bad, but his blood results are significantly worse, which is what is so frightening :(
 
Have you thought about aloe vera?

My horse came back low on his blood counts and I have long suspected hind gut issues. He's been on a loading does of aloe vera for about a month and he seems improved (more energy and less girthy).

I got it from here, might be worth a try:

http://www.aloequine.com/

Their customer service is good too and they were happy to give advice on recommended dosage etc.
 
If you type in on net ULCERS IN HORSES ,on that page there is a video equine ulcer diagnosis by Mark Depaolo,I think it is very interesting ,I am not sure how to do a link but its easy to find , some ulcers are beyond the reach of a scope ,so this video shows another way to detect ulcers .
I hope this helps.
 
Ask for a copy of the full blood results, so you can see the exact value of each thing alongside the reference range (which indicates what range 90% of "normal" horses would be). It's very easy for anyone to see at a glance whether each enzyme, cell count etc is only marginally high/low or very/high low. What takes more expertise is to work out the significance of each value.

However, it is quite common for ponies to have lower red blood/haemoglobin/PCV (haematocrit) counts than horses, so the anaemia may actually be "normal" for your pony (but again, it depends on the absolute value. Some labs quote a different range for ponies, apparently).

With the protein value, if it's only marginally up or down, it may be of no particular significance.

With the "gut enzymes", I wonder which enzymes they are talking about? Do they mean GGT and/or GLDH which are liver enzymes (and get into the blood when liver cells are damaged) - the liver is sometimes counted as part of the gut? Otherwise I'm not sure which ones they mean?

Definitely worth having a copy of the results - just say it's for your own records and for easy future reference. Far better to know the absolute values than just have someone's interpretation of it.

Sarah
 
If he's tested positive for tapeworm, hindgut ulcers/other pathological changes are a potential side effect (usually ileo-caecal junction) and may explain the symptoms. It certainly seems fairly likely, especially as he's improving after being wormed. Colonic ulcers are much less understood than gastric ulcers and there are consequently fewer treatments. Reducing/removing concentrates and increasing forage can help to so the complex carbohydrates are digested in the foregut, where they belong, and the acidity of the hindgut is kept to a minimum. But I'm sure this is why your vet has just recommended being turned out to grass. The fact that he's improving already must be a good sign and hope everything works out for you and your boy!
 
Monty, I would say hind hut ulcers are extremely likely and since diagnostic is more symptomatic than anything else I would begin treatment.

Bear in mind that hind gut ulcers, just like regular EGUS, need to be managed constantly.

Do another fecal and treat for any parasites since an irritated bowel is more likely to get injured again.

As for treatment, this is what my vet recommended:
- 2 weeks of ulcermin, 10 sachets 3 times a day - ideally 15 min before feeding time, syringed to the mouth, but if you can't manage that than just put it in his food.
- Wet down all food into a mash like consistency
- Choose a low NSC (below 15) feed and make sure the feed has no beet pulp in it!
- Remove all long stem forage for 10 days - this was the trickiest part. My mare was allowed to graze a bit but no hay at all. I went with grass and alfalfa cubes at a 50:50 rate. Again, those were very soggy.
- Feed little and often: for those 10 days she was being fed every 2 hours. I understand this is probably impossible for you (my groom was fabulous at the time and made sure she did get all those feedings) but still try to make it as often as you can.
- L-Glucosamine: I bought it from a cow feed manufacturer. It helps to reduce the inflammation in the bowel.

I also added green clay to her water bucket (and still do).

My mare is much better now, but she still occasionally gets the runs when stressing - so mostly during work since she is a very nervous horse.

I am actually trying to gather enough energy to do the "no hay and ulcermin 10 days" again since those are the two main things you need for them to improve.
 
Thank you everyone for your replies.

I have asked for copies of the results, and am just awaiting their arrival - that was a particularly good idea - thank you! As soon as I receive them I will investigate further into just how bad they are.

He is on a minimal diet at the moment, just grass, and some mollasses free alfa-a and speedi-beet with his HB formula and Protexin Pro-soothe which the vet has prescribed for him.

Now he's settled in back at home, he is still a bit 'out of sorts', but is no longer depressed like he was before, and is very keen on eating, which is a massive improvement! I hope the next set of blood tests which will be done in a few weeks, will show an improvement. How long does it take them to recover from this sort of thing?
 
I guess it depends on how severe it is, like anything else...

Some are awesome after a few days, some take months to get back to their old selves!
 
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