Fiorano
Well-Known Member
Anyone know anything or has had dealings with 'auto-immune disease'? My friends horse has just been diagnosed with it and it is showing in her corronet band, heals and ergots.
Thanks
Thanks
Any ideas???
- Thread starter Fiorano
- Start date
Box_Of_Frogs
Well-Known Member
Wow - I'd never heard of an auto immune disease being present in the coronet band. Sunny developed it in his eye. My understanding is that it can commonly arise where there has been chronic, unresolved injury or disease. In Sunny's case, he had had chronic conjunctivitis for years and years, never properly addressed by his previous owners. The specialist vets who treated Sunny's eye advised that chronic conjunctivitis was a recognised precursor for the auto immune disease that followed.
Not sure if you're asking what an auto immune disease is so apologies if you weren't. An auto immune disease is where the normal defence mechanisms of the body start thinking that the horse's own tissue is "foreign" and needs to be attacked and destroyed. It is not an easy problem to treat. Sunny was treated with immuno suppressant drugs in his eye. This suppresses the body's incorrect immune response. However, the fun really starts if the horse then gets a REAL infection in the site being suppressed. In these circumstances the infection can take a real and often deadly hold. Sunny had to have his immuno suppressant drugs stopped after he was stabbed in his bad eye by a member of the yard staff. A massive infection took hold and eventually the eye had to be removed as we could no longer control the collapsing structure of the eye.
Have your vets given you some statistics to help you decide on treatment? Are they certain of the diagnosis? No disrespect but local vets often don't see many unusual problems that larger specialist hospitals do. If in doubt, ask for a referral. To be fair, Sunny was doing very well before the further damage to his eye although immuno suppressant drugs are hideously expensive and often the horse needs a low maintenance dose for life.
Not sure if you're asking what an auto immune disease is so apologies if you weren't. An auto immune disease is where the normal defence mechanisms of the body start thinking that the horse's own tissue is "foreign" and needs to be attacked and destroyed. It is not an easy problem to treat. Sunny was treated with immuno suppressant drugs in his eye. This suppresses the body's incorrect immune response. However, the fun really starts if the horse then gets a REAL infection in the site being suppressed. In these circumstances the infection can take a real and often deadly hold. Sunny had to have his immuno suppressant drugs stopped after he was stabbed in his bad eye by a member of the yard staff. A massive infection took hold and eventually the eye had to be removed as we could no longer control the collapsing structure of the eye.
Have your vets given you some statistics to help you decide on treatment? Are they certain of the diagnosis? No disrespect but local vets often don't see many unusual problems that larger specialist hospitals do. If in doubt, ask for a referral. To be fair, Sunny was doing very well before the further damage to his eye although immuno suppressant drugs are hideously expensive and often the horse needs a low maintenance dose for life.
tangotime
Well-Known Member
Hi Fiorana,
"auto-immune diseases" are a diverse group of diseases in which the body develops an abnormal immune response often against "normal" cell structures.
The most common auto-immune disease in horses which sometime can just affect the coronet band and ergots is pemphigus foliaceous (PF). Is that what your firends horse has been diagnosed with?
The prognosis for PF in younger horses is better then in older animals, but they often will require treatment with steroid for the rest of their life which obviously has problems because of the side effects.
The other condition afftecting coronets band and ergots is coronet band dystrophy.
Hope this helps.
"auto-immune diseases" are a diverse group of diseases in which the body develops an abnormal immune response often against "normal" cell structures.
The most common auto-immune disease in horses which sometime can just affect the coronet band and ergots is pemphigus foliaceous (PF). Is that what your firends horse has been diagnosed with?
The prognosis for PF in younger horses is better then in older animals, but they often will require treatment with steroid for the rest of their life which obviously has problems because of the side effects.
The other condition afftecting coronets band and ergots is coronet band dystrophy.
Hope this helps.
Fiorano
Well-Known Member
Thank you both. Your information was very clear and useful. I had never heard of it before so was just trying to find out information from the people who know rather than trawling the internet and finding the horror stories!!
Tangotime, your definition of the problem is spot on! A specialist has diagnosed the problem after the vet referred her. The owner has not been given a plan of treatment yet but has been given the 'worst case scenario' of 1 - 3 years before her horse has to be put to sleep. Obviously she is devasted as the horse is only 10 but has suffered with Laminitis in the past which was not effectively managed by the previous owner, sadly, which may well link with what Box of Frogs said.
I suppose it will be a case of managing the problem and enjoying her while she is still fit and well in all other ways.
Thanks again for your information.
Tangotime, your definition of the problem is spot on! A specialist has diagnosed the problem after the vet referred her. The owner has not been given a plan of treatment yet but has been given the 'worst case scenario' of 1 - 3 years before her horse has to be put to sleep. Obviously she is devasted as the horse is only 10 but has suffered with Laminitis in the past which was not effectively managed by the previous owner, sadly, which may well link with what Box of Frogs said.
I suppose it will be a case of managing the problem and enjoying her while she is still fit and well in all other ways.
Thanks again for your information.