Does this sound right? Vets feed advice for liver damage

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Blondie1

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Hi,

Had blood results back for my gelding this morning and vet has said bloods are showing up slight liver damage!

He has said to me that the best way to deal with this is to keep him turned out 24/7, no work, soaked hay (if needed), Feed Hifi light am and pm for his Ventipulmin supp (vet originally came out for his breathing probs) and Corn Oil in his feed. And take bloods again in 3 weeks time.

Obviously i have no real reason to question his advice, its just i read somewhere that Corn Oil is not good for the Liver or did i read it completely wrong?

Thanks in advance.
 
When ours had a blood test showing raised liver enzymes we were advised to drop the linseed we were feeding (everything else was fibre so not alot else to worry about!) as dealing with the fats causes the liver work. We checked if feeding milk thistle tincture would be ok and he was happy with that. Like yours he came out again in a months time to retest.
If it is only a little corn oil then I guess it is assumed it can't do much harm, and perhaps if your horse is a poor doer then it is felt it is the lesser of two evils? If the advice worrys you then the best bet would be to give your vets a call and ask any questions to settle your mind.
 
A few years ago now I had a horse come back off loan with liver damage and the vets advised & got me some milk thistle extract... Worked a treat
 
The confusing thing is that my gelding is a very good doer and is slightly overweight so cant see why the need for Corn Oil.

He hasn't mentioned any suppliments or medication, just to keep his diet as simple as possible.

I'm a little confused : (
 
Blondie1 said:
The confusing thing is that my gelding is a very good doer and is slightly overweight so cant see why the need for Corn Oil.

He hasn't mentioned any suppliments or medication, just to keep his diet as simple as possible.

I'm a little confused : (
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Then I'd give the vets a ring. We found milk thistle tincture really helped (and didn't cause her to turn her nose up at tea!!).
 
Ok thanks.

I'll give my vet a call. I've called him twice already today to ask questions and just felt a bit silly calling a third time. But better to ease my mind as i'm worrying enough about the results : (
 
I'd ring the vet and ask about the oil. If you do feed it, I'd add additional vit E as well, to mop up the free radicals.
 
Blondie1 said:
Ok thanks.

I'll give my vet a call. I've called him twice already today to ask questions and just felt a bit silly calling a third time. But better to ease my mind as i'm worrying enough about the results : (
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Don't worry, they are there to look after your horse, and that includes dealing with worried owners!

I would try not to worry too much aout the results. Our mare showed raised liver enzymes after a blood test for something else, so naturally we worried ourselves silly!! One month later and another test taken and all was well - phew!
 
Global herbs does a good supplement its a detox one they do 2 so read the back of the packs to get the correct one!!

My ponies had very slight liver damage I had bloods done etc. Thing to remember the liver is a regenerate organ so if there is slight damage it is perfectly capable to mend itself
 
Our horse was diagnosed with very raised liver enzymes about 6 weeks ago. We were advised to feed a low protein diet with no oil. We supplemented with milk thistle and yeast sacc. He was retested after 1 month and the enzymes were significantly lower and the vet decided he did not need a biopsy just retesting in six weeks.

Box of frogs on here is very knowledgable about liver damage so look up some of her past posts.
 
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You are absolutely right to question the oil - it is very hard on the liver and not advised for a liver damaged horse. As someone said earlier, low protein diet, easy on the liver. Hope your horse makes a speedy recovery.
 
Thank you everyone for your replies.

I will call vet to ask about the Corn Oil. I thought i was right to be a little concerned about feeding this.

Fingers crossed this is nothing major for my boy. I'm a terrible worrier! He hasn't been right for about 6 months now and his first vet visit back in Nov 2011 was diagnosed with muscle damage and now this!!

They are a worry.
 
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