HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Liver poisoning.. :(

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PonyPrincess

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Hello everyone,

just a question..

my mare has been off recently so i got vet...nothing obvious seemed wrong except pale gums and funny coloured eyes...so he took blood tests. blood tests came back! bad results
frown.gif
she has liver posioning...

he recommenede a supplement.. vitamin b+ and is taking blood samples every 2 weeks for 2 months...not good! i was sooo upset...she's my baby...

we couldn't get the vitamin b+ supplement anywhere but we got one virtually similar so now we're just waiting..

i was just wondering if anyone knew of a similar case and what they used to cure it or a homeopathic remedy?? apparently there is one,,,,

going to try speak to a homeopathic vet... any ideas??

sarah x
 
Get in touch with Global Herbs first thing tomorrow. Phone their helpline and speak to their Vet.

They do a few products that will certainly help, their Restore bought my pony back from the brink of death. They also do a product called RagAid which is specificly for damaged livers. They will advise you as to the dose. Their stuff is not howlingly expensive.
It is important that you discover the reason why your pony has been poisoned so that other horses don't come down with the same thing.

Have a good look round your pasture for poisonous plants, Ragwort, StJohns Wort, Mares Tail, Ewe etc, etc. Also have a good rootle in the hay and maybe change your supplier if you turn up anything dodgy.
 
Hi PP. Last July I took on a rescued mare with severe liver damage due to ragwort poisoning so I can give you a load of info if you want to PM me. Do the vets suspect it is ragwort poisoning with your girl? The vitamin B I think they mean (?) is Yea Sac - this aids hind gut digestion and is also an appetite stimulant because one side effect of liver damage is loss of appetite. You might also want to start your girl on Milk Thistle as this is recognised as supporting the liver. The important thing for liver damage is a LOW protein diet but don't cut out all protein. What protein she does have must be good quality. If it is ragwort poisoning, any liver damage is sadly permanent as the alkaloids in ragwort prevent the liver from repairing itself. If its due to an infection or virus, your girl may make a good recovery. Despite my mare's desperate state, she perked up a little when she realised people were trying to help her and the vets did a liver flush which helped her blood results a little. Other ragwort/liver damage symptoms include depression, weight loss, terrible sunburn (photosensitivity), standing in corners, difficulty in blood clotting, jaundice, self harm and harm to the owner. It is vital you find out what they think is the cause of the liver damage so you can act appropriately. Fingers crossed its a passing infection. But do get Milk Thistle as it may help. D&H do a high quality tub about £15 I think. Good luck and please let us know how she gets on. x
 
Pony princess - the best person to speak to is Derek Knottenbelt at Liverpool Uni. - he was very helpful last year when my horse had liver issues. If you pm me i will send you his email (or you may be able to find it online)
Other things to get are milk thistle (ground root not leaves) which is very good for the liver and routinely used to treat hepatitis in people.
You could speak to Ainsworths in london re homepathci rememdies - they have an equine specialist in some days.
hth
alice
 
Prof Knottenbelt is wonderful and helped me hugely with a support programme/diet for my mare but you do really need to know the reason for the liver damage before you can really get to grips with it.
 
My horse had some quite severe hepatic issues last sept, she was actually seen by a specialist from france for a unrelated issue but this showed up on routine bloods. He recommended a very high dose antibiotic (enrofloxacilin or trade name Baytril) for a sustained period of time. Another friends pony also had the same problem so our 'home' vet also put him on this. It has helped them both.
We did also feed restore from Global herbs (they were great on the phone) and also immuno -plus (my horse went toxic aswell!) and a short period of milk thistle (you can get the tablets cheaply from healthspan - think I fed 15 a day to by 16 hand Duthch WB x Tb mare).

Good luck and hope she makes a quick response
 
I second the milk thistle. We had an old horse whose liver blood works came back as really bad. had him on Milk thistle for a couple of months, and it stopped any further deterioration. the best you can hope for. Vet was amazed. he lasred anothe 10 years but we never took him off the milk thistle!
 
Use Milk Thistle and if you can get hold of some SAME (said Sammy) this helps the liver work less in the production of the biggest anti-oxidant in the body Glutathione, some dog supplements would be good, its worth speaking the the vet possible samylin or hepatosil ect
 
Yes Milk Thistle and Vi-Sorbin which is a vitamin b/iron liquid and remember that the liver is the only organ that can repair itself so once you get the proper medication into her she and you get onto the right track she will be fine,there is also a capsule that you get from the vets that repairs the liver balancing out the enzymes(or how you spell it )
 
Hi Paddywhack - if PP's ned has ragwort poisoning, the liver can NOT repair itself. The alkaloids in the plant irreparably destroy this function and normal healthy liver tissue is gradually replaced by scarred, cirrhosis tissue. That's why I suggested to PP that she needs to know the cause of the liver damage before she can really plan any further ahead. Symptoms of liver damage (photosensitivity etc) tend to only become apparent when around 70% of the liver is damaged. Prof Knottenbelt - a world expert on ragwort poisoning in horses - told me that at 76% damage, death is inevitable. However, we have managed to stabilise my ragwort poisoned rescue girl at (we think) over 70% damage and so far {{touches wood}} she is doing very well on a low protein diet and careful management ie keeping her out of strong sunlight. My local vets did a liver flush that washed any still circulating poisons out of her system but beyond that, there was nothing more that could be done except tlc. To outsiders, she now looks like a good quality gypsy cob but what you can't see is that INSIDE she has irreversible liver damage. I'm delighted that we have been able to stabilise her so well that the last few % of working liver that she DOES have seems to be coping ok. PP - you really do need to know what has caused the poisoning. As I said before, if it's a viral infection or something like that, your ned can make a full recovery and, as Paddywhack says, the liver will repair itself. Got everything crossed for you. x
 
We had a pony with Chronic liver failure, he was at deaths door and this was ragwart poisoning from before we bought him, he was kept on a protein free diet, no grass for 6 months and the liver did repair itself, he lived for a good 10 years after that until his liver failed again.
 
Any helpfull information about liver diease i would be most gratefull for your comments due to i have just found out my pony has it!
 
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