Horse falliong over - update (sort of)

Nudibranch

Nudibranch

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Posted on here last week about my tb mare who fell over for no apparent reason. Vet couldn't find anything other than slight arthritis in 3 legs...am still convinced we should be looking at her back. ANYWAY bloods came back yesterday, even more confusion - she has "moderate" levels of bile and gamma GT (whatever that is) which seem to indicate a liver problem.

Vet's initial idea was to do nothing for a month then re-test to see if there is any change (he could do a liver biopsy but this is risky). I reminded him she is now on bute, and is still having "saggy" hindlegs. She has now also developed intermittent stiff hind legs (since being on the bute!), so he is coming out on Tuesday and in the meantime has doubled her bute. Any suggestions? Am getting more and more concerned and it seems to be getting taken quite lightly....

Interestingly the rescue centre she came from have given no response to my emails about it - it feels like I'm the only person who gives a t*ss about my horse!
 
You should call them - sometimes charities aren't the most up to date technology-wise!

Sounds horribly unpleasant poor horse! I suppose if he waits to see her on Tuesday, that is a week at least which might show if there is some change in her liver function. I presume that is why he's not coming sooner. Poor you tho, this must be so stressful!
 
I've seen similar to this before - caused by ragwort poisoning! I used to work at an equine hospital, we had a welsh cob in because it collapsed without warning in the field. We ran loads of tests & all we could come up with was compromised liver funtion but nothing specific to cause it & the horse didn't respond well. The horse was eventually sent home with loads of supplements until it dropped down dead in the field. The post mortem showed liver damage that indicated ragwort poisoning.

I don't want to worry you unduly but I would be pushing my vet for a liver biopsy & fairly quickly if it was my horse!
 
Ooh nasty. The only consolation I have is that there is no ragworth whatsoever in our fields so it shouldn't be that!
Liver biopsy is apparently pretty risky, they can bleed to death, so it's maybe a last resort. Thing is, it doesn't seem likely any of this has to do with her collapsing/weak hindlegs so I hope it's not going to lead off on a tangent instead of looking at the original problem. Grrr!
 
Unfortunately the ragwort poisoning may have occurred previous to you owning the horse, especially if it is a 'rescue'
crazy.gif
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Thats what the vet first thought with Jack but the blood test came back negative, he also said it could have been ragwort from 10 years ago that had slowly caused the damage so it doesnt have to be a resent thing.
Just a quick question to anyone who would know, wont bute cause further liver damage! or i am totally out of date?
 
The collapsing could be related to the compromised liver function. The welsh cob I knew ended up at the vets because he collapsed - it can make the horse generally weak & just 'not right'.
 
The expert on Ragwort poisoning is Proffesor Knottllebread at Liverpool University who is developing a test to detect it.

If you look up previous posts I gave his telephone number. He is always very helpfull.
 
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