Is there a blood test to see if hormones are out of balance?

[charterline]

Just wondering if there is such a thing, or if seeing if a horses "insides/parts" are working as they should be

 

[Shay]

Depends on why you are asking.

Yes you can test for hormone levels in a horse as in any mammal. But it doesn't necessarily tell you whether everything is working correctly as hormone levels change daily.

You can blood test to "prove" a rig - although in practice all that tells you is that the horse has more testosterone than it should; the most common cause of which is being a rig.

You blood test for ACTH levels to indicate Cushings / PPID and to monitor the effect of medication. ACTH is a hormone.

You can blood test for pregnancy - but only after the first 14 days. And for an equine ovarian tumour - although there is debate about how effective that actually is as some reports suggest over 50% of mares with palpable tumours also have normal hormone levels.

Were any of these what you were thinking of?

 

[SEL]

Liver and muscle enzyme tests are pretty straightforward to perform.

I usually get same day or next day results back from the vets.