Liver and kidney failure

Liver, due to ragwort poisoning, lethargy, then was head pressing, late that night was staggering around and next day should have been pts.
Next day horse down and unable to get up, pts.
Not mine im glad to say.
If vet has said both, then recovery usually very unlikely if it has progressed to failure.
However, many do recover if diagnosed in time.
 
Liver failure. Itchy legs for a day or two, assumed to be mites but was photosensitivity I guess. Following day, pony was staggering, then went down and was fitting on the floor in the stable, like a full gallop lying down. Very distressing for us and the pony. And very difficult to PTS as had to hold her still and couldn’t take her out of the stable to make collecting her easier afterwards. No idea what her blood work showed, as this was the first indication she had a problem.

Sorry you are having to consider these things.
 
The first thing I noticed about mine (liver failure) was headshaking. He also developed an extreme reaction to a fly spray that I had used for years on him, like the skin was burned and the hair fell out. He was treated with steroids which helped but bloods weren't run at that point. Then over winter he lost weight and became lethargic, I had bloods run and his liver enzymes were terrible. He was given some sort of medication from the vet and I changed his diet to horsehage and got him off the grass at home. The enzymes returned to normal, he put the weight back on but slowly as he didn't have a good appetite. Obviously he wasn't as bad as the other cases mentioned and he did live another 8 years, the cause was never identified.

Sorry you are facing this, it sounds very sad.
 
Mine with relatively mild liver issues lost weight & muscle and was really lethargic and lacking energy. He also had diahorrea just before other signs started. Several other horses at the same yard also developed liver disease so suspected toxin exposure. Responded well to a liver supplement but I didn’t do biopsy (horse massively vet phobic) & he was a huge laminitis risk so didn’t give steroids either (PPID but still had laminitic episodes despite normal cortisol… in hindsight I do think he might have had EMS as well despite being underweight (had been slightly overweight at times before I bought him)

I’ve seen horses with more severe liver issues become collapsed / start having seizure like episodes though.
 
I should add that all my horses had horrendous liver bloodwork last summer, and I thought I would see them all go to liver failure, but all have recovered to normal blood levels now. So raised enzymes don’t necessarily equate to liver failure.
 
I hope it is not as serious as you are suggesting so if the vet thinks there is any hope, do talk to the guys at Trinity Consultants who do some amazing supplements to help liver recovery. Fingers crossed for you.
 
Extreme weight loss over a short time. Personality change - previous independent pony hanging around her companion. Three separate incidents of anaphylactic type breathing troubles. Vet involved fully but unfortunately couldn’t come immediately on the last incidence of breathing struggles when we had decided it was kindest to PTS. My worst incident of owning horses over nearly 50 years. Luckily the local hunt kennels are only 15 mins away so they came out and euthanased her. The vet diagnosed liver problems, probably a tumour. The pony was a rescue. I hope your pony is ok OP.
 
poiuytrewq said:
Ok, I need to have a proper conversation with the vet again tomorrow.
She is not as bad as the above and I’m wondering why it’s been said in quite such a negative way.
I was shocked at the bloods
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if you are happy to PM me the blood work I can let you know how it compares to my guys, and to my friends event horse who died from liver failure (forgot she sent me his bloods when I was panicing about mine).
 
My horse had acute kidney failure 4 years ago. She was very poorly, wouldn’t eat, she lost 50kg in a short space of time. 6 days in Intensive care on fluids and steroids and came home. Ever since she drinks a lot and so is wet in the stable, but otherwise normal. She has chronic kidney failure now, but it is very slow. Careful feeding is essential. She can be fussy with her food. I think ultimately it will be a decision when I can’t maintain her weight, but luckily we aren’t there yet.
 
Definitely have a good chat to the vet.
My current boy had very high liver enzymes when I bought him. It's taken a year but they are now back in normal range (I'm going to run bloods every 6 months to keep a check on it). At no point did he show any physical signs. He may have been a bit lethargic/tired but hard to tell with a weak, freshly backed baby.
Previous horse had raised liver enzymes one spring. He was very lethargic which is why I ran bloods. Never got to the bottom of it, and never retested as ended up retiring him for other reasons - although may have been a symptom of his other issues. He's been retired over a year and doing well.
I have had a Shetland with liver failure. She arrived in the January (was gifted to me as owner couldn't cope anymore). By march I could tell something was wrong - pot bellied but no covering around spine and pelvis, although probably had never been wormed. And she would stand head down, completely zoned out. Would walk around with her nose on the floor too. Bloods came back and vet said liver failure, although never saw the results. Vet warned that she would go downhill quickly and to PTS sooner then later.
She lasted until May, and she went downhill quickly. Started head pressing against the field shelter wall, and her eyes and muzzle became very pink and swollen. PTS the same day.

I have found with my two ridden ones that the blood results can look terrifying but can be reversible.
 
visa_bot said:
My horse had acute kidney failure 4 years ago. She was very poorly, wouldn’t eat, she lost 50kg in a short space of time. 6 days in Intensive care on fluids and steroids and came home. Ever since she drinks a lot and so is wet in the stable, but otherwise normal. She has chronic kidney failure now, but it is very slow. Careful feeding is essential. She can be fussy with her food. I think ultimately it will be a decision when I can’t maintain her weight, but luckily we aren’t there yet.
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Careful feeding how please?
 
I had one with liver damage. It was a long time ago, so my memory is hazy, but he lived another two years after the vet said it was bad enough to PTS. He did have a few colic episodes in that two years, but was happy and symptom free apart from that. I remember having to change his feed, but can't remember why. I can only remember flaked maize!
 
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