Liver Damage

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pink_princess

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I have a 9 month old filly who has severe liver damge, has anyone else had a horse that has had it, do you know if she recovers would it return to normal or would it be week and likely to happen again?
any info on liver damage appreciated.
 
i had a horse which had liver damage. she was a fit and healthy competition horse; one day i got her in from the field and she was unsettled - turned out she had colic so I called the vet and she was treated etc. they took a routine blood sample 'in case' and that is how we found out she had liver damage - by accident! she was put on a high fibre low protein diet and had a vit b supplement for the rest of her life. we had a liver biopsy done to rule out ragwort poisioning etc - it seems the problem with her liver was viral. she carried on to compete etc with no deterioration in performance or condition. i would get it checke dout thoroughly tho - you can treat it.
 
thanks,
She has been at the vets for 2 weeks now, having treatment, she was admitted a week ago being weak behind they thought she had muscle damage and was in for further investigation, and thats when they discovered the muscle damage was caused by the liver damage.
Although the vets are being fantastic i just wanted to see if anyone else horses had similar problems.
 
Do they know what's caused it PP? Have you had her from birth? A very common cause for liver disease is ragwort poisoning, in which case the liver cannot regenerate. If it's from other causes, as ofcourseyoucan says, the liver can regenerate to a normal fucntioning capacity.

3 years ago, I took on a desperately sick 12yr old rescued mare. She was hours away from being pts due to ragwort posioning. She is now backed and being ridden regularly, winning dressage competitions, having a whale of a time on beach rides and generally living it up like royalty. Her only special management is her low protein diet, milk thistle and she needs to be stabled by day in the summer (to avoid the photosensitivity that accompanies liver damage). Although her liver can never fully recover, she has enough functioning liver left to keep her perfectly healthy and her blood results now show a liver function within normal range.

We achieved this by setting about immediately stabilising the liver to take as much "work" off it as possible. You do this as follows: VERY low protein diet, no oils or conditioning mixes EVER, what protein the horse does have must be of the highest quality, Milk Thistle (D&H do a high quality one) to support the liver, Yea Sac to aid hind gut digestion and to act as a mild appetite stimulant, feed little and often, stable during the day in summer.

There are other things your vets will alert you to such as poor blood clotting. Some of the symptoms can be quite distressing and include loss of appetite, loss of interest in life, weight loss, jaundice, burning uncontrollably in the summer sun, swollen abdomen, standing in corners with the head pressed against the wall, blindness and odd neurological sumptoms. But these are only if the liver damage isn't contained and controlled, so don't panic.

Angel is a hard as nails gipsy cob and was determined to live! When your filly comes home, the best thing yo can give her (as well as the above) is tlc and the best possible nursing and NEVER EVER feel sorry for her when you are around her. Be positive and upbeat and cry at home if you have to. I KNOW this helped Angel. If things are looking bleak, it's worth e-mailing Professor Derek Knottenbelt from Liverpool University. He is a world expert on liver damage in horses and gave me a vast amount of one-to-one help and guidance. The man's a saint - I cannot praise him highly enough. His e-mail is knotty@liverpool.ac.uk - good luck hun and do let us know how your girl progresses. Got everything crossed that it can be reversed xxx
 
I have owned her for 2 months and was vetted on purchase but she only arrived a month ago, she was quiet when she arrived, 2 days after i had the vet down as still wasnt quiet right, since she has been being check regularly and the vet thought she was weak from muscle damage but it wasnt until they admitted her they found otherwise. She was kept in a barn at the stud so if it was ragwort it would have been in the hay, i am waiting for the biopsy results to know more. but she is perky in her stable and still eating. So i have everything crossed. but hearing other stories gives more hope.
Thanks
 
Or could she have been deliverately kept in the barn in low-light conditions? Poor little chicken. Definitely use milk thistle, and I recommend Restore by Global Herbs. At least she has youth on her side.
 
That's a shockingly good point fatpiggy. P_P, while you wait for the results, you need to start your girl on the liver support diet as above. Don't wait any longer. Start helping her NOW.
 
my mare has just had 1 month of antiboitics and is starting steroids as has developed Hepatitis and may need another biopsey as well hope all goes well with your filly my marer only 6 this year
 
I would totally recommend Milk Thistle, i would also recommend you seek some advice from a lady called Jackie Taylor with regards to what else could help her.
If you google Metabolic horse you will find her email.
 
My vet has just called she has hepatitis, they think caused by toxin. She has been on a controlled diet and was on antiboitics - the vets have said she is getting better day by day, saw her on sunday and so much better already. She is aloud to come home on friday - cant wait, will have oral antibiotics but will speak to my vet about milk thistle and supplements reccomended - thanks for advice.
 
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