Liver Damage

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Snuffles

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Can anyone give me some info on what vitamin supplement I can give to a horse that's suffered liver damage ? Vet has said recommended he has something nothing with iron in, they can of course supply me with something, but if I can buy myself it will be much cheaper ! Thanks
 
Dandelion root for 2 weeks as a detox then milk thistle powder, I always use the Thunderbrooks herbs because I know they are good quality but there are other places that are cheaper.
Milk thistle is very good for liver damage.
 
There are a few more 'intensive' ones on the market (hack up etc do one) though IME they didn't come up much cheaper than the vet version, which appeared to do diddly squat though we haven't biopsied or anything to prove the point.

I feed milkthistle given that it is in the first ingredient of most of them and I am happy with the amount of B vitamins etc he is getting in is daily supplement.
 
Thanks, someone else has suggested Milk thistle. I did ring one of the feed suppliers re a vitamin supplement that doesn't contain iron, as vet said not to feed this but they didn't seem to think any of them were iron free !
 
There are general vit and min supplements that are iron free.
I use equimins adv complete but there is also forageplus, prohoof, equivita, equinaturals... the last two will also do bespoke iirc.
 
My mare has raised GGt levels at the moment and my old mare had liver damage due to lami, Box Of Frogs H&H member gave loads of info here http://horse-care-and-advice.weebly.com/l.html

Or here The Liver

Reseives digesta for metabolic processing . Has an important function in detocifiying of indigestited potenticial hazadous substances resultiting in the horses natural grazing. Its therefore at risk from toxic damages during this time. Its a highly active organ its also at risk from airborn
infections
cirrhosis
excess fat deposits
neoplasma
These can all produce changes in the activity and output. These can be measure in the blood serum and plasma

Signs of liver issues are:

abdominal pain
diarrhoea
weight loss
odemas

Liver Disease
abdomen odema below
Picture

Acute (mild stoppable)
Severe (irreversible acute liver failure)

Most are due to toxins at a level against which the liver's detoxifying powers are sufficient per se,or less usually because of inter current morbidity from:
Pasture and hedgerow plants inc ragwort
arsenic
waste oils
carbon tetrachloride

infectious
viral = hepatitis
Bacterial = aflatoxins Metabolic =hyperlipeamia


signs;

intermittent abdominal pain
loss of appetite
depression
lethargy
increase heart rate
low grade impaction
weight loss
yawning
jaundice
photosensitsation
ataxia
behavioral changes
ventral odema
altered blood clotting
occasional diarrhea
odemas edemas

Treatment:


Links

http://www.horsenutrition.co.za/ind...ent&view=category&layout=blog&id=54&Itemid=88

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/does-lemon-juice-detox-the-liver/

http://www.yourhorse.co.uk/Community-Landing/Forum-Landing/Forum-Categories/Topic/?topic-id=37274

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dv...nd-diag/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/430414
Things to help the liver

Legaphyton (with milk thistle) http://www.equistro.co.uk/ProductPage/LEGAPHYTON.html
Gold Label - Rescue
Licorice Root
Dandilion
Tumaric
real lemon juice
Immuplus
nettles


I have my mare on milk thistle, dodson & horrell do it. She had high liver enzymes when i got a blood sample taken and vet said it wouldnt do her any harm to keep her on it
keep her on the low protein (but what protein she does have should be the highest possible quality) and Milk Thistle as a precaution. Be very very wary of ever giving her conditioning mixes or oil because these place high demands on the liver
My mare has got liver desease, prob due to long term bute for laminitis. Vet has prescribed us LEGAPHYTON cutting out some of her supplements and also her Alfa A lite. Next bloods due in 2 weeks.

1. Feed a very low protein diet
2. What protein your horse does have (he will need SOME protein!) should be the very highest quality you can afford as this will mean less work for the liver
3. Feed little and often as this is less work for the liver than big blasts
4. Add Milk Thistle to his feeds to support the liver - D&H do a good quality dried tub
5. Add Yea Sac to his feeds to stimulate a flagging appetite and aid hind gut digestion
6. No conditioning feeds or oils EVER as the liver won't be able to break them down
7. Use starches and sugars for energy but with the obvious precautions
8. If ragwort poisoning is suspected, the condition may be permanent
9. If ragwort poisoning is suspected, keep the horse out of the sun during spring, summer, autumn
10. Be aware that a poorly functioning liver can bring other problems such as blood not clotting properly, distended abdomen, blood in urine etc etc
I'd feed a diet to support the liver: very low protein, what protein you do feed to be the highest quality you can afford, milk thistle, Yea Sac, no daytime turnout. Apologies if you're doing this already. Prof Derek Knottenbelt of Liverpool University is a world expert on liver disease in horses and will always respond to enquiries from lay horse owners. He's knotty@liverpool.ac.uk and is brilliant. He helped me enormously when I took on a ragwort poisoned rescue gypsy cob.
The prognosis depends on what is causing the liver disease. If it's ragwort poisoning then the outlook is poor. Ragwort damaged livers cannot regenerate. Liver damage only starts to show when approximately 70% or more of the liver is damaged so unfortunately a lot of harm can be caused before owners realise there's a problem. The liver has such a range of functions within the body that any damage to it can cause major problems. One symptom is neurological damage which can take the form of fits, blindness, unusual vocalisations, self harm, unsteady gaits and a host of other distressing things. To support your horse's liver while the vets work out the cause and prognosis, you need to feed a very low protein diet, absolutely no oils or conditioning feed whatsoever even if the horse starts to lose weight, feed Milk Thistle and Yea Sac, feed little and often. Top quality nursing to counteract depression and loss of interest in life. Keep out of strong sunlight. Fingers crossed - do let us know what your vets say x
Dr Teresa Hollands is chief nutritionist with D&H. D&H work hand in glove with Prof Knottenbelt of Liverpool Uni on liver damage in horses. The Prof is a world expert. I wouldn't hesitate to put your horse on a liver-support diet until you know what the most recent blood tests show. If there is any doubt as to whether your horse has an ongoing or serious liver problem then D&H can draw up a tailored diet for your horse. Should things deteriorate, the Prof is always willing to help the individual horse owner.
A liver damaged horse should NEVER EVER be fed oils or conditioning feeds (which always contain high levels of oil). A damaged liver cannot break oils down (the bile produced in the liver does this) so you will get digestive problems caused by undigested oils passing through the gut as well as toxins circulating in the blood stream. Dump the oils and drop the protein levels. You may feel you need more oomph but, sorry to be graphic, a live horse comes before performance levels. Hang on until you know for sure what if anything is wrong with your horse's liver...only then can you safely start making more demands of the liver. I would strongly urge you to contact D&H for potentially life-saving advice x
Ragwort damage is cumulative and it can cause the blotches that you see on your mare and liver damage. While your vet works out if it IS ragwort poisoning (can only definitively be proved with a biopsy but vet will have a gut feeling without it) you need to put your mare on a liver-friendly diet as follows: VERY low protein diet but what protein she must have needs to be of the highest quality you can afford, feed Milk Thistle and Yea Sac, no oils or conditioning feeds (high in oils) EVER, feed in as many small feeds as possible. In addition, you need to keep her out of the sun in summer (if it ever shows up this year) as she may get acute photosensitivity which will make her face and any pink skiin areas burn horribly. With the patches on her skin, please ditch the cornucrescene - it works by being an irritant which makes an area inflamed which technically would bring more nutrients to the area and so the hoof horn/hair would grow better. The last thing you want to be putting on such sensitive skin is an irritant. I found the only thing that cleared my rescued mare's patches up was Bepanthen, the expensive baby nappy cream. Once I'd got my mare's liver balanced (though ragwort damaged livers will never recover) the skin patches cleared up



I was feeding my mare 10 small feeds a day ie split into that 700grms per feed.

I am using
Legaphyton ( from vets)
milk thistle
yea sac
nettles
other things good for the liver is

dandelion root
licorice
lemon juice

One mistake i did was to use a detox BIG MISTAKE liver disease needs help not a detox.l
NO FAST FIBRE
hifi or anything with straw, this causes ammonia to build up and give the horse brain fog

Do not:

use a detox with disease:
nothing with straw in it


MILK THISTLE LIVER CLEANSER
Milk Thistle Liver Cleanse ## Milk thistle stimulates the regeneration of liver and kidney cells. This will make it, useful for problems including hepatitis, fatty liver, and cirrhosis of the liver. Treatment with milk thistle is important for anyone who has been poisoned by consuming the deathcap mushroom (Amanita phalloides). In 49 reported cases where people who have deathcap poisoning received an injectable form of milk thistle (silibin), physicians reported full recovery-even when treatment came as late as 36 hours after the poisoning happened.

Milk thistle extract has been proven to stimulate kidney-cell regeneration. Milk thistle is also the most effective herbs for stimulating the flow of bile, which is necessary to good digestion. Because of this, it’s useful for enhancing the digestion of fats as well as useful in improving bowel elimination.

I recommend one take a 200 to 250mg capsule of a standardized extract (80% to 85% silymarin) 3 times daily. This is equivalent to 480 to 600 mg of silymarin daily. Should you suffer bloating, then take it 15 minutes before or with a meal. A special form of milk thistle bound to phosphatidylcholine, generally known as Phytosome, has been proven to increase absorption. The dosage for the tincture form is 20 to 30 drops 3 times daily.

The only major concern about milk thistle is that a very high dosage can cause loose stools because of increased bile flow. For those who have a sensitive digestive tract, begin with one capsule and gradually increase the dosage. If you experience loose stools or diarrhea, then reduce the dosage.
 
Worth saying that low protein is old advice, not the case within reason any more, same with oil, mine still gets his micronised linseed :p. Maybe you need to do an update Tyssandi?
 
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