Liver problems! Advice please

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nikki-lynne

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Hi there,

I'm a new poster but looking for some experiences or treatments for liver problems.

In brief my horse has lost all the condition in her back end in like 5 days. Vet has been out and taken bloods and I am waiting for the results but he thinks she might have something wrong with her liver.

I was wondering whether anyone knew anything about or had horses with liver problems.

Thanks in advance

Nikki & Jess
Xx
 
It really depends on the cause of the damage to the liver and whether the condition is chronic or acute. The liver can repair itself to a degree but there comes a point where it is too damaged and cannot recover. If your horse's liver is damaged you need to manage the diet carefully to avoid further damage. Good luck with your mare
 
I have just been through this exact scenario with my horse. The first blood tests showed liver damage but later blood test results show he has cushings syndrome. How old is your horse? It is true the liver can regenerate. I was recommended to you a global herbs product called 'Restore'. I don't know if it has helped as he needs further tests.
 
It can be very difficult to find the cause of liver problems (as I'm discovering with my gang). However, it's definitely worth thinking whether you have made any management changes recently which might have caused the recent problems.

Of course it may be that problems have been building up unnoticed over a longer period, and have only just shown as weight loss just now....... but really worth trying to exclude any possible cause if you can.

There have been quite a few posts recently on liver problems, so definitely worth seaching for "liver" and seeing what comes up.

Sarah
 
Ditto waiting for results. Horse dropped off loads of weight over a 6 week period. Vet came took bloods. GGT level, which should be 35 to 40 or thereabouts, came back as 650, so something very wrong with his liver. I took him to horse hospital last week for an ultrasound scan and a liver biopsy, the scan was really thorough, the vet looked at everything, small and large intestine, liver and kidneys, but he couldn't see any abnormalities at all. Bloods do indicate low level Cushings (horse is 20). I'm now waiting for the result of the liver biopsy which should be tomorrow.

What puzzles the vet is the horse seems so well in himself apart from the weight loss, he really expected to see some indication of disease etc on the scan. He's got a glossy coat, bright eyes, appetite is good, he's his normal perky self.

Vet said it just might be a liver infection, fingers crossed for tomorrow, I'm dreading the phone call!!
 
That's exactly like my horse! She is happy in herself got a raging appetite and has good gums and eyes! Her body just looks like a RSPCA neglected horse
 
Ah, gums, now you mention it, when the vet came first time to take bloods she looked at his gums and pointed out that he's got reddish/purple spots on his gums which aren't a good sign.

Nikki-Lynne I think we need to keep in touch, it sounds as though our horses might be suffering from the same thing, whatever it is. My boy, yeah appetite, he's eating as though he hasn't seen food for months.
 
Yeah mine acts like she's starving when she always gets fed everyday! I thought worms at first but had a worm count done about 2 months ago and came back clear
 
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