Lyme disease

[dunthing]

Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of lyme disease. I would be grateful for any information.

 

[Tangaroo]

Some years ago one of my horses had this. He was about 16 when he got it and it took alsorts of blood tests before we discovered that is what it was. He would lie down for about four hours at a time and when he got up he was like a crippled old man trying to come out of the stable. He was ok once warmed up and working but we knew something wasnt right. He was put on a strong course of antibiotics from what i can remember. He then got arthritis due to the Lymes disease and im sorry to say he was PTS at about 18. He became a headshaker and the combination of headshaking and the arthritis made him unsafe to ride.
We tried retiring him out in the field with lots of grass and friends but he went downhill quite fast and we decided it was kinder to let him go.
We get a lot of deer in our field and the vet thinks thats where the ticks came from that gave him the disease. I am very meticulous about looking for ticks and picking them off now cos i dont want another one getting it.!

 

[LoneRanger]

Friend's horse had Lymes disease. I seem to remember it needed a fair bit of treatment (injections and possibly on a drip for a bit??) but is now fully recovered and back competing. Sorry I can't remember the details. Good luck anyway.

 

[Rounderbout]

You need to be careful aswell! The lady who owns the horses that i ride got it from a tick about a month ago and shes been out of action ever since - we've just started doing short hacks out again but she gets worn out v quickly!!

Kat

 

[dunthing]

Thanks for your replies everyone. It seems my boy doesn't have Lyme disease. We get red deer in the field too and are very careful to remove ticks properly. He, being grey, is the only one who gets them out of the five neds that we have. He and the mare have both had abcesses in their feet and he has been left with a pottery gait when he turns. It looks like mild laminitis. The vet has put rubber frog supports on as a precaution, (they are a failrly new thing from the laminitis clinic) He seems quite comfortable with them in place but we have to wait one week and see what the outcome is. He isn't on boxrest but is on the yard and has an open stable with thick shavings if he wants to lay down. We can't stable him since he came back off loan. (They virtually starved him and he panics when he's confined.)