Mystery Weight Loss! Worms/Cancer?!

[emmmilythinks]

Hiya! Thought I would post in here to see if anyone has any ideas.

My TB horse has dropped quite a lot of weight over the past few weeks. They were due to be worm counted and she has had laminitis in the past so didn't want to start trying to put too much weight back on with it being spring. Had the vet out to do a blood test which showed all levels fine except low platelet count (they also tested for cushings but it was negative). They said it could either be worms or cancer (great news I know). They said there's not much they can do RE cancer until she starts showing anymore symptoms (yes she could go in for a full vet workup, but obviously this would be very expensive and still might not yield anything. It might also be worth noting she is 20 and grey, so could be prone to melanomas as she does have a few around her dock).

The worm count has just come back today at 550 so it is a medium burden, obviously she will be wormed appropriately and hopefully this may allow her to start putting weight back on, if that was the cause. In herself she is absolutely fine - eating normally and still her usual personality. I'm just wondering if anyone else has ever experienced anything similar - I'm not sure what to think about the low platelet count.

I've got some micronised linseed which I am going to start her on and changed her feed from Bailey's Keep Calm to R&B Solution Mash (along with soaked grass nuts and Spillers Conditioning Fibre which she has normally).

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post! It may also be worth mentioning she is currently on half a sachet of danilon a day for arthritis in her knee. She is retired and in no work currently but would like to get her back into some form of work when we find out what's going on and she's put weight back on.

Please see pictures below - she is currently having 15lb hay in a morning, out all day Monday-Friday with haylage in field, and 15lb at night alongside 2 feeds a day.

 

[TheMule]

Oh bless her, she obviously is struggling to get enough calories. It sounds like you're doing all the right things so fingers crossed the worming gives an easy solution

 

[Goldenstar]

Has the vet had a look in her mouth ?

 

[emmmilythinks]

Oh bless her, she obviously is struggling to get enough calories. It sounds like you're doing all the right things so fingers crossed the worming gives an easy solution

Thank you!

 

[emmmilythinks]

Has the vet had a look in her mouth ?

Hiya, sorry I forgot to mention I also eliminated teeth as we had a dentist out who did her teeth as the first port of action. They are BAEDT qualified and have used for a few years so I'm not worried that they aren't doing her teeth properly. Thanks for the suggestion

 

[meleeka]

A worm burden would certainly cause weight loss. Get her wormed with what your vet recommends and then see where you are after that.

 

[Goldenstar]

I would still want a good vet to look in her mouth

 

[paddi22]

I'd pne that dropped a ton of weight like that and we couldn't find what it was. turned out it was kissing pine and he had dropped weight with pain.

 

[paddy555]

I would still want a good vet to look in her mouth

this. I was in the same position with an old grey and wondered about melanomas/ancer. When the vet, who was also qualified as a dentist (rather than a dentist) got the gag on the reason was obvious and once the tooth was removed the weight started to go back on. This was not obvious until the vet's visit.

If that fails I would revisit cushings and TRH test to be sure. There are false negatives with the ACTH test. My cushings horse lost so much weight before diagnosis. He was eating about the same quantity as yours and still losing weight. Once the cushings was treated I just about halved the quantity of feed.
I would do a resistance test 2 weeks after worming to make sure the wormer has worked and you are not worming with a product where you have resistance.

 

[PurBee]

What are her poops looking like? Normal round well formed balls?

mycotoxicosis (normally from dusty hay mould spores) and imbalanced gut bacteria can cause insiduous havoc and bring on mild laminitis symptoms and weight loss.

My gelding had this occur one year and despite increaing calories he didnt put on weight. He was losing weight quite rapidy, and it was a very confusing time as to cause. Worming , dentist etc like you had been addressed.
Only when i introduced protexin probiotics to introduce billions more beneficial bacteria did he start to get better - within the week. He also had hives recurring for no reason randomly during this time, so the gut/immune system balance is very much inter-tied - the hives also went once probiotics were introduced.

Of course, the gut absorbs food calories and if there’s inflammation of the gut or the population of beneficial bacteria are out of balance its impossible for the horse to gain the nutrition no matter how much we throw at them.

probiotics is a cheap and non harmful approach which is good to do anyway in an older horse, worked very well for my poorly youngster, so worth considering that approach.

Fingers crossed for your horse.

 

[ycbm]

I would want a kidney function and liver function test on your horse. In my experience the worm burden is insufficient to account for that level of weight loss.

.

 

[emmmilythinks]

I would still want a good vet to look in her mouth

I think if this continues after she has been wormed and theres no improvement, I will definitely be getting the vet back out and will ask them to look at her teeth, thank you for replying

 

[emmmilythinks]

I'd pne that dropped a ton of weight like that and we couldn't find what it was. turned out it was kissing pine and he had dropped weight with pain.

Ahh I'm sorry to hear about that to be honest I'm not sure if it is something like that, as I mentioned in the post she is on danilon daily for the rest of her life and there has been no change in her way of going. But it could definitely still be a possibility and I will keep it in mind!

 

[emmmilythinks]

this. I was in the same position with an old grey and wondered about melanomas/ancer. When the vet, who was also qualified as a dentist (rather than a dentist) got the gag on the reason was obvious and once the tooth was removed the weight started to go back on. This was not obvious until the vet's visit.

If that fails I would revisit cushings and TRH test to be sure. There are false negatives with the ACTH test. My cushings horse lost so much weight before diagnosis. He was eating about the same quantity as yours and still losing weight. Once the cushings was treated I just about halved the quantity of feed.
I would do a resistance test 2 weeks after worming to make sure the wormer has worked and you are not worming with a product where you have resistance.

Ahh thank you for replying, I just mentioned above I will definitely get my vet to have a second look in her mouth. I will also ask about the cushings test - she was tested a couple of years ago (the one where she is starved and then fed glucose then blood taken), but this time they just did it from her blood which I'm assuming is the ACTH test. I will be doing a follow up worm count too just to make sure thank you

 

[emmmilythinks]

What are her poops looking like? Normal round well formed balls?

mycotoxicosis (normally from dusty hay mould spores) and imbalanced gut bacteria can cause insiduous havoc and bring on mild laminitis symptoms and weight loss.

My gelding had this occur one year and despite increaing calories he didnt put on weight. He was losing weight quite rapidy, and it was a very confusing time as to cause. Worming , dentist etc like you had been addressed.
Only when i introduced protexin probiotics to introduce billions more beneficial bacteria did he start to get better - within the week. He also had hives recurring for no reason randomly during this time, so the gut/immune system balance is very much inter-tied - the hives also went once probiotics were introduced.

Of course, the gut absorbs food calories and if there’s inflammation of the gut or the population of beneficial bacteria are out of balance its impossible for the horse to gain the nutrition no matter how much we throw at them.

probiotics is a cheap and non harmful approach which is good to do anyway in an older horse, worked very well for my poorly youngster, so worth considering that approach.

Fingers crossed for your horse.

Thank you so much! To be honest her poos are always fine, touch wood she has only ever had sloppy poos once since I've had her (5 and a half years!). But after the worm count I will definitely look at including a probiotic as I know drs say that even to humans with upset stomachs

 

[emmmilythinks]

I would want a kidney function and liver function test on your horse. In my experience the worm burden is insufficient to account for that level of weight loss.

.

I thought the same RE worms but the vet said her liver and kidneys look fine (from the blood test). The only thing amiss was the lowered levels of platelets ?

 

[Goldenstar]

White cells or red ?

 

[cold_feet]

My boy dropped weight suddenly last year. Eventual diagnosis via abdominal scan showed thickening of the intestinal lining - imflammatory bowel disease. He was treated with steroids and is currently doing well, but don’t know if it will recur. Worth a scan maybe.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

My teenage mare who was a very good doer dropped weight drastically one year despite looking ok in herself and eating normally. I got my vet out to look at her teeth, he rasped them and said they weren't too bad. I asked if they were bad enough to cause the weight loss and he said no. He then got a torch and had a good look in her mouth. What he found was a loose molar, second from back which had lifted out of its socket but then got stuck between the two adjoining teeth. He had quite a struggle to get a grip on it but finally removed it. He warned that the tooth next to it was loose but fortunately that never went on to cause any trouble. She started picking up immediately and stayed well till I lost her to colic at 23.

 

[shergar]

Worth testing for tape worm as it is not covered by egg count .

 

[emmmilythinks]

So just a quick update, thank you for all the replies! I'm still not sure why she has a low platelet count, but she has been wormed now a week ago and out in the summer field and she is finally putting weight back on! So fingers crossed she keeps putting it on now, hopefully we will have no further issues! I'm not sure whether it was the worms (count of 550 in her poo beforehand), lack of grass in field or just old age but hopefully not cancer anyway as the vet mentioned

 

[meleeka]

So just a quick update, thank you for all the replies! I'm still not sure why she has a low platelet count, but she has been wormed now a week ago and out in the summer field and she is finally putting weight back on! So fingers crossed she keeps putting it on now, hopefully we will have no further issues! I'm not sure whether it was the worms (count of 550 in her poo beforehand), lack of grass in field or just old age but hopefully not cancer anyway as the vet mentioned

Did you inspect worm worms in her dung after worming? Personally I like to know which worms were expelled.

 

[emmmilythinks]

Did you inspect worm worms in her dung after worming? Personally I like to know which worms were expelled.

I didn't notice any worms or eggs in her poo after she had been wormed to be honest! I did have a look but couldn't see any

 

[ester]

you won't see eggs without a microscope.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

The worms usually disintegrate in the intestine with modern wormers.