Steroids or more natural approach? WWYD?

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montysmum1

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I will try to keep this short, but please ask any questions if I have missed out any relevant info!
My pony came back from loan a couple of months ago as he was unwell, and loanees had failed to notice this – bought to my attention by a colic episode, which he has NEVER suffered from before. Further tests have concluded that he is suffering from some sort of trouble in his hind-gut/large intestine. Since coming home, he has gradually improved in himself, and has even put on enough weight to look normal now, and although still lacks energy he is pretty OK most days. His blood results show that although he is no longer getting worse, he is not getting better yet either, he still has low blood proteins and his white blood cells are working quite hard on something. My vet has said that the only step now is steroids, which I am reluctant to start because of the potential side effects, and I would like to try a bit longer my way, which has involved a very gut-friendly diet, lots of TLC and with a lot of good quality grass. Do you think that I am being realistic in hoping that I may be able to fix him this way rather than resorting to steroids?
 
How old is your pony? Do you know if he had a big change of regime at his loan home that could have contributed to the gut problems? And have you thought about getting an opinion from another vet? I am a bit surprised that steroids is 'the only step' - surely if his system is struggling with something, chemicals of this sort could present a problem?

Have you tried that zoopharmacognoscopy (sorry is that what it is called?) where you get horses to select the vitamin / supplement that they need / want.... If you are keen to try the more holistic approach this might be valuable.

HTH but sorry it is a bit random. Sounds to me as though the main ingredients in his recovery are a caring intelligent owner which he clearly has.
 
Thank you for your reply! He's 12, and yes, he was with them for a year, and since Christmas ended up turned out for about 8-9hours a day on absolutely no grazing, with no hay or anything (with me he has always had ad-lib hay/haylage when the grass gets low in the winter). They also had a questionable worming program and he tested positive for tapeworm and strongyle eggs (sorted now though!) I have considered seeking a second opinion, but don't want to offend my vet, as they've always been great, but I am really reluctant to put steroids into him if we can avoid it, especially as he's not getting worse now.
I've not considered/heard of the zoopharmacognoscopy, but interesting that you mention them choosing their own treatment - since he's come home, he really seems to favour hawthorn leaves, which is a new thing, so I have been suspecting something underlying in this!
 
What about a liver tonic? A lot of people have had good results from them. If he was lacking in some stuff for a while, his liver may be a bit under par. Good luck finding something for him.
 
Has he been scoped for Ulcers?

What is he eating now? Is he on a digestive supplement?

Succeed is very good for hind gut problems.
 
If he has stopped deteriorating, I would avoid the steroids for now and give him time to recover more naturally, as I think that you could be causing more problems with aggressive treatment. Vets often feel that they have to be 'doing something', while owners often prefer a bit of 'Dr Green' and time.
 
The steroids are an important part of treating protein losing enteropathies. Forget the second opinion. Your vet is right. Oral steroids are low risk. Also ensure your worming programme is up to scratch.
 
His body is obviously trying to fight something which needs to be addressed. IMO the steroids are just going to cover up the problem rather than get to the route cause. They are a mask, not a cure.

If you have got time (I.e insurance) then I would consider leaving him for a bit longer and try the homeopathic route. Maybe try and detox his system??
 
montysmum1 said:
Thank you for your reply! He's 12, and yes, he was with them for a year, and since Christmas ended up turned out for about 8-9hours a day on absolutely no grazing, with no hay or anything (with me he has always had ad-lib hay/haylage when the grass gets low in the winter). They also had a questionable worming program and he tested positive for tapeworm and strongyle eggs (sorted now though!) I have considered seeking a second opinion, but don't want to offend my vet, as they've always been great, but I am really reluctant to put steroids into him if we can avoid it, especially as he's not getting worse now.
I've not considered/heard of the zoopharmacognoscopy, but interesting that you mention them choosing their own treatment - since he's come home, he really seems to favour hawthorn leaves, which is a new thing, so I have been suspecting something underlying in this!
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Hmmm, personally I would have reservation about blaming the previous loan home. It sounds like your pony is sick plain and simple and who is to say that the bout of colic with you was not the first indicator? Personally, because of my experience I'd go for a chance on steroids. I'd also ask for a referral or all notes to be sent to Liverpool or another specialist unit for an informed view. Sometimes steroids only slow the inevitable, sometimes they turn it around. Steroids are a risk but so is not taking a last chance. On Friday I agreed with the vet to try steroids the following Monday... On Saturday my girl was PTS... It was tragic. If your vet thinks its the only chance then its worth the risk.
 
Thank you everyone.

Yes he has been scoped for ulcers, and was clear. Liverpool are involved, all his blood work has been sent to them, and peritoneal tap fluid, all they have come up with is protein losing enteropathy, possible neoplasia (though less likely since tap came back clear) and worm damage.

I'm not blaming loan people per se, I know he's just got sick and it just happens sometimes. But am sore that they didn't notice him getting unwell, and I feel guilty for not having seen him for about 6-8 weeks before the colic. Even when I pointed it out, as I started going down daily after the colic, and insisted vet came back to do further tests, and the tests showed significant problems, and the vet said first thing was to address management and get him on decent grass, they were still arguing with me saying he was fine, by this point he was refusing all food, hay/hard feed/anything except carrots. He was just stood in a stable/field with his head hanging down. They still didn't see a problem. Hence he came home.

Vet is coming out again this morning, which is why I posted this, so I could get some other opinions on my thoughts, I will discuss with him again. My biggest fears are that he is holding his own right now, and actually looking much better, so I am terrified of inducing something else like laminitis with the steroids, but on the other hand, what if he takes a sudden turn for the worse without them.
 
My horse is on mega steroids at the moment, he has been for a couple of months, and will be for some time yet.
Best thing that's happened to him, he's had a chance to reset his immune system and get better.
A far better route than fiddling with OTC stuff, which has been making the problem worse for a couple of years yet.
There are some odd statements in this thread, do steroids mask stuff, that's news to me, also what are all the terrible side effects (aside from lami)
 
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