Very concerned over mare

Bennions Field

Bennions Field

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I have a 26year old mare whom I've had for the last 23 years. I noticed today that she appears to be a little jaundiced
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I sprayed the field approx 6 weeks ago with pasteur to kill off the buttercups that had almost taken over the grass in places. I did as the packaging said and kept the horses off the parts sprayed for 2 weeks but they did graze a small patch (not sprayed) with buttercups still on. I am really worried that the spraying or even the buttercups have caused my mare to now have a reall problem with her liver? I am going to contact my vets tomorrow morning with a view to trying to get someone to look at her, I know there is little they can do with regard to treatment (my dog had liver failure last summer do to some form of poisoning, we never found out what but she did recover)
I'm at my whits end, I have just had to have my cushings pony pts
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so really dont need any more problems and I cant think of anything happening to my old mare.
other than the slight yellowing of her membranes she appears well and normal, she's slightly fat, and not loosing weight, appears energetic, for a 26year old! and is happily eating well. I have owned my field for the last 5 years and there is no ragwort present and I know there has not been any on any of the yards she's been on over the last 23 years.

Any ideas from anyone, or experiences of anything similar, I've looked on the web and found some really frightening info
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god i have no idea, i think you should get vet as u say. but also try not to panic to much as you have done as the treatment said and i do know horses will generally not eat buttercups as they do not taste very nice to them. you say she seems her normal self thats something hope she is ok good luck xx
 
I don't know either but just wanted to say that i hope she will be okay and try not to worry. Let us know how she gets on with vet x
 
thank you to you both, I'm really worried about her as I cant imagine what I'd do if she's really ill or worse as the web sites suggest. she was the first horse I brought myself, so means sooooo much to me, lets hope the vets a little bit positive tomorrow when I call them.
 
yeah let us know how you get on with vet tomorrow, could be something comletely seperate thats causing it? x
 
My old boy (33 yr old) had a liver infection last year and he was jaundiced. Like you I thought I was going to lose him. He had antibiotics and B12 supplements and recovered. I doubt it has anything to do with the spray you used. It is probably just a coincidence. Just get your vet to have a look at her. It could easily be something treatable.
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If your certain about the ragwort situation bf, then I'd echo dozzie and think probably some sort of liver disease unrelated to either the spraying or the buttercups. In the short term, the best thing you can do for your mare is to keep her out of the sun (ha ha) and make sure she has a very low protein diet. If it looks like a long term problem, then she will benefit from Yea Sac (aids hind gut digestion) and Milk Thistle (D&H is high quality). What protein she does have should be the highest quality possible to support whatever remaining liver function she does have. Keep a look out for signs she may be deteriorating, such as loss of appetite and weight, no interest in life, standing in corners with her head pressed against the wall. Fingers crossed with a bit of liver support she will be fine x
 
yes get the vets out as soon as poss to take bloods to see what is going on as soon as they have been taking get her on a liver tonic to help boost the liver fuction something like global herbs restore is brill aswel as milk thistle that will help boost her liver fuction vit b is very good for the liver as well as mint because that helps with the liver bile the reason i know this is because i have had a horse with liver diease/faliure. Please let us know how you get on thanks!x
 
Thank you all for your comments - The vet has been this afternoon and taken a look, she is jaundiced but it doesnt look quite so yellow today, there are definately signs of pink colour comming back. The vet has confirmed your comments, she could have a short term problem but probably unrelated to either buttercups or the spray (thank god !!!!) She has taken some bloods to see what her liver is doing and says she looks remarkably bright and cheery, Becky was at this point dragging me about as she wanted to be back in her field with her son (he's 18, not a youngster) and two other friends. Her appetite is normal she's a real foodie and a tad fat
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the vet thinks that as her appetite and generall well being are good she may just have had a slight bile duct blockage or some short term problem. I've managed to get some milk thistle into her for two days now so this should help and she's already on a multi vit / min supplement (NAF)
The blood results are due back on monday so hopefully these will show normal liver function or at least show whats possibly causing things. Other than this blip she's remarkably well and sound for a 26 year old!! she keeps up with the two 3 year olds in her field and its her son who's 18 that tends to lag behind. She's certainly a once in a lifetime horse and hopefully will be around for a little longer yet, even if she wont let me ride her any more !!!
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(she plants her feet and wont move)

Will keep you posted on the bloods when they come back, thank you all for your support
 
she is really loved !!! - havn't heard anything back from the bloods as yet, will chase the vets tomorrow, she's still eating well, though does seem a little quiet, but that may just mean she's feeling rotten.

keeping my fingers and everything else crossed - will update as soon as any news comes back
 
have you heard anything from vets get? yes milk thistle but it can take up to 6 weeks to get the the system so even if she has a slight liver problem it would be worth keeping her on it full time!
 
No news still from vets, she said the blood tests could be back mon / tues so hopefully will have better picture of whats wrong tomorrow, I forgot about the mint, will try and get some tomorrow she likes it as I had some for my cushings pony to temp him to eat. The only milk thistle supplement I could get locally was the Equimins one, its got some other herbs in to help with detoxing the system, think there was burdock and dandelion as well as milk thistle so hopefully should have all bases covered.

Will keep you posted on any news from the vets tomorrow

many thanks to everyone for all your support
 
Just to let you know hun that D&H do a very high quality pure dried Milk Thistle in a tub - lasted me with my rescued mare (ragwort poisoned) about 3 months and is about £12 per tub. But don't go splashing out on it until you have the blood test results back. Even if she does have some level of liver damage, a couple of days won't make a difference. If it is liver damage, I can give you info on diet direct from Prof Knottenbelt at Liverpool University - PM me if needed xxx
 
The bloods have just come back from the vets, they are within normal levels for liver function
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, she did take some haemoglobin samples but apparently they were no good by the time she took them back to the surgery so they didnt send them off.
They are a little baffled, me too! but say there may have been a problem with her bile duct that has self cleared or she may have eaten something that didnt agree with her (cant imagine what as theres nothing in my field that I know of, its only 4 acres so not large)
At least she's 'normal' well she's probably never been normal, but they said for her age (26) her levels were excellent. they said to keep her on the milk thistle for another 2 weeks and see how she goes, in one way its a huge weight off my mind, but on the other hand, what made her have a problem in the first place
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I do hope this is a one off and she will get her normal pink colour back quickly, I will have a search for some D&H milkthistle now via the internet as I cant find any at the feed/saddlery stores locally we are very lacking in decent ones in n shrops, thank you all for your very kind words of support and help, will hopefully be able to say in couple of weeks she's back to her old self, will keep you posted
 
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