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Hansruedi Geissmann
Hansruedi Geissmann - Switzerland
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Q. My mare suffered liver failure nearly two years ago, from which she made a good recovery. However, she suffered a relapse last year due to the toxins in the grass. Please could you tell me what I should be feeding her to support her liver function, to help minimise any future problems? And am I entitled to have copies of my horse’s veterinary reports and X-rays?
Any blood reports, radiographs or other images remain the property of the veterinary surgeon or practice that obtained them.
You can request copies (for which there might be a charge) and, in most instances, should be given them, provided that the horse was in your ownership at the time that the examination took place.
These can be sent to you, but many vets will prefer to forward them to another veterinary surgeon. The originals must remain with or be returned to the first vet.
Liver failure is a very serious condition, one from which many animals do not recover. The liver is unable to regenerate, so once it is damaged, cannot return to full function.
However, the liver does have a large ‘functional reserve’, so that it can continue to perform an adequate function until badly or extensively damaged.
Diet advice If your mare’s liver failure was a mild case, or if enough of her liver was left undamaged, it is possible that she was able to manage while resting and that her condition improved until her liver was ‘challenged’ again last year.
This ‘challenge’ may have been in the form of toxins, but can also be due to infection or stress – such as travel, being moved to a different yard, introduction to work, changing companions or some other unrelated condition that increased the liver’s workload.
The best diet you can give a horse with compromised liver function is one which is relatively high in energy, such as sugar beet or small amounts of boiled grain. A small amount of high-quality protein – such as soya meal – and a multivitamin/mineral supplement should also be given
If your mare does suffer from another relapse, it might be worth getting your veterinary surgeon to carry out a liver scan and biopsy, if this has not already been done with your mare. This is performed to try to assess the full extent of the problem.
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StableexpressHansruedi Geissmann
Posted by Stable Express
Q. My mare suffered liver failure nearly two years ago, from which she made a good recovery. However, she suffered a relapse last year due to the toxins in the grass. Please could you tell me what I should be feeding her to support her liver function, to help minimise any future problems? And am I entitled to have copies of my horse’s veterinary reports and X-rays?
Any blood reports, radiographs or other images remain the property of the veterinary surgeon or practice that obtained them.
You can request copies (for which there might be a charge) and, in most instances, should be given them, provided that the horse was in your ownership at the time that the examination took place.
These can be sent to you, but many vets will prefer to forward them to another veterinary surgeon. The originals must remain with or be returned to the first vet.
Liver failure is a very serious condition, one from which many animals do not recover. The liver is unable to regenerate, so once it is damaged, cannot return to full function.
However, the liver does have a large ‘functional reserve’, so that it can continue to perform an adequate function until badly or extensively damaged.
Diet advice If your mare’s liver failure was a mild case, or if enough of her liver was left undamaged, it is possible that she was able to manage while resting and that her condition improved until her liver was ‘challenged’ again last year.
This ‘challenge’ may have been in the form of toxins, but can also be due to infection or stress – such as travel, being moved to a different yard, introduction to work, changing companions or some other unrelated condition that increased the liver’s workload.
The best diet you can give a horse with compromised liver function is one which is relatively high in energy, such as sugar beet or small amounts of boiled grain. A small amount of high-quality protein – such as soya meal – and a multivitamin/mineral supplement should also be given
If your mare does suffer from another relapse, it might be worth getting your veterinary surgeon to carry out a liver scan and biopsy, if this has not already been done with your mare. This is performed to try to assess the full extent of the problem.
