Is there a possibility for this to be something other than Lyme Disease in my horse?
Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at
7:03 am
My horse is:
~Irritable (grumpy, grouchy)
~Unwilling to move forward
~Tired
And she just tested positive for Lyme Disease. However, she may have had Lyme earlier in life, though it IS possible she has just gotten it from a tick. I have heard from a number of people that after a horse has Lyme once, they will always test positive. So is it possible for my horse to have something other than Lyme?
No fever.
No lameness.
Just the above symptoms. For further explanation of the unwillingness to go… She will be trotting along then just want to stop. After she stops, she does NOT want to go again.
Filed under: Pet Insurance
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Maybe salmonella or an ulcer? I’d get her tested for those.
The biggest symptom of lymes is lameness. Fever is also possible. Often the lameness will shift from leg to leg and may (in extreme cases) lead to laminitis. The horse also appears very stiff. Irritability and behavioral changes can also be expected. So while it sounds like your mare is showing SOME symptoms, she is not showing all of the symptoms… Which leads to believe that yes, it could be something else.
Lyme disease is a bacteria infection like step throat. You can get this more than one time.
The bad news is if it is left untreated for to long it becomes permanent since this bacteria can cross the blood barier membrane of the brain. The problem is that antibotics do not cross this barrier, which results in not killing it 100%. Therefore you need to treat this immediatley. I would recommend running the test at some point when the treatment is completed to make sure that is has been taken care of.
To make a long story short, you must treat the horse for lyme disease. Other things can also make these signs, such as to low of thyroid, a different bacteria infection a virus and soreness. I have had horses that have had absesses and they behave like this an but they have a pulse in the foot or some heat.
The horse could have a sore back or other issues, that would induce soreness, but not lameness.
Whether or not your horse has Lyme depends on the titer. Yes, it’s possible your horse doesn’t have Lyme any more. But if you have a weakly positive titer and those symptoms, I would think the vet would advise you to treat it. If you have mildly positive, I would treat it regardless.
My wife’s horse was about 1200 and we treated. My horse was about 5000 and we treated (the difference in behavior after treatment was amazing).
Look, you can’t go wrong by treating it. And Lyme is a neurological disease that can do a lot of damage. Why not treat it if you have a positive?
Your horse would thank you if she could.