Page 784 - The Veterinary Care of the Horse

or with good management and non-specific treatment.

Horses with diarrhoea or colic caused by the accumulation of sand in their colons may be
VetBooks.ir successfully treated if the disease is recognized and treated early. However, large

accumulations of sand can damage the gut and lead to endotoxaemia and death.

Diarrhoea caused by severe cyathostomosis or bacterial infection has a guarded prognosis
and fatalities are not uncommon. This is also the case with inflammatory bowel diseases such
as eosinophilic, granulomatous and lymphocytic or plasmacytic infiltrations of the gut. Many

of these horses are euthanased.

The prognosis for horses with neoplastic (cancerous) diseases such as lymphoma (also
known as lymphosarcoma) is usually hopeless.

LIVER DISEASE

The liver has many important functions. These include:
• storage and metabolism of carbohydrate, protein and fat

• production of bile which is important for the digestion of fat

• synthesis of proteins, e.g. albumin, globulin and blood clotting factors

• breakdown of excess protein to urea (which is excreted by the kidneys)

• storage of vitamins and minerals
• detoxification of poisonous substances.

The liver filters blood from the intestines and plays an important part in regulating the levels
of fat, glucose and amino acids in the bloodstream. The horse does not have a gall bladder to
store bile as it is continuously secreted because the horse eats for many hours of the day.

Causes

The causes of liver disease include:

• plant toxins, e.g. ragwort, alsike clover
• viruses

• bacteria

• parasites

• tumours

• severe energy deficiency