Help, Lawsonia Intercelluaris

[Rubytuesday]

I have a 17 month old filly that has diarreha.(April 2006) (given to me 2 weeks ago because of what follows in this post, owner had, had enough)

She was diagnosed with Lawsonia Intercelluaris at the age of 7months. (Nov 2006)
She was treated for it last November and in three weeks it was gone.

She was given erythamiacin (spelling) pill form, same stuff that is given to chickens as an antibiotics, actually made for chickens not horses.

She was stalled until May and then turned out in a small paddock with another yearling and just hay and grain.

She was fine until July 2007 when she was turned out on pasture with a large group of yearlings who started to pick on her.
The diarreha has returned.

She is bright and eats lots and drinks, she is inside now on hay, no grain.

She has a pot belly and a very dull coat with dead hair along the back. Her ribs are easily seen and so is her back bone.

She has been checked for worms and she is clear.

Right now I have her on Gut Coat for ulcers hoping it may be that but she has been on it for a week and there is no change, if anything her stools are runnier. This morning there was a little more firmness to her stool but tonight she is hitting the walls of her stall with spray.


I have contacted my vet and he thinks maybe the Lawsonia has returned. He thought at first maybe it was stress related so she was given water and basically hay that was as close to straw as possible for 2 days, by day 2 her stools had a one very soft ball and the rest was runny.

Has anyone had experience with this disease before????

[Mood Swings]

I would contact your vet asap to make a definitive diagnosis. Lawsonia can become life threatening if not treated. By your description (good appetite, unthrifty appearance) it does sound like she could be infected with the bacteria. The most effective treatment is erythromycin and rifampin, it is expensive but worth it. You could check her total protein levels (low is indicative of the bacteria). It would also be beneficial to put her on a probiotic to help her already stressed intestines.

Best of luck! Let us know what happens.

[TBLADY]

there was an article on this in last weeks tbtimes...or the week before

last yr I got a colt with the same thing except add to it coccidia! Oh yeah it was fun!

Bio Sponge in large doses. Find a mare in your barn who is in foal and has great stool...noot to hard not to soft and feed to your weanie. My colt got to the point he would willing eat one of my Broodmares stool.

He got on any given day....

2-3 scoops of Bio Sponge...the big scoop not the blue whimpy one,
2-3 scoops Platinum Performance wellness
1-2 scoops Electrolytes
2 hay bags hung...full at all times and off the ground to not get stool on his feedstuff
he had 2 rounds of Marquis for the coccidia
Erithromyocin (sp?)

The colt I got had diarreha none stop for more then 3 months. there were several factors that caused his condition...not just the Lawsonia.

The colt came to us as a Yrlg and weighed 248#
today he is a 2 yr old and is 17.1h and 1150#

When he arrived from Ny my vet here said she hated to have to come back and put him down in a few days. After a few days of tests, fecal samples Doc learned what was wrong and we all went to work...

You can PM or email me if you have any questions. But the pricey antibiotics are the ticket. Also about the time you thjink you have it under control use Gastro guard for 60-90 days ...its just a good idea.

[Salsawattiez]

Poor you & poor horse. Good luck. Hope all works out well

[Salsawattiez]

Just doing a piece for someone else and noticed the symptoms for ulcers in foals.................
pot bellies
diarrhoea
poor coat
poor growth
salivation
teeth grinding
lying on back
colic
just clicked with what i'd read on your message.
If you would like me to forward this information to you,please send me your email address. It's written by a vet.
Good luck
Julie

[Rubytuesday]

Well the vet sent away the fecal sample, he had both Lawsonia and Salmonela (sp) test run and they came back negative but the test for the Tape worms came back positive, My vet said that it is not the worst infestation he has seen but says it still can be the cause of the diarreha.

I have given her 2X strongid P 1 week ago. There is no change in the consistency or her look. I now have to give her a dose of eqvalan.

He told me to give her 2 more weeks and then go from there.

She is out on grass (was hoping mother nature could help her out) the vet told me not to give her grain.

So this is where I stand. We are heading into the colder months and she needs weight to get her through our beautiful Canadian Winter.
Right now she looks like she is being starved, although her pot belly is gone.

If this is just tapeworms, how long will it take before she gets solid manure and would it be better if I brought her in and gave her just hay?

I did have her on stuff for ulcers but once I found out it was tapeworms I stopped.