My horse had a blood test taken and has been found to have low levels of Plateletes in his blood. 3 weeks later and new test shows his platelets level is still low. Anyone have experience with this? How long does it take for levels to improve? Anything I can give him to help make platelets? Thanks
I have no idea what the treatment for this would be in horses, but when my dog was found to have very low platelets it was a very big deal. This would definitely be a “work with your vet and do what they say” situation.
If the horse is not showing any clinical signs, it may be an artifact caused by clumping of the platelets.
Ghazzu - aside from getting cut and the bleeding not stopping, what would be any other clinical signs? the horse is the picture of health.
what was the treatment for your dog?
Nose bleeds, petechial hemorrhage (little spots visible on mucous membranes), evidence of ocular bleeding, stocked up, prolonged bleeding, etc.
sometimes a fever.
[QUOTE=Ghazzu;8719204]
Nose bleeds, petechial hemorrhage (little spots visible on mucous membranes), evidence of ocular bleeding, stocked up, prolonged bleeding, etc.
sometimes a fever.[/QUOTE]
he had all of that aside from ocular bleeding when first diagnosed. he was also diagnosed with anaplasmosis, treated with Doxy for that. he was also diagnosed with rectal tumor, which they plan to remove once platelete level improves. the biopsy from that came back negative, but it could have been a hemotoma on top of tumor that the biopsy piece came from. so still many unanswered questions. he has no signs of anything and hasnt for about 3 weeks. he looks fabulous, eating quite well, BAR, interested in other horses, tried to hump my old pony mare that got into his pasture!! just the low platelet count. any thoughts?
Again, I’ve never looked into it in horses, but my dog has immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (we presume) which means her immune system attacked her platelets. It’s treated with high dose steroids, which SUCKED for all involved. 3+ months later, she’s off most of the steroids, labs are good, but the side effects of the steroids still linger and there’s a good chance there’s something else going on as well. Symptoms before diagnosis were nothing notable; I brought her in for shots and heartworm and they suggested doing a senior panel due to her age. “This is why we recommend well-pet visits,” our vet said…
One cause of this in dogs is tick-borne disease (I forget which one). It’s not the cause in our case, but I suppose it could be in yours. Worth looking into?
My mare came in from the pasture one day, gently drizzling blood from every tiny fly bite. Vet came, platelets were very low. This was a boarding barn smack dab in the middle of row crops. The vet theorized that the airplane dropped some sort of spray on my horse. The pastures were big (horses spread out), no other horse was affected. This resolved spontaneously with time.
Are you near crops where airplanes spray?
I hadn’t realized this was the aftermath of anaplasmosis.
That would explain the decreased platelets.
[QUOTE=Ghazzu;8719665]
I hadn’t realized this was the aftermath of anaplasmosis.
That would explain the decreased platelets.[/QUOTE]
So do you think the platelets will recover with time? Thanks…I know I sound like I grasping at straws, which I am…
Thanks…no spraying. How long did it take to resolve.
[QUOTE=Bastile;8719761]
So do you think the platelets will recover with time? Thanks…I know I sound like I grasping at straws, which I am…[/QUOTE]
Yes. I’d have to dig about in my files to find the timeline for growth and maturation, but they should come back up, if there is no current suppression or destruction going on.
[QUOTE=Ghazzu;8719803]
Yes. I’d have to dig about in my files to find the timeline for growth and maturation, but they should come back up, if there is no current suppression or destruction going on.[/QUOTE]
Well if I could pester you a bit more, would you have time to dig thru things and give me a ball park timeline on how long it took for platelets level to recover? Vets have not really said! Thanks!
