My Mare: Lyme Disease

[Karma]

Hello Folks- my 15 yo Qh mare has been NQR for a few weeks and didn’t respond with her usual rebound to her chiro/accupunture. So blood was drawn with a positive Lyme titer. Waiting to hear back from the vet which test was used and what the levels were (antibody vs. protein). In the meantime she is started on Doxy for 60 day course.

What supplements could be supportive during this time? Probiotics certainly, but what else?

What exercise/work if any should horses do while on treatment?

Other people with Lyme experience in their horses… what now?

[Chief2]

It is Lyme disease, named after the town of Lyme, CT, not Lymes.

We use Probios. We don’t discontinue any other supplements currently in use.

Our vet has us stop working the horses until they are feeling better, which usually takes a week or longer from the first day of treatment, and then they can do light work. You should see improvement in the symptoms which will guide you as to when to begin light work.

It will take about 3 months after the end of the treatment for the horse’s numbers to drop, so don’t rush to retest after the treatment is finished.

[CrotchetyDQ]

If it were me, I would ditch the doxy and go with Minocycline instead. It costs more (a lot more) but IME is more effective for all but the most recent infections. If there is any rise in your chronic numbers, I would definitely make the change. Lyme is a super stubborn cootie, and hides in places where doxy (which does not cross the brain/blood barrier) cannot reach.

[walktrot]

I had my now 22 y.o. gelding on doxy for 6 weeks when he had Lyme, which is quite a few years ago. He started feeling better after a week or so, and recovered fully. He has been fine ever since.

I don’t recall hearing anything about mino at the time. Maybe someone here can clarify the difference between how mino and doxy work in the body. My understanding is that one is better for nervous system issues, and the other for joints. My guy showed some lethargy and an almost imperceptibal lameness that went from leg to leg. The b/o actually picked up on it, as she has an incredible eye for those types of issues.

I’ve always thought that some of the success is due to a long course of the antibiotic, at least 6 weeks. I was lucky there was someone at the barn who could take care of the evening dose, and he only missed one the entire time.