Posting here as well as in the Horse Care forum for those who don’t check that often. My little Gem of a pony has been diagnosed with Equine Anaplasmosis. Treatable, but not cheap or convenient. Her numbers are 50X acceptable levels.
http://www.blueridgeequine.com/a-new-reason-to-hate-ticks-on-horses-equine-anaplasmosis/
Awful, jingles for your pony. I’ve had a few horses with it now, it’s very ugly.
More jingles for you and your pony. Everyone is so focused on Lyme now that we forget that ticks carry other diseases. I hope she has uneventful recovery.
Jingles!!! We had two cases last year, one of which ended up spending a week in the hospital for fever control purposes.
Pretty common in tick infested areas. Practically all my animals have had it at one time or another, unfortunately. Luckily it is pretty treatable, in comparison to other tickborne illnesses.
Yeah. Though “treatable” is going to involve daily IV treatments for a week. My vet may put a port in, and I MAY be able to administer the IV, but we doubt it. The duration of the drip will be at least 15 minutes. Two folks will be better than one. Good thing my vet and I are best buddies with a looooong history (when I was 13, I was one of his first clients when he got out of vet school). 
Yeh it’s pretty common in the northeast. My guy has dealt with it a couple of times now, first dose minocycline IV and then oral minocyclin for 5 to 7 days. I worry with my guy because he’s had liver issues in the past and every time he’s gotten anaplasmosis it has affected his liver. Weird though only his SDH levels increase but enzymes such as ALT, AST and GGT all stay in the normal range.
I’m so sorry for you and your horse. Our farm was in an area that was tick-ville and we dealt with this issue multiple times. The horse can present as very, very sick: off feed, high temperature, often swollen hind legs, looking like misery. Fortunately, a week of IV tetracycline followed by a course of doxycycline can knock it down. Best of luck to you. Ticks are the worst.
It really depends on your horse and the severity of the situation. I have had one treated once with IV Oxytet; one treated 2x and one that ran a fever for 4 days, then went to the clinic, but by the next day was fine. All of them had doxy to followup for at least 10 days.
I would ask your vet if a full week is absolutely necessary. I am not sure it’s standard protocol, although I will admit I haven’t had a case of anaplasmosis in several years.
I second this. From my experience and those at my bar, a course of oral antibiotics generally does the trick. An initial dose IV to get a quick jump on things and then switch to oral may be enough.
We’ll see… Her numbers are off the chart. He did say he did another horse last year or the year before and could only treat for four days due to having to leave on family business. I’m afraid like antibiotics for humans, if you don’t do the whole course, the bacteria just get stronger.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
