Questions re lyme--first time dealing with this

[jcc813]

We had husband’s horse recently tested b/c he started acting spooky and tense in the arena and we couldn’t figure out why. This was after a recent really cold spell so we thought maybe it was weather related but since we had a vet out for other things, decided to pull.

Results came back as:
OSPA: 46 Negative
OSPC: 46 Negative
OSPF: 2612 Positive

Also pulled for EPM but those results aren’t back yet.

I’m still waiting to talk to the vet, but her VM said that means he’s positive for chronic lyme which means he’s likely had it in his system for awhile.

Are these levels enough to explain the behavior we’ve been seeing, though that’s only been recent? What are other symptoms of lyme?

We’ve been trying to rehab him for a couple years now–we know he has RF coffin issues–and in the past few months had finally gotten him back to moving pretty well (did Renovo, Noltrex, Zycosan, hock injections, new farrier). For a long time he kept swapping lameness on different legs, which I’m seeing could be another symptom? We just assumed it was related to foot issues.

Weight is good. Muscles are great (he does have tendency for some back soreness although we’ve already checked saddle fit).

[Posting_Trot]

I’m sorry that you’re dealing with this!

My previous horse had Lyme disease that we treated at least 3 times over a period of 14 years. I believe that she had chronic Lyme disease as well.

Lyme is a disease whose symptoms often mimic other diseases’ symptoms, and that can make it tricky to diagnose as the cause of what the horse may be exhibiting. For example, it can cause a horse to look lame off and on, and sometimes make them look lame in different hooves/legs, and that may be attributed initially to arthritis.

My horse’s symptoms were: 1) all-around body soreness and reactivity. Suddenly she didn’t like being brushed at all.
2) Lethargy in turn-out. She was a TB and usually when turned out she would run laps around the large field she was in. That stopped.
3) shifting lameness in the hind feet/legs. Before we got the Lyme diagnosis, she actually went for a bone scan which came back showing almost no arthritic changes in either hock or leg joint.

In her last two bouts of Lyme, the other symptom she had was cellulitis in one hind leg.

Lyme is a nasty disease. My horse, after each treatment, was rideable, w-t-c, but I stopped jumping her (except over small cross-rails). I also continued to ride her on trails which, fortunately, she loved doing.

She ultimately colicked at age 23 and had to be euthanized. (The colic episode may have been related to a fourth round of Lyme, but that’s not definite.)

[cayuse]

I had a large pony with Lyme, she did exhibited soreness that seemed to shift around. Also some weight loss. She also had some neuro symptoms. She responded well to treatment but the following Spring she developed photic head shaking syndrome which ended her career and although I can’t prove it, I believe it to be related to the Lyme.
I have had 2 other ponies with Lyme, the presented as being stiff, lethargic, and off their feed. Both were fine after treatment. It’s an odd disease, the symptoms sometimes can be so vague that it’s only in hindsight that you can put some of them together with the diagnosis.

[jcc813]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Sorry your horse had to go through all that.

What were the results when you tested? Did you do the Cornell test which has the 3 different results that distinguish acute vs chronic?

I’m now reading that chronic can be harder to treat than acute.

It is very frustrating how hard it is to pinpoint which issue is causing which symptom!

[Ghazzu]

@jcc813

For a long time he kept swapping lameness on different legs, which I’m seeing could be another symptom?

Pretty common in horses with Lyme.

[JB]

The thing about Lyme in horses so far is that it’s really hard to say “this level does/does not affect a horse”. Minocycline isn’t cheap, but with a 2600 chronic + his symptoms, I’d say it’s worth treating for at least 30 days and if things improve, go for 60.

[jcc813]

Our vet mentioned using doxycycline but I was seeing in other threads people recommending minocycline or oxytetracycline as being more effective.

Will ask her about all options

[JB]

generally, mino seems better for chronic, doxy better for acute. Both allegedly do even better if there’s an initial boost with oxytetracycline, 3 doses ideally, 1 is better than none

But, I know a few who seem to have effectively treated chronic with doxy. Mino also tends to be easier on the GI tract

[danacat]

I treated one of my horses for Lyme a few summers ago. Here are results; Cornell Multiplex:

OSPA: 100 Negative
OSPC: 62 Negative
OSPF: 3265 Positive

I treated with Minocycline – put caps in his feed and he never noticed they were there.

I pulsed the Mino – 2 weeks on, two weeks off, 2 weeks on – rinse repeat. This was my own idea being that when I had Lyme myself I learned that pulsing can be effective and it was for me = you hit the spiros for 2 weeks with antibiotic – they then go into hiding to survive – you remove antibiotic for 2 weeks and the spiros ‘come back out’ (so to speak) and you hit them again as many times as needed.

My horse is completely better. Pulsing worked, but NOT pulsing might have worked too.

[Posting_Trot]

The first time my horse was diagnosed with Lyme, it was before the Cornell test was available. And it was also before my local vets thought that Lyme disease was actually a problem for horses (2003 or so). I ended up treating her with doxy after the bone scan and couple of other pricey interventions that really didn’t do much.

The doxy made an enormous difference within a week. She seemed to stay clear of Lyme for around 5 years, but in truth I think that she’d had undiagnosed Lyme for at least a year before the original treatment and possibly longer.

After that, when she began showing symptoms, the vets had become much better informed about Lyme. I don’t remember whether the Cornell test was around in 2007 (when she had her second bout with Lyme), but she was tested and tested positive and was treated. Again with doxy, and again she showed very good results within a week to 10 days. (She was treated for the full 6 weeks).

The third time she definitely had a Cornell test, but I don’t have the numbers any more. She did not snap back as completely as she had before; she was treated with doxy again because the boarding situation wasn’t set up to do the other treatment which at the time had to be administered IV for multiple doses.

Good luck with your horse!

[gnu]

I’ve had 5 confirmed Lyme positives (OspF) to date. For two, the only symptom was extreme spookiness. The first horse was treated w/ doxy for 30 days; spookiness resolved and she has tested negative the last two years (Cornell). The second spooky horse required 45 days of doxy. He tested negative this fall (Cornell). Horses 3 and 4 were lethargic and had shifting lameness - sometimes a foreleg, sometimes a hind leg. For each, a month of doxy and back to normal.

The chronically chronic Lyme horse was first tested and treated in 2021. His symptoms were weight loss, especially over his topline; swelling, itchiness and lameness in a hind leg; lethargy, and tripping in front when being led at a walk. Initially he was treated w/ doxy and improved for a few months before regressing. Since then he’s been treated w/ minocycline. He has had multiple cycles of regression. He’s the only one who has been positive for both OspA and OspF. He received mino summer 2023 and summer 2024.

May 2023 OspA=4087, OspF=9974;
Oct 2023 OspA=9088, OspF=7234;
Nov 2024 OspA=2755, OspF=3811.

Good luck!

[jcc813]

Thanks for sharing! What part of the country are your horses?

The vet told me in our area (midwest) she doesn’t typically see Lyme cases cause swapping lameness. Though it’s possible the discomfort from the Lyme is exacerbating other things going on. I did go back and look at results we pulled in 2022 when we were first dealing with the lameness issues and back then his OSPF was in the 800s “equivocal”.

She also said she usually only goes to oxytet when symptoms are more severe. Since ours is more mild, she recommends trying doxy or mino first. Her preference is doxy b/c that does slightly better at also fighting inflammation.

We’ll try that first and see how it goes.

Thanks, everyone!

[Posting_Trot]

My horse and I are in rural western Massachusetts.

As an aside, my husband has had Lyme disease twice, and one of my dogs had Lyme as well. They’ve both been treated successfully, although I always worry anytime my husband has had other issues, that they might be a result of longer-term after-effects.

The Northeast is pretty much ground-zero for Lyme disease.

[jcc813]

We just finished the first 30 days of doxy and I’m not 100% sure if it’s resolved. But it’s also been hard to tell b/c he’s been off the last 1.5 weeks so we’re also dealing with figuring out a lameness issue.

Wondering if I should do 1 more round of doxy or try minocycline instead? The vet is prescribing 2000mg twice/day.

Another round of doxy would cost $136 from Chewy.

Cheapest mino I’ve found is 500 ct 100mg capsules for $159 at Valley Vet. That comes to about $300+ for one round.

I know people say sometimes the doxy takes longer but it’s also less bioavailable, so I’m trying to decide on the best option?