Howdy Friends,
Lyme Disease has now been found to be carried by all ticks
and last year it was discovered in biting insects! It is spreading almost completely
across the country north and south, from coast to coast. Sadly it is still
often misdiagnosed as other ailments, often disregarded as behavioral issues, or
confusing lameness. Many times it is not treated effectively. Even if treated
you should know once a horse has Lyme Disease it is never “cured.” This disease
can and does cripple, and even kill horses. What can you do about Lyme Disease
to protect your horse?
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| Kessy has been dealing with chronic Lyme disease ever since we've been together, but with sound management we are winning. |
Lyme was first discovered by Dr. Allen
Steere in Lyme, Connecticut, in 1975 hence the name, and today according to
some experts nearly every horse along the East Coast is affected, and many
carry the subclinical, or even clinic conditions for years, slowly but determinately
chipping away at the horse’s health, and sanity. Lyme disease has spread all
the way to Florida, and it's not just an East Coast thing anymore, it's in
Kentucky and recently been reported in Texas and even California. Today,
Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne illness in the United States.
Lyme Disease is the most prevalent tick-borne illness in the United States.
Lyme
Disease is a disease of inflammation resulting in pain and discomfort. It
enters via the blood and quickly moves into soft tissues, burrowing its way
into organs and eventually into the central nervous system and brain. It is a
progressive disease that can, and will cause irreparable damage to the whole
body. And studies have shown that long standing, chronic Lyme can cause
arthritic changes to joints.
Lyme
is the one thing we can test for, treat and manage. So why not? Cornell
University’s Lyme Multiplex test is easy and affordable. Currently it is
the most accurate test available. This test is finally catching nearly all the
chronically infected horses. If your horse has any Lyme symptoms, for her sake
PLEASE TEST. But even if this most reliable
test comes back negative or low numbers, if you see any symptoms TREAT HER—this
disease is crafty and you need to be too.
What
are the symptoms? Many and varied! But don’t let that
stop you! Everything from temperament change, to suddenly becoming “spooky” to lethargy,
to aggressiveness, sensitivity to touch, mysterious and “wondering lameness”
(first one leg than another) and generally being “off,” mildly or grossly
unhappy, disinterested, grumpy ... this
disease causes chronic pain and different horses deal with pain in different
ways. Your horse may have any one of theses symptoms or several, or they
come and go and you might think it was “nothing.” Trust me it was “something.”
How do we treat? First
treat aggressively with antibiotics, don’t hesitate, treat. Of course consult
your vet, but in my opinion start with 100 Doxycycline pills a day for 8 weeks.
You should see changes within a week in her willingness, carriage and demeanor.
But you are never done ... This
disease is persistent and the spirochetes are masters at hiding when under attack
by antibiotics, and when the coast is clear and antibiotics are out of the body
they sneak out again and attack another system—one big reason Lyme is so often
misdiagnosed.
Antibiotics cannot win this battle for your horse by themselves,
Lyme is too crafty. But your horse’s immune system can! How? And why?
Each time we treat a horse with antibiotics
it does indeed help stop the infection, but it also damages the immune system,
and sends the spirochetes into deep muscle and tissue hiding, just waiting to
resurface—then it will attack another system in the body. Our most effective weapon is the horse’s own immune system,
STRENGTEN IT!
A strong immune system can change on a dime and attack and defeat
the invader, antibiotics cannot. No matter which system Lyme attacks,
blood, muscle, bone, nervous system, cartilage, spinal column—the healthy
immune system can instantly send an army to stop the attack, and it will win.
This has been proven in recent years to be the very best in long term defense
against Lyme we can give our horses.
How can you strengthen your horse’s immune system? First is a healthy forage based diet (I believe in a total
forage diet, no grain— you can read
my mare’s diet HERE) and of course plenty of exercise (no stall living). Then
stop over vaccinating, if you haven’t already, every time a horse is Re-vaccinated
it harms the immune system ... immunologists have
known this since the 1970s—you can read my story about Dr.
Falconer HERE EXCERPT — "Most
vaccinations for horses are for viruses, and veterinarian immunologists have
proven scientifically that, once vaccinated for a virus, resulting immunity
lasts a very long time, perhaps a lifetime." Dr. Falconer explained that
repeated vaccinations not only confuse the immune system, but often cause it to
turn on itself, and even attack healthy red blood cells.” Also follow this link to his
website for more info and information on TRANFER FACTOR a proven immune
system booster supplement. It works.
I’ll introduce you to Dr. Thomas as well, a
noted Chinese Herbalist. Read
his story HERE – and follow this link to his Website. He
has a very high quality blend of herbs proven to boost the immune system, my
mare Kessy is on it and I have seen and loved the results. No matter your
thoughts, I recommend you give this to your horse.
You can help your horse deal with the horrors of Lyme disease—
and flourish! The disease is going to be here no matter what
we do, we cannot prevent it, but with these simple techniques we can empower
our horses to WIN! As always, email me or talk to me on Facebook to discuss more.
After all, It’s For The Horses!
Gitty Up~Dutch Henry
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