Lyme Disease and Shipping Stress

We have a horse on antibiotics for Lyme disease. Will the stress from the trip cause a flare-up in this disease?
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

We have a horse on antibiotics for Lyme disease. After his 30-day regimen, he will be shipped from New England to California. Will the stress from the trip cause a flare-up in this disease? Is it a risk to ship him? Are there ways to prevent recurrence?

ALyme disease can be a difficult problem to diagnose. Luckily, it appears that horses are intrinsically resistant to the organism, but cases do occur. Horses seem more prone to infection if they are immunocompromised or have other stress factors, such as poor nutrition, poor fitness, or other ongoing health issues.

Diagnosis is based on three factors:

  • First, a physical examination will demonstrate an otherwise unexplained lameness, usually involving the larger joints and often shifting from limb to limb. A fever might or might not be present, and generalized stiffness and behavior changes can occur.
  • Second, a positive serologic test showing high titers to the organism can indicate the infection is active, but it also can show the horse has been exposed to the organism and now has a level of immunity.
  • Third, a positive Western blot test is actually indicative of active flagellae in the bloodstream. In some cases, a skin biopsy or a synovial (joint) membrane biopsy might be indicated to confirm the diagnosis.

From your question, I am assuming that your horse is on oral doxycycline administered twice daily for 30 days. This has traditionally been the treatment of choice. However, there is some current evidence that it might not be as effective as once thought. If the horse is not responding appropriately, intravenous oxytetracycline given twice daily for two to four weeks might be an alternative. I would recommend that the antibiotic regimen be completed with an additional convalescent period of 30 days before you ship your horse. Any added stress can affect the health and recovery of your horse. Any situation where the immune system is compromised can lead to a flare-up of the organism if it is not completely cleared, and immune stimulants have not been shown to help

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Richard D. Mitchell, DVM, has served many times as official veterinarian for the US Equestrian Team in multiple disciplines, and he has a keen interest in lameness and advanced imaging. He also maintains an international clientele that keeps him traveling a great deal.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
276 votes · 276 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!