Mycotoxin poisoning in horses.

[barbaraann]

My whole yard and many others have had very high GGT levels in all horses. Has anyone else recently had a blood test with high GGT, AST, CK, levels? There is a massive problem with toxins in hay and straw due to the wet summers we have had and the vets don't seem to recognise this. If your horse seems slow and a bit of colour and has comne back with blood test liver problems please contact me.

[kellyeaton]

ast is not a lot to do with the liver it is more a muscle enyzemes. how come the vets dont know what this is? how do you know all about this?x

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Pardon my cynicism but when I read this the other day, I immediately assumed buglett is flogging supplements! The wording isn't personal enough and the whole thing reads like an advert.

[barbaraann]

If i could get some Mycotoxin binders to sell i would. The problem is you can't get them for horses, you can for cattle , pigs , human food is well tested to . You try having 12 horses all with life threatening liver failure and work out how to get it right. I managed it but not without sleepless nights and nearly bankrupting myself. Luckily i have a fabulous vet, who for a change knows what she is doing. I have posted this hoping to get some feedback from other people who also need help and don't know where to turn .

[barbaraann]

Several of my friends have had a similar problem. My vet also went to another area and found the problem to be even greater there. I just got my blood test results for my horses today and they seem normal now. This has been a long hard slog to get them right. The problem is that you can test hay and straw but you may test a bale that is clear and the next bale could be high. All you can do is buy the best hay and straw you can and test regulary to see if the GGT levels are rising.

[H's mum]

If you are looking for feedback and more information - you may be interested in this website - Altech have done a lot of research into this:
http://www.knowmycotoxins.com/
Kate x

[Tnavas]

An old farmer gave me this recipe for dealing with mycotoxins, worked far better than any of the commercially prepared ones - last year one of mine got grass staggers (rye grass contains endophytes) - he was on the ground and took several hours to co-ordinate his legs enough to get up again.

This mix is made daily and split between feeds preferably 12 hours apart.

2 Tablespoons Yeast
2 Tablespoons Dried Thyme
2 Tablespoons Epsom salts
2 Tablespoons Baking Soda

Within hours he was steady on his feet and within a week free of the mycotoxins. Showed the recipe to the vet and she said the key ingredient was the yeast. It has a very extensive ability to bind to toxins.

[barbaraann]

I have looked at this site and it has been very usefull, thanks.

[barbaraann]

The yeast as a binder is very interesting. I will try it if i get the same problem again.