Warning and important blog! Please share as much as you can! In the last 6 months we have had several horse owners contact us in regards to their horses being ill and not knowing why they are ill. They have been spending money on vets and medication but nothing seems to get the horses right and no one really knows what is going on or causing the horses to be sick. Some horses, especially younger once have even died from being so ill. So what is going on?! Myself and a colleague have found out that most of these cases have Proliferative enteropathy, which is caused by the lawsonia bacteria. Lawsonia is well known within pigs, but not so much in horses. So how do horses end up getting it? Exposure to pig feces has been speculated as a potential source of infection for horses. So for example when pigs manure has been spread on the land, including the hay that comes of the infected land. However, in most cases, no history or evidence of direct or indirect exposure to pigs or pig feces has been reported. Some horses are infected with the bacteria but are not affected. They will have no clinical signs, but can spread the bacteria among other horses. Especially young horses that eat feces from others. Clinical signs are; weight loss, rough hair coat, diarrhea, ventral edema, pot-belly appearance, poor body condition, dehydration, fever and colic. Horses will have a good chance of surviving this when its diagnosed on time! Please contact your vet to help diagnose and treat this bacteria. Treatment often includes weeks of antibiotics. We recommend that you contact us if your horse has been diagnosed with lawsonia. We will set up a customized plan to further support the horse and help prevent it from happening again. It can take months for a horse to get back to normal health again. Our treatments include medicinal mushrooms, herbs, gemmo therapy and humic acids. Please note that most of these cases have been found ( and have come to us for help ) In the Cork region. But obviously it can happen to any horses. Help us spread the word and make people aware of this bacteria! https://aaep.org/sites/default/files/issues/proceedings-07proceedings-z9100107000236.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7126703/#:~:text=Equine%20proliferative%20enteropathy%20(EPE)%20is,most%20often%20the%20small%20intestine. https://www.rossdales.com/assets/files/Lawsonia-intracellularis-infection.pdf