Chronic Kidney Failure
When a six-year old quarter horse colics five times in four months, something is terribly wrong. Colic is an emergency in all horses but chronic colic in young horses is a major indicator that one or more body systems is so impaired that the horse’s life is at risk. And with each episode of colic, potentially more damage is done to the gastrointestinal tract – laying the groundwork for the next colic.
Young Ziggy’s new owner thought she had found her perfect riding partner and looked forward to many years together – but within a few months the colicking started. His hospital evaluation in March 2024 revealed mild gastric ulcers and a slightly thickened right dorsal colon wall but neither condition was believed to be severe enough to cause repeated colic. Nevertheless, he was started on ulcer medications — but colicked again several weeks later. The ulcers were not the problem.
The real culprit was his kidneys. Normal kidney function is critical to health. The kidneys continuously filter waste and unneeded water out of the blood and into urine so that it can be removed from the body. They help to regulate the balance of the key electrolytes salt and potassium. They produce hormones that maintain blood pressure and stimulate production of red blood cells – the oxygen-carrying cells. They also convert vitamin D into its active form.
Kidney function is indexed by levels of creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in blood – these are waste products from protein and muscle breakdown that normal kidneys filter. Higher than normal levels in the blood indicate impaired filtering processes – which means kidney damage.
Ziggy’s blood work revealed an elevated creatinine level that did not respond to hydration; his hospital discharge noted that this lack of improvement is consistent with kidney damage and that his “kidney function will likely remain impaired throughout his life.”
Instead of being a young horse in the prime of his life, Ziggy’s kidney damage meant that he would not be able to carry out any type of sustained work. His new owner’s dreams of a long-term partnership appeared to be unachievable. She asked for a consultation.
She reported that he drank enormous amounts of water and craved salt. These behaviors occur when a horse cannot stay hydrated. His impaired kidney function was affecting the water balance in his body, causing repeated impactions, and he coped in the only ways that he could — by drinking constantly and using salt to try to increase body hydration.
Although the traditional medical framework considers kidney damage to be a permanent and unfixable state, the holistic framework assumes that all body tissues have the ability to regenerate if correctly supported. Ziggy was placed on a kidney supportive diet that included high-quality protein, anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, anti-oxidants, and free-choice salt. Nutraceuticals with documented kidney regenerative actions also were included.
But the troubling question was why were Ziggy’s kidneys failing? Kidney failure is rare in horses, diagnosed in fewer than 1%. And it is even rarer in young horses. I have only seen it in two situations – severe chronic Lyme disease or a toxic exposure. It was important to identify the cause of the kidney damage in order to fully restore Ziggy to health. Additional blood work revealed that Ziggy did not have Lyme disease. A heavy metals screening test, however, revealed that Ziggy’s body was burdened with toxic loads of aluminum and lead. A chelation process that removes heavy metals was begun in addition to his new diet and nutraceuticals.
By June 2024 Ziggy’s creatinine levels had decreased from their March high of 2.8 mg/dL (normal range is to 0.8 – 1.8 mg/dL) to just inside the upper boundary of normal at 1.7 mg/dL. By October his creatinine was a perfect 1.3 mg/dL indicating that his kidneys have regenerated and are now normal. He is back to work, without colic, and thriving. He and his owner look forward to many years of enjoying one another.