Treatment Options

Although there is no cure for EIPH, there are many treatments available for owners and trainers of bleeders that help to minimize, and in some cases greatly reduce, the severity of a bleeding episode.

drinkwebHorses on Lasix treatments must be properly hydrated because of Lasix’s diuretic effect. Photo by Allyson Bottini.Furosemide, better known by its brand name, Lasix, is a powerful diuretic and is the most commonly used treatment in the U.S. and Canada. According to East, this can have a major effect on a horse, causing it to lose up to 2.4 percent of its total body weight through urine excretion, resulting in lower blood pressures in the horse’s system.

Research has shown that Lasix can help reduce the severity of the bleed, potentially as much as 70 percent, but it does not stop or prevent bleeding.

“In our lab, we found it was effective, and it’s dependent on level of intensity of exercise,” Epp said. “At a lower level of intensity, it seems to be more effective than at a higher level of intensity. For example, we found it to be around 90 percent effective at just under maximal exercise, and only 50 percent effective at maximal exercise.”

Montgomery says she doesn’t treat her horses unless she suspects they are going to bleed or they have previously.

“The ones that have bled before, I don’t take any chances,” Montgomery said. “I always run them on Lasix. As long as they’re not showing any other symptoms, I don’t have them scoped again. If you’re running them on a low dose of Lasix, and you suspect that they may have bled through it, then you’d want to have them scoped again. My veterinarian tells me there’s no substitute for Lasix, really. If they’re bad bleeders, Lasix is always going to work.”

Erickson says the main concern most have about the use of Lasix is its potential to cause dehydration in horses in the short term as well as its potential to cause depletion of electrolytes.

Hutchins says the key thing with the use of Lasix is to make sure horses stay well hydrated to counteract the diuretic effect.

Montgomery says as long as her horses are drinking after racing, there doesn’t seem to be a problem. Montgomery will give them some extra B12 occasionally, but as long as they’re eating high-quality feed and get plenty of water, she hasn’t seen any side effects from using Lasix.

1 2 3 4 5 6
Author

Email comments or questions to [email protected]

Write A Comment