Peritonitis?

[Jyväskylä561]

First off, jingles for a dear barnmate and her sweet horse, the indirect subjects of my question. :(

Peritonitis? I'm pretty sure that's what it was said to be. Can someone please educate me on this? The horse died from it this morning at the barn I board at. I'm laid up at home from a riding injury for another 2 months but I'm extremely worried about my own guy and the possibility of him catching whatever it is/was. Last I'd heard, whatever was causing the illness was bacterial, but the fever had come down and vet said they seemed to be on the right road. Now I find the horse passed away today. :no:

I have googled it, but I'd prefer to hear from actual horse people who perhaps have dealt with it before and might know some things the articles do not.

Thanks in advance. Godspeed sweet girl.

[MunchkinsMom]

First off, jingles for your friend.

I don't have any first-hand experience, but I don't think any of the causes are something a horse can "catch" from another horse.

[Laurierace]

The most common cause is a leak or hole in the gut somewhere allowing fecal matter into the abdominal cavity. Godspeed.

[LauraKY]

Here's a good article. Not catching. http://www.petplace.com/horses/peritonitis-in-the-horse/page1.aspx

[InstigatorKate]

Peritonitis literally translates to inflammation of the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity which separates the organs from the muscles and skin). As said above, generally caused by either a perforation of the gut which leaks bacteria into the abdominal cavity and causes infection and inflammation of the lining, or from perforation of the skin into the abdominal cavity, causing the same phenomenon. It is NOT contagious. It is very painful and difficult to treat. I hope your friend's horse did not suffer too badly :-(

[Jyväskylä561]

Thanks for the quick replies. I was just able to find a good article here as well: http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horsecare/397/131511.html -- in case anyone else would like to learn.

Would I be thinking correctly that the leaking fecal matter would cause the bloodwork to come back as bacterial infection? Probably a ridiculously obvious question, but I'd rather know than assume.

ETA: Thanks IK. You just answered my question.

[Laurierace]

Yes, it causes a massive bacterial infection.

[aspenlucas]

I had a mare I rescued off the track that died of Peritonitis. She had ulcers so bad that her stomach acids leaked into her body and they tapped her stomach and she was full of it. He couldn't believe she was standing. Did a necropsy to confirm it. Nothing contagious.

[TBCollector]

I had a mare I rescued off the track that died of Peritonitis. She had ulcers so bad that her stomach acids leaked into her body and they tapped her stomach and she was full of it. He couldn't believe she was standing. Did a necropsy to confirm it. Nothing contagious.

My horse actually survived it...and every day I thank whatever higher power helped him through it. It started as colic which led to ulcers and then the subsequent peritonitis...he was in the clinic for a month. Lost about three hundred pounds and had swollen, festering wounds from penicillin injections. But he made it. And it breaks my heart that yours and others did not. :cry:

[cloudyandcallie]

The most common cause is a leak or hole in the gut somewhere allowing fecal matter into the abdominal cavity. Godspeed.

Yes, an injury to the intestines allowing fecal matter to enter the abdominal cavity is the usual problem in humans. Like when a doctor nicks the wall.

My only experience has been with the infectious kind.......in a cat I adopted. I don't know if there can be an infectious kind in other animals. (Fortunately none of my other cats caught it as they had had shots to prevent it.)

[TBCollector]

Yes, an injury to the intestines allowing fecal matter to enter the abdominal cavity is the usual problem in humans. Like when a doctor nicks the wall.

My only experience has been with the infectious kind.......in a cat I adopted. I don't know if there can be an infectious kind in other animals. (Fortunately none of my other cats caught it as they had had shots to prevent it.)


I suspected at the time that the intern treating my horse at the clinic for colic had nicked the wall while performing the belly tap...because he went home the next day showing no colicky symptoms, but once home started exhibiting symptoms of the peritonitis. Plus...the intern was not seen anywhere near the horse the entire month he had to spend in the clinic.
However...I am grateful for all the aftercare that allowed him to be in the very, very small minority of survivors.

[vineyridge]

I, too, had a mare who was euthanized for this.

She had a grapefruit/basketball sized mass of scar tissue that had surrounded much of her small intestine and a lot of veins and arteries since the spot would heal and then re-infect. So much of her gut was involved that surgery could not be done.

From what I learned, it can also be caused by worm migration and from eating bits of metal that damage the stomach and gut.

OR it can be a consequence of some kinds of colic. My mare had no overt signs of colic until the episode which resulted in death. She was a very tough girl, and we thought the episodes of danger to ride were all in her head. We were wrong.

Take a look at chronic peritonitis in the vet materials online. I love the Merck manual.
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/51800.htm

[Equilibrium]

My sister in law had a mare with this condition that did live for a couple of years after the initial problem. However, she had to be on a strict diet which included not having a lot of rich grass. She was always prone to flare ups and just not easy to manage.

Terri