Re: elevated enzyme levels

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

Hi Beverly--

Yes, we sometimes see CPK's that continue to stay up after a tying-up episode.
SGOT is a liver enzyme, and is often up long after the CPK goes down.  What it
means is that there is still some muscle damage going on, so you need to find
out if there is some other underlying cause.  You have ruled out
hypothyroidism--that is good.  At this point, I would recommend checking
selenium levels, and also checking into any other trace minerals in your area
that may be a problem.

There was one statement in your post that concerned me--one of you is in
charge of "salt" and one is in charge of "electrolytes".  These are pretty
much the same thing, or more accurately, "salt" (sodium chloride) is the
primary electrolyte in "electrolytes."  There are other electolytes besides
sodium and chloride, (potassium, calcium, etc. for positive ions, etc.) but
the main things in most electrolyte mixes are sodium and chloride, which
together make what we commonly call "salt."  So yes, between the two of you,
you may very well be overdoing the "salt" or "electrolytes," whichever you
want to call it.

I would be interested to see what the rest of Flower's diet is, and whether
you are including salt in her feed or if it is free choice.

Heidi Smith, DVM--Sagehill Arabians (Oregon)