High Potassium

[greenhorse]

Has anyone's horse's bloodwork came back with high potassium? Did your horse show any symptoms?

[Chisamba]

It should be treated fairly quickly if significant.. Calcium helps eliminate potassium, is his diet calcium rich?

Symptoms are muscle cramping, shaking and weakness but too much extra cellular potassium can cause irregular heart beat.

Horse needs to be well hydrated.

[greenhorse]

The vet said it wasn't at a dangerous level, but we will need to keep an eye on it. My usual vet won't be back for five more days. I called the vet because my horse, very suddenly--while I was watching, stopped eating and started snorting and shaking his head like a bug had flown up his nose. He became very agitated and continued to shake and snort. Vet came out had said the trigeminal nerve was irritated--head shaker syndrome.

He was sensitive to light and sound. He now only seems sensitive to certain sounds. Bloodwork came back normal except with high potassium. Of course, I am now reading everything I can find on head shaking. Some believe the cause can be high potassium in pasture plants which fluctuate and can be very high at this time of the year.

I am reading everything I can and plan on talking with my regular vet when he gets back in five days. I will also be adding up the amount of potassium he gets in his diet. I already had his hay analyzed before this happened.

[greenhorse]

He is on a very specific diet. I honestly don't know if it is calcium rich. He's on a ration balancer. Needs low NSC. Mostly amino acid supplements. He does also gets additional salt which I read is very necessary for the proper potassium/sodium ratio with most horses being deficient. Damn! I wish my regular vet was available now.

[Tsavo]

If it is only one K value then I would repeat it. It may be in error or only be recording some transient condition.

[kande50]

He is on a very specific diet. I honestly don't know if it is calcium rich. He's on a ration balancer. Needs low NSC. Mostly amino acid supplements. He does also gets additional salt which I read is very necessary for the proper potassium/sodium ratio with most horses being deficient. Damn! I wish my regular vet was available now.

Your hay analysis should be able to answer your questions about the mineral balances in his diet, as pasture grasses and hays grown in the same general area often have the same mineral excesses and deficiencies.

[Chisamba]

did you run another test? has he stopped shaking his head?

[Josette]

I would repeat the lab test as a hemolyzed blood sample would show falsely elevated potassium level.