My horse has a low red cell count, and high white count.He is on antibiotics for possible infections.He is malnourished and l was wondering if there were any supplements l could give him to raise his red count?Perhaps B vitamins, folic acid and/or iron?Anyone tried any supplements that might help with a slightly anemic horse?
I am pretty sure that this horse was loaded with worms when we got him.The vet agrees that is probably the main culprit.Once he was wormed and prior to starting the antibiotics, he was showing major signs of improvement.He went from head hanging and listless to running and bucking in a day or two.I am glad to hear that his red counts should return to normal when any infections are cleared.I am waiting to hear back from my vet and I am still going to ask him about supplements.

The best person to ask is ur vet. Supplements, although often very valuable, can be risky. So u do not want to add anything without first talking to ur vet. A little bit of iron might help, but u want to be careful not to give him too much. Also, since ur horse is on antibiotics, those might not mix well with supplements. l suggest that for now u just stick with what you've been feeding him & the antibiotics. Hopefully the antibiotics will lower the white count, & next time u talk with the vet u can ask about supplements.

That means its dehydrated. Make sure it has plenty of fresh water. And just in case keep an eye out just in case the horse starts to vomit or if it has diarrhea. Just to make sure it does not have an intestinal infection.

Try Red Cell.
http://drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16412
It is a blood builder, helps raise iron levels in particular.

The reason for the high white count is no doubt the same reason that your vet has him on antibiotics. On thing that will not be contraindicated, no matter what your horse is taking is Lixotinic, and it is much, much better than RED CELL..KV Equine is where l buy it, much cheaper than anywhere else: Oh yes, it is good for any species, even humans.

http://kvvet.com/KVVet/search_results.asp?mscssid=4C0019C478C94155B2CC3AAF6C24BC37&Gift=false&GiftID=

Talk with your vet. Things like this are no guessing game, and your vet will have the best advice out there to suit your horses needs.

Please do not give him ANYTHING prescribed by any Tom, Dick, or Harry on here. The first thing to do is find out why the rbc count is low. Infections do not cause a low red cell count. Anemias vary in cause, & until u know the cause, any treatment u begin may be detrimental rather than helpful. First do no harm...the cardinal rule of medicine.
The vet is obviously involved for u to know the counts, so what does the vet propose to do in the way of investigating further? If he is losing blood, whether from a bleeding ulcer, parasites, or other cause, then vitamins & minerals involved in formation of hemoglobin might be advisable. but if he has a disorder of bone marrow, or liver function, these would be harmful if given. What was the hemoglobin & hematocrit?
Any treatment is based on a diagnosis, which u do not have. A low red count is a clinical sign that needs investigation, & is NOT a diagnosis. Supplements like red cell or other iron supplements given when they r not needed can cause a serious iron overload, called hemochromatosis. You can google it & learn more about it.
Let ur vet do his/her job & spare ur horse the ill-begotten advice from those with no medical education or knowledge. Your horse deserves that.
''There r not enough red blood cells so l will just feed him some & it will be fine'' is not the way it works. Would not it be nice if things were that simple.

Here, read for yourself some information that is actual fact & not the misinformation put out by companies trying to sell u their products.

http://epona.tv/uk/news/show/artikel/iron-deficiency-rare-in-horses/?tx_ttnews[backPid]=388&cHash=1d59e70d6c

EDIT..Understand that when l point out the fact that those giving advice may not hold medical degrees, & therefore may not be qualified to advise u on this, that in no way equates to calling anybody ignorant. If everyone without a medical degree is ignorant, we r all in big trouble. Just thought l should point that out.

l count myself among the Tom, Dick, & Harrys.

If he has and infection, once he is over that, his RBC will bounce back, Meanwhile, l would have to go along with the RED CELL. It is excellent! Hope he is ok real soon! :-)

Bobbi is absolutely right - Lixotinic is hands down the best blood builder available as a feed supplement. I've used it & Red Cell on my racehorses for decades & although the RC is a lot cheaper, u might as well pour water on their grain compared to the Lixotonic. Of course, there r injectables that ur vet can advise if he thinks they r warranted. We use to use a lot of Caco-copper & iron at the track back in the old days - nothing works better - but l am afraid it is another really effective pharmaceutical that they stopped making because it was too cheap to make a substantial profit on...
l will spare u a lecture about taking ur vet is advice - since:

1) It sounds like you're already working closely with him/her in continuing to monitor the blood counts & figure out why they r what they r and.
2) You stated that he is suffering from malnutrition, which means he was probably carrying a heavy worm load too when u got him and.
3) Either/both of these could easily account for his low RBC & u r undoubtedly already addressing these issues.

Therefore - there is certainly no harm in investigating various supplements to bring him back up. All u have to do is run any ideas u get from us ignorant 'Tom, Dick or Harry's' by ur vet just to be safe. l applaude u for seeking every source to help ur horse return to optimum health.

Please do listen to gallopal & do not try amateur blood chemistry on a horse who has a problem. Horses who get sick from things like excess iron & selenium because people do not use their vet r among the most tragic causes of illness in horses that l can imagine.

Just work with ur vet & stick with the treatment program.

l agree that avoiding blood builders is a good idea. And do not forget that a lot of supplements contain selenium, which, like iron, can build up to become poisonous. So when u mix & match yourself u r playing Russian Roulette with ur horse is health. You even have to keep an eye out on vets sometimes, because they do not always think through the implications of supplement combinations.

Good luck & keep ur horse safe.

If you've dealt with the reason his rec count was low (i.e., infection & malnutrition), he should start to rebuild his red count on his own.

You need to give the horse time for his own recovery mechanisms to kick in. If his red count is dangerously low, ur vet could give him something to boost it; otherwise, a balanced ration & treatment of the underlying problems will fix the problem.

FWIW, when l got my second horse, he had a subclinical infection & low blood count, which we treated with antibiotics. It took less than two weeks after we started the antibiotics for my horse to go from head-down droopy apathetic no energy to snorting, head-tossing hard to handle more energy than l knew what to do with. Once u fix the illness, energy returns quickly.

red cell of something of that sort. a supplement.

You should really discuss this matter with your vet because anything you do give him now could alter the outcome of future tests and maybe cloud the results.
Having said that you might want to ask your vet about Red Cell. l hear very good things about it.