American author Roger Kahn once wrote, "Boxing is smoky halls and kidneys battered until they bleed." Horses don’t typically engage in behaviors that batter each other’s kidneys; however, there are many causes of both acute and chronic kidney damage worth "boxing around" when faced with a sick horse.

Causes of Acute Kidney Injury

Secondary to a disease:

  • Colic
  • Colitis
  • Hemorrhage
  • Exhaustive exercise
  • Leptospirosis

Secondary to Drugs

  • Aminoglycoside antibiotics (e.g., amikacin, gentamicin)
  • Oxytetracycline (used in foals with flexural deformities)
  • Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS, phenylbutazone or "Bute")

Others

  • Myoglobin or hemoglobin (in horses that "tie-up")
  • Vitamin D or K3
  • Heavy metals (mercury, arsenic, zing, cadmium, lead)
  • Acorns

"Acute kidney injury usually develops in horses as a complication of another disease process, or as a side effect from medications, or exposure to toxins (see sidebar at left)," relayed Hal Schott II, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, professor of equine medicine at Michigan State Universit