Bred mare off her grain

[backwoodsnanny]

Prayers that there is a good update tomorrow and Tinkerbell and baby will be on the road to recovery.

 

[garyo]

Well Tinkerbell has become a mystery. When they got the results of her liver tests, the number that was supposed to be less than 200 is 3000. The vet says that she should be semiconscious and totally anorexic. Instead she is responsive and has continued to eat hay at the hospital. On the more grim note she had just eaten about 1/2 cup of equine senior today when she suffered a full grand mall type seizure. She fell completely to the floor and drew out. It lasted about 30 seconds. Then she stood up and resumed eating hay. She was not groggy or disoriented according to the hospital staff.

They are planning a spinal tap and a CT Scan for tomorrow but both require sedation. Giving permission for her to be sedated means also giving permission for the foal to be put at risk. The reproductive staff says that the foal and placenta are both healthy at this point. They do not think that it is full term though. They think that Tinker conceived on a second breeding that would make her closer to 300 days. They do not want to consider a C-section because of this.

If these symptoms sound familiar to any of you please let us know. Pass this along to your miniature horse friends. The vets do not think that the seizures (she has now had two) are related to the hyperlipidemia. They are thinking that she either has epilepsy, a brain tumor or EPM, none of which is good. And of course please keep praying for the two of them.

 

[Miniv]

Have they tested her for hyperlipemia (fatty liver disease)? My thoughts will be with you and your mare.

 

[garyo]

Have they tested her for hyperlipemia (fatty liver disease)? My thoughts will be with you and your mare.

Yes, hyperlipidemia or hyperlipemia is her primary diagnosis. They are also referring to it as pregnancy toxemia. The seizures and the continued eating of hay just doesn't match the lab results.

 

[barnbum]

Oh goodness. I'm so sorry for the troubles.

I'll add prayers!! I'll be looking for happy news.

 

[Barbie]

[SIZE=12pt]Prayers continuing - sure hope they figure out what is going on with Tinkerbell. [/SIZE]

Hoping for good news.

Barbie

 

[backwoodsnanny]

Praying for your mare and baby and that she can continue hanging in at least until baby arrives safe and sound So sorry that decisions for the mare may cause problems for your baby such a hard decision. Continued prayers for both.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Hang in there Tinker and family. I hope the vets figure out exactly what is going on quickly. Can you explain what they meant by pregnancy toxemia? Do they believe the pregnancy is stressing her organs? In what way? I have never heard of a mare with these symptoms and am trying to understand what is going on. As I'm sure you are. Fingers crossed and praying for some good news.

 

[lvponies]

Sending Tinker, her foal and you my thoughts and prayers!!!

 

[garyo]

Praying for your mare and baby and that she can continue hanging in at least until baby arrives safe and sound So sorry that decisions for the mare may cause problems for your baby such a hard decision. Continued prayers for both.

They talk about the mares metabolic system in terms of energy. The baby pulls nutrition (energy) from the mare. Her liver is trying to support her body and her foal through mobilizing fat reserves into her blood stream (Hence the 3000 level of lipids/fat in her blood) because she reduced the intake of energy resources when she stopped eating grain. This excess fat in her bloodstream begins to be toxic to her system. In order to turn this switch off they are intravenously feeding her glucose and nutrition. With this new energy source the hope is that her body will no longer release fat and with added insulin the fat that is currently in her blood will go back into storage in the liver. Some physicians give heparin (blood thinner) to dissolve the excess fat. Our vet has not tried that yet. I suspect she does not want to thin the blood with the foal being involved. The baby being born would help with the energy drain if we subsequently bottle fed it however, the repro physician does not think it is mature enough.

On the other hand the vet has no idea why she is seizuring and does not think that there is a connection between the hyperlipidemia and the seizures.

 

[Scoopiedoo]

The initial "episode" that you spoke of made me think of someone else's mare that had some mineral deficiency. I cannot, for the life of me, remember if it was calcium or selenium. Seems it was calcium, but don't quote me. I'm sure others will know what I am talking about and maybe chime in.(please?)

Jodi

 

[kaykay]

There is a link between the two. Frans mare had many seizures when she was going through this. Her epsiodes were so bad she would be blind and walk into walls afterwords, then after awhile she would come out of it and be better. Your mare sounds so much like hers. Im just worried that mare wont recover till she foals. Can I ask if you mare was overweight?? That is also a contributor and my friends mare was overweight. OSU felt that definitely led to it along with the foal nursing. OSU did say her symptoms were not the normal ones you see with hyperlipidemia but they do happen to some mares (with the seizures)

Sending more prayers

 

[garyo]

There is a link between the two. Frans mare had many seizures when she was going through this. Her epsiodes were so bad she would be blind and walk into walls afterwords, then after awhile she would come out of it and be better. Your mare sounds so much like hers. Im just worried that mare wont recover till she foals. Can I ask if you mare was overweight?? That is also a contributor and my friends mare was overweight. OSU felt that definitely led to it along with the foal nursing. OSU did say her symptoms were not the normal ones you see with hyperlipidemia but they do happen to some mares (with the seizures)

Sending more prayers

Tinker was not overly big with her pregnancy. She is one of those mares you could easily show after she foals. Do you know who worked with your friend's mare at OSU (the Dr's name)? We are trying to give the vets at UF some people who are experienced with this with minis someone to consult with. Is it Ohio State or Oklahoma State? Sorry for the ignorance.

 

[appymini]

Sending prayers for her and her baby

 

[kaykay]

Its Ohio State University. Let me see if I can find the vets name and I will get it to you! There used to also be an awesome miniature vet at Illinois State University that was from Australia. He was very well versed on problems in miniatures

 

[Miniv]

On the other hand the vet has no idea why she is seizuring and does not think that there is a connection between the hyperlipidemia and the seizures.

I for sure don't want to panic you....just sharing what happened to us a few years back. We also had a very pregnant little mare. She was prone to "funny tummies" (mild colics) and had one while pregnant. She got better and then started acting "funny" again....went off her feed, depressed, and eventually siezured. By the time she was properly diagnosed, it was too late.

Our good friends, Larry and Joanne Ross (Scott Creek) told us after the fact that if our vet had treated her with an IV drip containing sucrose and saline, she may have survived.......(Fatty Liver Disease is often treated similarly to diabetes.)

I don't know if any of this will be of any help, but I thought I'd pass it along. You mentioning siezures sent up a red flag for me.

 

[garyo]

***Tinkerbell Update***

Today the vet at UF called my inlaws. Tinker's levels are now to 187 (high normal).

They did a spinal tap with mild sedation near her tail (which avoided anesthesia) and decided not to do the CT scan. She has not had anymore seizures. However, she is still not eating any grain. They plan to take her out to eat grass tomorrow. Gary and his parents will probably go and visit her tomorrow as well as she is very depressed. If any of you have had a mare at home in your barn on IV for medication or nutrition please let us know the ends and outs of it. I can't help but think she would be happier at home. They did not mention the unborn baby. Please keep them (Tinker & her baby) in your prayers.

 

[REO]

I'm sending prayers for Tinker and her baby. How scary!

{{{{hugs}}}}

 

[hairicane]

Well I sure hope she is on the mend now. Praying for good news.

 

[Tammie]

I'm glad to hear that there is some improvement! I will be keeping Tinker and her foal in my thoughts and prayers for a full recovery and a safe delivery of the foal.

Tammie~