Enlarged thyroid in newborn?

[DancinWithDiamonds]

Last Thursday my (big horse) mare foaled a HUGE colt. He was 43" at birth, and quite hefty. He was hard to pull out, took two of us. The moment he was born I noticed that his thyroid was quite enlarged. When the vet came to do his check up the next morning, she confirmed the abnormal thyroid. His bottom jaw also juts forward slightly, and his legs were very windswept. She said these are common symptoms of thyroid-issue foals, however she said he *should* be lethargic, not nursing well, etc. He is active, nurses well, and has a personlity to die for. He is almost a week old, his legs have straightened considerably. His jaw remains the same, as does his thyroid. He is putting on weight and growing like a bad weed. He did develop an umbilical abcess, and diarhea. He is on anitbiotics and yogurt. He has never skipped a beat, still bright and perky. His poops are just "loose" and the abcess is clearing up. Has anyone experienced this?

His bloodwork is not yet back from the clinic (which I am VERY upset about, its been a week already) I pulled blood on the dam too to see what was up with her as well. The stallion owner has suggested Foal Aide to me, as well as Bio Sponge. I called about Bio Sponge, and they can no longer ship to Canada, they told me to find someone in northern NY state, and then I can drive across and pick it up. Anyone have experience with either of these 2 products? I know this is long, but I am worried about my little guy, even though my vet has said not to panic, since he is acting normal, and not giving any indications (no fever, etc) of being sick.

Thanks guys!!

 

[Minimor]

Yes, we had a Morgan filly with congenital hypothyroidism once. Her thyroid wasn't enlarged much, but she had the underbite. Worst was her legs--her extensor tendons were weak so she didn't walk properly--she could stand no problem, and if she ran her shoulder movement would bring her front feet up enough that they'd clear the ground & then land flat. Walking, trotting and downward transitions from a canter, though, those extensor tendons wouldn't bring her foot forward enough, so she'd catch her toes & knuckle over/stumble. In addition she had these huge round swellings just below each knee.

We were extremely concerned; our local vet said she would outgrow it. I also called the nearest teaching hospital & talked to the researcher there, & he said she may outgrow it; once the foal's thyroid starts functioning it will often correct the condition, especially if it isn't too severe. There's the possibility of tarsal crushing syndrome but again because our filly wasn't severely affected, he felt her chances were pretty good. Our filly did outgrow it. I forget just how long it took, but her jaw gradually grew out & she ended up with a perfect bite. It's been a few years--quite a few now, that was 1991--but I'm thinking it was somewhere between 4 and 8 weeks before her mouth lined up properly. Her legs took longer--the swellings went away after about 6 weeks, but the extensor tendons took longer to work 100% right--she'd still catch her toes once in awhile up until she was about 6 months old as I recall. As time went on & the swellings went away she did it less & less, but it did take a number of months for her to be 100% normal on those front legs. She never did develop any problems with her knees or hocks.

Check your feed & water supply for nitrates; researchers now believe that congenital hypothyroidism is caused by high nitrates in feed and/or water. A mineral deficiency (iodine) may add to the problem.

Give your colt some more time, & hopefully he will come right!