Mona, that 'stuff' does look like the mucus/intestinal lining; I've been told (pretty sure, by my 'country vet',whom I loved and respected) that about it having a 'not-so-good' connotation even when it 'just' coats the manure, and more so, when you find globs of it such as you photographed...including that is was sloughed intestinal lining. I have a horse who rarely will produce a manure pile with two or three of the 'apples' having a slight mucus coating, and have even, a VERY few times(this horse was bred and raised here, and is now a 13 YO gelding), found 'pieces' of just the mucus---but not nearly as much as in your pics. FWIW, he is a cribber, and had a SERIOUS episode of (presumed, by me) ulcers, about a year ago, which I treated for 45 days w/ every-eight-hours, good-sized doses, of ranitidine...and he has been fine and thriving since.
That said, it sounds to me as if you are doing about all you can. The advice to back off the oil sounds logical to me, though I don't speak from personal knowledge or experience...just gut feeling. I do agree with the idea of doing all you can to hydrate her, and with 'moving around' for her; also, with the use of warm soapy water for any enema(I think I remember being told by my vet that the composition of the Fleets as they are bought isn't the best, at least, for horses.) I also suspect those who say that they aren't likely to be doing much may well be right. (I can remember from childhood, my mom having a hot water bottle with a rubber 'tubing' and a LONG--like, 6"---narrow, 'thingy', with a rounded end w/ holes in it...pretty sure that was to give enemas with, and it was used on me and my sister, I *think*--and we were pretty young children! Just seems reasonable that that a Fleets bottle isn't going to put the enema liquid far enough in to do much good--although I hasten to say that I do NOT KNOW how 'far in' it is SAFE to try to place it on young foals, either. I should qualify this by saying I only ever used enemas on newborns, and then, only once or twice, to help if the meconium was hard to pass...and I've NEVER 'oiled' ANY horse, so my opinion might be seen as biased.
The best of luck, and do keep us posted?
Margo
Can you call a 'distant' vet who will offer advice over the phone? Have anyone you have taken horses to in the past who is decent enough to do so?
That said, it sounds to me as if you are doing about all you can. The advice to back off the oil sounds logical to me, though I don't speak from personal knowledge or experience...just gut feeling. I do agree with the idea of doing all you can to hydrate her, and with 'moving around' for her; also, with the use of warm soapy water for any enema(I think I remember being told by my vet that the composition of the Fleets as they are bought isn't the best, at least, for horses.) I also suspect those who say that they aren't likely to be doing much may well be right. (I can remember from childhood, my mom having a hot water bottle with a rubber 'tubing' and a LONG--like, 6"---narrow, 'thingy', with a rounded end w/ holes in it...pretty sure that was to give enemas with, and it was used on me and my sister, I *think*--and we were pretty young children! Just seems reasonable that that a Fleets bottle isn't going to put the enema liquid far enough in to do much good--although I hasten to say that I do NOT KNOW how 'far in' it is SAFE to try to place it on young foals, either. I should qualify this by saying I only ever used enemas on newborns, and then, only once or twice, to help if the meconium was hard to pass...and I've NEVER 'oiled' ANY horse, so my opinion might be seen as biased.
The best of luck, and do keep us posted?
Margo
Can you call a 'distant' vet who will offer advice over the phone? Have anyone you have taken horses to in the past who is decent enough to do so?
