Need help figuring this out

[maryann]

My friend has a gelding that she noticed a week ago was just not feeling good, A couple

days after she noticed a yellow discharge from his nose. He was running a temp

of 102. She had the vet out. Started Antibiotics last Wednesday that he has been on since then.

However he does not seem to be getting better. He is dropping weight even though he is eating

well. She also keeps free hay for him. He drinks well. His Temp has continuially ran 101-102 even

up until this evening. She and the vet are sure its upper respiraitory . She says at times she can hear him

snort . Blood tests have been taken and have shown nothing. The vet saw him

again today and is baffeled . He has been with the other horses but none of them have shown any

signs of feeling bad. Now today she says he does not seem to feel bad but his temp is still up to 102 even

on Antibiotics.

Any ideas??? She is really baffeled and wants to find out what is wrong . Thanks so much . Maryann

 

[kaykay]

please tell her to be really careful of pnemonia. I had a friends horse with the same symptoms as your friends. He kept losing weight and they finally figured out he had bacterial pnemonia. By the time they found it it was too late so be careful! They only found his by doing a lung xray.

 

[Marty]

After this round of antibiotics perhaps ask the vet to try another kind or adjust the dosage?

Snorting sure does sound respiratory to me.

 

[Miniv]

It does sound like an upper respiratory flu at this point.......It's going to take anywhere from a week, to 2 weeks to work it out........hate to say.

Kay is right on about the risk of pnuemonia. If it turns into that and is bacteria based, the antibiotics should do the trick, although they may need to change the antibiotic or the dosage.

If it ends up being a virual based problem, the antibiotics won't do a thing and all they can do is treat the symptoms....and ride it out.

MA

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

I know when we had pnuminia here we had a vet put a bag over the horses nose for a couple of min(may have been a bit less or more) so that they were breathing into the bag and breathing back in the same air somehow that helped her really hear the lung sounds better of air going in and out (or something like that) she was very sick and we almost lost her but she ended up ok after a week in the hosptial

 

[Minimor]

The yellow discharge tells me this is bacterial, not viral--and whether it's an upper respiratory problem or pneumonia it's not responding to the antibiotics. I usually give them 3 days to show signs of improvement, and if there is none we then change to something stronger.

If the infection has settled in the gutteral pouch it will be very difficult to clear up--gutteral pouch infection tends to not respond to systemic antibiotics, the vet would almost certainly have to flush the gutteral pouch with antibiotics. That's one possibility.

 

[hhpminis]

I have done the bag thing too. It makes them breath harder so the sounds in the lungs are accentuated.

I would have the vet culture the nasal discharge to see if they have the correct antibiotic. I too expect to see improvement within 48 hours.

They can also scope the gutteral pouch like was mentioned and if the infection is there they can be flushed.

Has the horse recently been vaccinated for anything? Or perhaps somewhere it could have been exposed to strangles?

Is this a mini?

 

[maryann]

It is a mini . His vacinations are just now due but they are holding off until they figure this out. He is

still running a fever of 102 and I think she said the vet is going to change the antibiotics . She is using your

comments to suggest to the vet some possible things that it could be. Thanks so much for helping . She

is really worried about him. Maryann

 

[scott]

If your friend is keeping the horse stalled and the barn is shut up with no ventilation she may want to try getting some ventilation ,fresh air will do wonders for a sick horse with respiratory problems, when I went through this back in September my vet told me that the best thing for the horse was fresh air for a respiratory problem along with antiobiotics,

I hope things improve quickly for her and the horse it is a scary feeling.

 

[shelia]

I just recently had a virus come through here. It was never identified and I had numerous tests done. Each horse ran a fever for about 3 days and then it was gone. At the same time of course I have one mini who has had a snotty nose on and off for a long time and the vets have had some trouble pinning it down. It turns out to be tooth related. They did head ex rays. They have small mouths and when there teeth are growing in it can cause problems with there sinuses. Is he dropping food? you find any chewed up hay laying around? This may also be a good time for sand clearing treatment.

I have had to put my mini on equine senior and really up the ration because she was just not getting enough hay because she was dropping it. I didn't realize how much she was dropping because I thought it was just little pieces of stepped on manure. She is gaining weight now and we may have to have something done about her teeth, but the vet and I are hoping it will work itself out. The fever was unrelated and didn't cause any loss of appetite in anybody.

Shelia B.

 

[maryann]

Just heard from my friend and she says her gelding is doing much better. Fever is down to 101 and he

seems better. Now one of her mares is getting sick. She is starting her on Antibiotics ASAP. Thanks for

all of your responses. I know it has helped her in trying to figure this thing out. maryann

 

[hhpminis]

That is good news. I think I would still culture the discharge. Especially if it is going to run through her barn. I would like to see a quicker response to the antibiotics than several days.

I'm thinking it was viral rather than bacterial and had to run its course?

 

[albahurst]

I would sure encourage a culture and perhaps sensitivity testing, also, if anything shows up. All the best-

Peggy