Good morning everyone,
I have found tremendeous information through this site and have yet to introduce myself.
I own a 16.2 hh paint and got him (and of course us) a miniature horse filly in February. She was 10 months young, 90 lbs at about 27". She had a potbelly but you could feel her spine and even through 5 inches of wintercoat as if she lived in Alaska the vet felt her being underweight. She hadn't been wormed for at least 6 months and never learned how to chew anything other than grass or hay. It took my daughter 2 hours but she got the hang of it, so much that she will eat anything and everything now. She looks great now, but still has a potbelly, she's been on 2 cups AM, 2 cups PM of total equine feed, good coastal, grass and for the past 3 weeks I've added alfalfa as some of you mentioned the lack of protein as being the cause of a potbelly in yearlings. I don't see it reducing though, so if anyone has some advice on how to get rid of it, please let me know.
But the main reason for this post is the freak accident she had yesterday. I like to compare horses to a mix between a toddler and a puppy. If there's a way to get hurt, they will find it. I'm about to wrap my two in bubble wrap and turn their stalls into rubber cells... Ugh.
She must have ran full speed into the sharp corner of a metal shovel. Right into her flank. Almost 3" across and 3" down, like a half square, flap hanging down and deep too. Exposed things you do not want to be able to see. Horrible. Wrapped a towel around her and rushed her to the vet. He stitched her up, put a drain tube in, gave tetanus, b12 etc, put her on 1/2 scoop uniprim antibiotics, banamine (had to tell him about not using bute - thanks to you guys), ulcer meds to counteract possible side effects and ordered hydrotherapy & aluspray to treat the wound daily. I had him put gauze & a bandage around her belly to allow the tube to drain but prevent her from ripping the tube out.
My question is - how often do you give/is it safe to give the banamine/ulcer meds. He recommended once a day only, to be on the safe side. I can imagine she'll be in pain for at least a few days. On the way home to the vet she was her attitude self, scratching, whinnying and ready to get home. At home she immediately looked for food (if she ever doesn't eat, I know she's really sick!) and gave kisses like always. So I'm hoping recovery goes well and only up from here as the vet couldn't determine if she injured/punctured her abdominal wall. He didn't feel anything but didn't want to press to hard and puncture it himself. If she did puncture it and starts running high temps, it could be a death sentence.
Hoping for the best...!
Again, thanks for all the helpful info everyone posts on here!
I will post pics of her as soon as I get on my laptop - iPad won't let me.
I have found tremendeous information through this site and have yet to introduce myself.
I own a 16.2 hh paint and got him (and of course us) a miniature horse filly in February. She was 10 months young, 90 lbs at about 27". She had a potbelly but you could feel her spine and even through 5 inches of wintercoat as if she lived in Alaska the vet felt her being underweight. She hadn't been wormed for at least 6 months and never learned how to chew anything other than grass or hay. It took my daughter 2 hours but she got the hang of it, so much that she will eat anything and everything now. She looks great now, but still has a potbelly, she's been on 2 cups AM, 2 cups PM of total equine feed, good coastal, grass and for the past 3 weeks I've added alfalfa as some of you mentioned the lack of protein as being the cause of a potbelly in yearlings. I don't see it reducing though, so if anyone has some advice on how to get rid of it, please let me know.
But the main reason for this post is the freak accident she had yesterday. I like to compare horses to a mix between a toddler and a puppy. If there's a way to get hurt, they will find it. I'm about to wrap my two in bubble wrap and turn their stalls into rubber cells... Ugh.
She must have ran full speed into the sharp corner of a metal shovel. Right into her flank. Almost 3" across and 3" down, like a half square, flap hanging down and deep too. Exposed things you do not want to be able to see. Horrible. Wrapped a towel around her and rushed her to the vet. He stitched her up, put a drain tube in, gave tetanus, b12 etc, put her on 1/2 scoop uniprim antibiotics, banamine (had to tell him about not using bute - thanks to you guys), ulcer meds to counteract possible side effects and ordered hydrotherapy & aluspray to treat the wound daily. I had him put gauze & a bandage around her belly to allow the tube to drain but prevent her from ripping the tube out.
My question is - how often do you give/is it safe to give the banamine/ulcer meds. He recommended once a day only, to be on the safe side. I can imagine she'll be in pain for at least a few days. On the way home to the vet she was her attitude self, scratching, whinnying and ready to get home. At home she immediately looked for food (if she ever doesn't eat, I know she's really sick!) and gave kisses like always. So I'm hoping recovery goes well and only up from here as the vet couldn't determine if she injured/punctured her abdominal wall. He didn't feel anything but didn't want to press to hard and puncture it himself. If she did puncture it and starts running high temps, it could be a death sentence.
Hoping for the best...!
Again, thanks for all the helpful info everyone posts on here!
I will post pics of her as soon as I get on my laptop - iPad won't let me.
