sick horse confusing symptoms thoughts or advice please

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splash's mom

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Ok sorry this is going to be long I think, Player ate breakfast Thursday Morning but not with his usual gusto.Running a temp 101.I knew right away he was slightly off. Got home from work Thursday night went out to feed, Player not interested at all in food. 2 small poops that were not normal.Started walking him and called the vet out( he was walking fine with occasional trotting episodes not like a colicky horse at all).Vet tubed Player,gave banamine, heart rate and pulse ok weak gut sounds running a temp.104. bed check temp down not back to himself but not horrible either. drank a little water. Friday Morning temp and vitals normal, dosed with banamine offered some grain soup as he was still not getting much in him for fluids. he sucked that down. Called in sick to work HA! Offered small and I do mean small amounts of grain soup every 2 hours which he sucked up, also added a handful of hay here and there.4 small poops throughout the day. Started to act more like him self. P.M. feeding went out, Player is in his stall head down, shaking all over, lethargic, in pain, stretching alot with head shakes thrown in for good measure. temp is back up. get the vet back out. obviously banamine has worn off and whatever it is, its back. Vitals and gut sounds are good, temp is high 104. blood drawn, switch over to liquid banamine from the paste so I can low dose him more frequently, give gastroguard to counter affect the banamine, shot of antibiotics and start smz's in the a.m.

Today, Player is ok not great, temp is 98.4 not interested in grain soup but will eat grain dry so I give him 1 cup, 3 poops in stall still not normal but at least they're coming out.2 handfuls of hay which he eats.Drank no water over night.Give him his meds then call the vet to pass on info.get permission to start giving him beet pulp again extra mushy so i can get some fluids in him. he's 6 years old never had any health problems and has not been off the property. vet said he's had some weird cases of colic not colic going on lately. Do you guys have any thoughts or advice? I'm worried for my little guy. My other mini is fine and they are nose to nose all day. the weather has been freakish this winter, very mild then cold up and down temps and of course now we just got our first snow storm which is when he started getting sick. Help
 
I wish i had some ideas, I'm so sorry I don't. Could you ask your vet to consult with some other vets maybe? The "colic/not colic" cases definitely sound like something is going on in your area. Your guy may need an IV of fluids, keep that in mind, ask your vet. I sure hope that whatever this is will be resolved and that Player feels better really soon! I can tell how worried you are. Best of luck!
 
Thank You for your reply, just got some beet pulp in him. i will talk to my vet more about it. They brought one of the horses to the hospital and ran every test in the book, aside from high white blood cell count they found nothing. This paticular horse was not one that my vet had treated, just one in a boarding barn that he also has clients at.
 
I'm glad to see that you are giving him Gastrogard, I always worry about ulcers with horses being sick and getting banamine, etc. Trying to think about what may be different when the weather turned cold. Does he have a heated water bucket? Sometimes without heated water they won't drink very well. Perhaps you could put a little loose salt in his feed to help him drink more too? What is different about his poops now, are they smaller, or drier? Any mucus in/on them? The fever is puzzling, and then his temp dropping so much. I sure hope that someone has some ideas for you, or that Player will just get better and never have whatever this is again!
 
he does have heated water buckets in side and out. i will try the salt, so far i am managing to keep him hydrated with all the mush. his poops are small, tight and dry. not his usual, although when i went out to give him the beet pulp he had a more normal looking one while i was there. Yeah Poop! Funny how excited we can get from such things. I wish i could let him out to move around some more but we are having freezing rain at the moment ( of course) so I let him out for one walk around then back in. i think the banamine is whats knocking down his temp. i will know for sure when he gets another dose at 1 I'll take temp then.I have had no changes of any kind in hay, grain, etc. and this just came on so fast, starting like colic but not really. i can only hope the antibiotics will kick in and get rid of it. My poor other horse keeps looking at me like "Wheres all my special treatment?" I have been giving him a tid bit everytime I'm out there with Player. I'll probably make him sick too. LOL
 
I will just pass on something that we did for a yearling acting colicky and doing a lot of rolling and showing a lot of discomfort.

We gave him some baking soda in warm water, syringed it in with a turkey baster from the dollar store. (about a tbspn in a cup of warm water)

We also gave him some ground ginger dissolved in warm water with the turkey baster. (about a tblsn in a cupof warm water)

The vet suggested both of the above and along with that, to give him flunixin. (banamine powdered) We usually would give about 1/4 of the little scoop for pain and the vet said give a full scoop, as it wouldn't hurt for just one time.

The treatment worked and the next day he was back to almost normal. Still a little lethargic the next day, but perfect day three.

I am only passing this on because the baking soda treatment and te ginger treatment will not hurt, if they don't help.

The flunixin (banamine) is something that you will have to decide on since it sounds like he has had a fair bit of that already.
 
A fever indicates infection from something.... what did his blood work show? Could it possibly be something like WNV or something?! Doesnt really sound like any colic I've seen. I hope you can find out what it is or get him past this. Sounds pretty serious and yes, I would call around for perhaps a 2nd opinion!
 
Sorry I don't have any suggestions as to what it might be, especially with his temps changing. I was just curious though, can your vet give him some Dipyrone? My vet told me that Banamine slows down the tummy muscles, so it's not ideal for possible colic episodes. Also, you can give gatorade to encourage drinking and maybe take him for a trailer ride to see if that loosens things up. My prayers go out to you and your little guy. It's no fun when they're sick and you don't know what to do for them. :-(
 
This could be way out there, but he could have a partial blockage. Some poop comes through, but not normal poop plops. Also there is a drug the vet can five in an IV solution that will make them drink tons of water. Which is now a standard here at this farm when I think a pony or miniature is off and possibly heading towards a coclic episode. Has worked everytime. Been using it two years - I just don't remember the drug's name. I have not tubed anyone for two years. This has been way better!
 
If memory serves correctly (and it does sometimes) a normal temp for a horse is 100.5 to 101.5 anyone care to confirm that?
 
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With that temp, he's got an infection somewhere so hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon and he'll start to feel a little better. Don't be too scared of the high temp, it just means his body is fighting whatever it is, which is good. I am wondering if he maybe has hind gut ulcers.
 
I've got to head out to the barn right now so i will keep you updated when i get back. Going to try wet alfalfa cubes and orange gatorade ( called previous owner who says he likes it) to keep the fluids going in him. I really don't think this is a colic episode or even a partial blockage at this time. Poop production is down now understandably because he is not eating as much but they are looking more normal. muffntuff if you can remember the drug name I'll pass it along to my vet. We havent started an I.V. yet because i have been able to keep him hydrated so far. blood work isnt back yet just pulled it last night.
 
Had a horse with these exact same symptoms a few months ago. Vet gave him antibiotics, and I gave regular doses of banamine for a few days until the fever was gone. Labs were normal. One of the things that seemed to help his lethargy was Karo syrup since the horse was off his feed. It seemed to give him a boost of energy. Took about a week to get over symptoms. I don't think it ever hurts to cover all your bases and treat for ulcers either. I always keep Banamine, karo syrup and ulcer treatment on hand.
 
Thank you everyone,

It helps to get some solid advice. Had first normal poop come out of him, so take that off the list. temp is normal 99. just got some soaked alfalfa cubes into him really watered them down to mush. gave his banamine 1.25 cc every 8 hours in case anyone was wondering. Gastroguard with it.He'll get the smzs again tonight and twice a day for 7 days total. blood work was normal. Crossing my fingers that it was some kind of infection and the antibiotics will start killing it off. Hope he keeps getting better, will know after tomorrow when I stop the banamine. send good thoughts his way for me and thanks again for letting me hash it out with all of you!
 
I always laugh when we get so excited over "a good poop".

The vet said to me one time," funny how we like to see them poop
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Ok so far so good with Player,

Now that I have got big vet bills ( I'm not complaining, i would do anything for my animals) I have to ask another question. Do you have medical insurance for your horses? If so what does it cover and at what %. Roughly how much does it cost a year? i know they have mortality which covers the cost of the horse if you lose them, just wondering what's available otherwise. Also does it cover less as the horse ages?
 
Quick question, when your vet tubed him, did he give him mineral oil and if so did you ever see the mineral oil in the feces. When we are concerned about blackages we keep a close eye out for the mineral oil. Sounds like he is getting better so that is great, I was just curious lol

Keep us posted on his progress and anything you find out.
 
Glad to hear your report that he is doing better! Yes, it's amazing how excited and elated we all get over poop. I guess it just has to come with the job, lol
 
Quick question, when your vet tubed him, did he give him mineral oil and if so did you ever see the mineral oil in the feces. When we are concerned about blackages we keep a close eye out for the mineral oil. Sounds like he is getting better so that is great, I was just curious lol

Keep us posted on his progress and anything you find out.
that's a good thing to remember. . . . . . thanks for the tip . . . . . . I have had tubings before and never heard a vet mention this
 
that's a good thing to remember. . . . . . thanks for the tip . . . . . . I have had tubings before and never heard a vet mention this
No Problem, just another excuse to be happy about poop lol it is a great way tell if at least something is moving through
 

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