Sick Stallion is at the Vets

[BeckyG]

Our stallion stopped eating. We took him to the vet..

They kept him a couple of days. All blood chemistry levels were OK, except his White Blood Cell count was Low.

They kept him a couple of days. Treatment was IV fluids and antibiotics. He began eating, and came back home on Tuesday. Cause unknown…. But thought may be caused by stress.

Yesterday he was not eating again, so we took him in. He is at the vets now. Blood was drawn again. This time everything is OK, except his White Blood Cell level is High (which suggests infection).

The big swing of the White Blood cell count from abnormally Low to abnormally high (within about 3 days) is confusing to me.

Has anyone had experience with the count of White Blood Cells changing so much?

Your thoughts are most appreciated.

-Becky

 

[eagles ring farm]

prayers for your stallion that he improves quickly

Lori

 

[Basketmiss]

Sorry no advice just sending you and your stallion (((HUGS))) and I hope he feels better soon..

 

[Charlotte]

The first thing that jumps to my mind is ulcers, but I dn't think the swinging wbc count would be directly the result of ulcers? But I'd sure want to be sure he was under treatment for ulcers even if they aren't the primary cause of the problem but sure could be secondary to his stress.

Please keep us posted on your guy. We're pulling for him!

Charlotte

 

[kaykay]

keep a close eye out for hyperlipemia. anytime a horse stops eating this is a worry and i know that can make blood counts go way out of whack

thinking good thoughts for your guy!

 

[Carolyn R]

My haflinger yearling had issues with starch intolerance. It presented itself as a mild colic, and she was off her feed. Basically she could not handle the starches in her feed, the starches would begin to break down in her small intestine, in turn it would kill of the beneficial bacteria found in the GI track. The feed would ferment and cause colic, colic would cause her to not want to drink, not drinkinging or lack of hydration (had to have her on IV) would have caused an impaction(she started having stiff manure as well as lack of gut motility)

The inflamation in her intestonal track (interitis , don't know if that is spelled right) caused her body to react as though it were an infection. It was explained to me like it was having inflamation from a brush burn on the inside of the intestines. At first her white count was low, her body was in hyperdrive producing excess white blood cells, but they were getting used so rapidly her count was low, within 24-48 hours her count was high because her body was starting to heal and her immune system was still in hyper drive, hense the elevated white cell count.

Deffinately sounds like your little guy has/had something going on internally but is going through the healing process.

Eventhough I was feeding according to the rec. amounts for my girl and her age group, broken into several meals, she could not tolerate it. She is now on a low starch/high fat diet with free choice of hay throughout the day and is doing great.

This was not pinpointed until she made her second trip to the animal hospital within 5 weeks.

I can't say this is what is going on, but yes, a white cell count can go from lower than normal to an elevated number and still be considered to be normal for fighting off an infection.

Hope your little guy makes a full recovery.

 

[wildoak]

Hope your stallion continues to fight off whatever is ailing him. You have email.

Jan

 

[White Socks Miniature]

Carolyn has it down.

The swing is caused by the body "sending" all the white cells to the site of infection causing a drop in the white cells circulating in the blood stream. The body realizing that there is an infection then goes into mass production of white cells so he will then have a high white count.

Cheers

Masako

 

[MBhorses]

we will be praying for your stallion to get well.

keep us posted.

 

[BeckyG]

Thank You everyone for your prayers and well-wishes!! (It means a lot to me.)

I really appreciate folks sharing your similar experiences, and the medical information/explanation. It is so good to have the benefit of your experience and knowledge.

Thank You!!!

(I will let you know how he progresses.)

-Becky

 

[Mona]

Wishing you the best for your stallion.

 

[twister]

Sending prayers and good thoughts for your stallion's recovery and hugs for you.

Yvonne

 

[shelia]

The low white cell count sound like an intestinal problem. Have you treated for sand? It sounds like 2 separate problems. If you can get one taken care of then you can find the source of the other one. I would treat with psyllium for at least 2 weeks. If he has sand you will start to see a difference in behaviour pretty quickly.

Shelia B.

 

[wildoak]

Any update on your stallion Becky?

Jan

 

[Keri]

Yes, I was curious to see if your vet found anything out yet????

 

[BeckyG]

A Good News Update!! Thunder is doing better!!!!

He is still at the vet. But last evening he was eating alfalfa & costal hay. We will do another blood test in the morning to see what his WBC count is….. then plan to bring him home.

We do not have a diagnosis, which is worrisome.

But we will be talking with the vet at length tomorrow. Hopefully I will know more then.

Thanks again for your advise and well-wishes.

-Becky

 

[Keri]

Well, I'm glad you're bringing him home. I hope he can give you some sort of diagnosis or reason why he's acting that way. Good luck to you!!!

 

[eagles ring farm]

great news hope you find out what happened

 

[Jill]

I'm happy he's doing better!!!

 

[Basketmiss]

Glad he is feeling better!

I hope they figure it out...

(( HUGS)) to you both...