Tucker is sick.

[barnbum]

Facts: Sunday morning Tucker didn't eat his tbsp of TC30. He didn't seem quite himself--didn't want to leave his stall. Once out he didn't want to eat. I checked his temp. 101.8. Gut sounds normal, resp rate normal. Hooves are cold. I called the vet and she said to give Banamine--I did. He was much better after that--nibbled most the day. I left a happy update with vet. Maybe just a teething issue?

At 6:30 I looked out to the pasture and he didn't look good--just standing with his head down. Temp 104.5.Called vet--she was close and here in 10 minutes. She could find nothing wrong--all vitals in normal range. She took blood for a CBC and left SMZs. Called at 9:00. Tucker's white blood cell count is at 2.86. Normal is 6.1-12.4. She seems pretty worried. I gave the SMZs. This morning Tucker was 101.8. I gave him SMZs and Banamine. When I opened his stall door he was eager to get out and eat. He ate for an hour before walking away from the herd to stand.

Called vet. She is using the rest of the serum to run tests for Lyme (came back negative) and Potomac Fever (that will take a few days).

I left work early--got home at 3:30. He was 103 and not feeling well at all. Called the vet. More Banamine. (I'm giving 250 lbs dosage--but he weighs more I'm sure) I added ProBios. He didn't eat. He was off by himself. Later he laid down in the pasture and I sat with him for a while.

He's now in Chloe's stall which is more isolating that his stall. He's eating hay. Temp is still 103. I saw him drink earlier on one of my trips to the barn.

Vet is coming tomorrow to put in a catheter for oxyitet and run another CBC. He will have to be stalled--which I feel will be very stressful for him. She is suggesting a referral to Cornell for a 24 hour IV--but gosh--I'd like to see if it's something that will run its course??? I have a closed herd. I do not visit other horse farms. Farrier was here on the 12th. He may have carried something? All get 3-way and WNV.

Ideas????

 

[Jill]

Karla, one thing I could recommend is to have rubbing alcohol (several bottles) on hand in case you have to douse him to bring down the fever.

Hoping everything will run its course soon and he will be okay.

 

[AnnaC]

Sorry, no ideas, but just wanted to say that I'm sending prayers and good wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

[barnbum]

Thanks for the replies. I wanted to add he is eating a bit and he's had a poop since I stalled him less than an hour ago. His poops are a bit small now due to not drinking as much..but he had several today.

It just seems logical that it's something that will run it's course.

 

[Jill]

Will he drink gatorade? Mine love it like it's cookies... if you want to get him to drink more, maybe offer him a second water bucket with diluted gatorade in it and if he likes it, he may drink more fluid this way (but he he doesn't like it, he'd still have his regular water).

 

[Genie]

We had an upper respiratory infection affect some of our herd this year.

Vet said it can be carried by birds, mosquitos or just in the air. The horse would stand alone, head down, and very lethargic and a high temp.

Good luck with your boy, hope it's a simple bug that will run its course.

 

[barnbum]

We had an upper respiratory infection affect some of our herd this year.

Vet said it can be carried by birds, mosquitos or just in the air. The horse would stand alone, head down, and very lethargic and a high temp.

Good luck with your boy, hope it's a simple bug that will run its course.

Tucker doesn't have a runny eye or nose, or a cough at all. Did yours? None of the other horses have it--thank goodness. I sure wish his temp would go down.

Will he drink gatorade? Mine love it like it's cookies... if you want to get him to drink more, maybe offer him a second water bucket with diluted gatorade in it and if he likes it, he may drink more fluid this way (but he he doesn't like it, he'd still have his regular water).

We have some--I will try. Thanks.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Take your Vet's advice. Take him to Cornell.

What do you have to lose? A little money?

Dr Taylor

 

[barnbum]

Sending prayers for Tucker and you, for a quick turn-around to perfect health again.

I think the Gatorade is a good idea, as is making sure you have something to help bring the fever down. If you think he weighs more than you are dosing for, check with your vet again, to see if he can be given his dosage by weight.

Is it hot there? If so, then in the stall you might want to put him under a fan to help keep him cool -- I would set it so the air circulates -- not right on him causing a draft or chills.

I think it's positive that he's still eating and pooing -- those are always good signs.

Lots of prayers for your special little boy!

.

Thanks! Gatorade is in the stall. He was sniffing it. He peed a nice amount. The barn is cozy, but well ventilated. It's chilly here now, so the temp is good. I'm trying to refrain from taking his temp again--will wait till later. Just had his SMZs.

 

[barnbum]

Take your Vet's advice. Take him to Cornell.

What do you have to lose? A little money?

Dr Taylor

It's not a money issue...it's a logistics/time issue. To me, it just seems to be rushing things. He's eating, drinking, pooping, peeing, eating enough. He's quiet and less active, but he's alert and his ear are always up.

I'd like to give it some time. I've had vets jump to the Cornell idea when a horse had a scratched eye and I couldn't get the ointment in. An older, very experienced vet came and said "here's how you do it." No problem. This vet has only been practicing for a year. Before I head to Cornell with a horse, I'd talk to the more experienced vets at the clinic.

We just sold our trailer--didn't use it for four years. I'd have to find someone to haul him.

I'm a teacher and we just started school a week ago. It's not an easy job to take days off from--many lesson plans to work up.

So you can see--money is not the main issue here.

So--I am trying not to panic--and see if we can turn this around.

 

[Matt73]

Nothing to add, really, just hoping that all turns out well... Good thoughts for Tucker....

 

[Minimor]

I've had horses here & there that picked up some sort of a virus--they were lethargic, wouldn't eat, in some cases wouldn't drink, had a high temperature. They acted like they had a sore throat; I went on the assumption that it was a respiratory virus, even though there was no cough, no nasal discharge, eyes were clean...didn't call the vet, just offered them various things to tempt them into eating, offered them cold water, warm water...anything they'd drink. This wasn't a whole group at once; one time it was in winter, started in one horse, he was better in 2-3 days, then the next one was off for a couple days, a few days later the third one was off--it didn't affect everyone, only a few. Another time it was summer & just one mare had these symptoms--that was concerning, since she wasn't drinking and it was hot--but on day 3 she started drinking, and then eating a few bites of 2nd cut alfalfa. We hadn't been anywhere, no one had been here, no new horses, so who knows where the bug came from; likely just a flare up of some bug we'd had in the past. I never had blood work done so cannot say what their white blood count was while they were ill. I made the decision to wait it out & turns out that worked out okay for my horses.

Regardless of my past experience, I cannot say that you have the same situation. It's different in that your horse is eating & drinking--with 'my' virus, they didn't eat or drink. It may be something similar, and it may not be. Waiting it out may be fine--and then again it could be entirely the wrong descision.

I do know that if it were my horse & he wasn't showing improvement on day 3 (based on my past experiences) I would be very concerned. I hope he will be okay!

 

[LittleRibbie]

It's not a money issue...it's a logistics/time issue. To me, it just seems to be rushing things. He's eating, drinking, pooping, peeing, eating enough. He's quiet and less active, but he's alert and his ear are always up.

I'd like to give it some time. I've had vets jump to the Cornell idea when a horse had a scratched eye and I couldn't get the ointment in. An older, very experienced vet came and said "here's how you do it." No problem. This vet has only been practicing for a year. Before I head to Cornell with a horse, I'd talk to the more experienced vets at the clinic.

We just sold our trailer--didn't use it for four years. I'd have to find someone to haul him.

I'm a teacher and we just started school a week ago. It's not an easy job to take days off from--many lesson plans to work up.

Isnt that always the way...selling the trailer after not using for years...sounds like something I've done.

karla, I wish I had something to suggest but it sure sounds like you are doing everything possible to help Tucker. All I have to offer is prayers for a speedy recovery and a big hug for you because I know how frustrating these things can be!

 

[barnbum]

Minimor--thank you for your reply. I haven't dealt with temps in a bit--but know they can last a few days. I just think two days is not enough time to see how it'll go if he's holding his own.

LittleRibbie--THANK YOU for your support and hug. Felt great.

Just came in from the barn and Tucker's temp is normal--for the time being.

100.6!!! I cried with relief. He's eating--there was another poop in his stall. He's not drinking--but has buckets of water and diluted Gatorade in his stall. I know it could spike again, but I'll take this hope.

If it's normal in the morning--we won't need a catheter! Hope comes easy...I know, I know. But this is as low as it's been for two days--since this started.

I'm headed back out to wash the Karo's syrup off his chin.

 

[LittleRibbie]

Oh the ole'Karo syrup trick!!

glad to hear his temp is down and I will continue to pray that hes playing with the others before ya' know it!!

 

[Carolyn R]

In the 8.5 years of having a small herd of minis, I have had it happen 2-3 times. One here and one there over a few years. If you know your horses, you tend to see it before it gets to the point of snotty noses and such.

It is very likely it is virus. Tips for getting waterinto them, if you feed pelleted feed, 1 part feed to 2 parts water and let it soak.

Some brands take 2 minutes to absorb the water, some take 1/2 an hour. Hay, soak it with hot/warm water for half an hour, drain it and feed it, soaked alfalfa cubes are awesome for getting fluids into them, don't forget to make sure you have a salt block & mineral block next to the water bucket to encourage drinking.

If this has been visibly going on for more than 24 hours then I would doubt it is potomic, he would have a severe case of the squirts.

 

[barnbum]

In the 8.5 years of having minis I have had it happen 2-3 times. One here and one there every few years. If you know your horses, you tend to see it before it gets to the point of snotty noses and such.

It is very likely it is virus. Tips for getting waterinto them, if you feed pelleted feed, 1 part feed to 2 parts water and let it soak.

Some brands take 2 minutes to absorb the water, some take 1/2 an hour. Hay, soak it with hot/warm water for half an hour, drain it and feed it, soaked alfalfa cubes are awesome for getting fluids into them, don't forget to make sure you have a salt block & mineral block next to the water bucket to encourage drinking.

If this has been visibly going on for more than 24 hours then I would doubt it is potomic, he would have a severe case of the squirts.

Yes--the vet has mentioned a few times she's glad he has not had squirts--as you say.

I was thinking that the test might not have been necessary because he'd have the symptoms long before we get the results--but I guess then it'd help with treatment.

One of the vets said to me once that NO ONE knows their horses like I do--which I took as a compliment. If one if off I know it when it happens so everything is caught early. They've said --"good thing you caught this so soon." a few times. So--maybe this is once of those cases, too. It will be hard to not head to the barn if I wake at 3 AM. If he is temp free or it's low in the morning, I will be doing the jig in the barn.

Oh the ole'Karo syrup trick!!

glad to hear his temp is down and I will continue to pray that hes playing with the others before ya' know it!!

This kind of stuff sure reminds me to never take their good health for granted.

 

[barnbum]

Oh--Jill, he drank some Gatorade! So thank you for that reminder. Glad Mark drinks the stuff so it's always here.

 

[SammyL]

Sending prayers for you and Tucker!

I know that I had a mare that presented your horse's symptoms... She was tested for Erlichia. Turned out negative.

Vet could find nothing, all vitals normal. Then one day, one of the other members of the herd had extreme nose discharge, fever, etc. etc.

Treating all symptoms that spread to all seven horses, we gathered that the entire herd had Equine Herpes Virus.

During this time, my coming yearling's blood count dropped to 1.4. She went into the equine hospital for several days, but pulled through.

The yearling had a another occurrence of EHV (this time in the from of neurological symptoms) last spring. But she pulled through that nicely as well.

My horses never leave the farm either.

So just some things to think about? It might be a stretch, but you never know. Good luck!

 

[Sandy B]

I had a 4 year old fully sized quarter mare (fully vaccinated) come down with a high fever and swollen rear legs and lethargic, yet still ate some, drank some and pooped & peed. My vet said as long as she was doing those things and had no other disturbing symptoms to let it run its course but give her Banamine 2 times a day and sweat wrap her swollen legs. It last two days and then she was back to normal and not one other horse got what she had. I think as long as there is no other disturbing signs and he is eating a little and drinking and not getting any worse, to wait a day or two and see what happens. You know your horse better than anyone, go with your gut!