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Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 653
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008 - 3:38 pm: |   |
Please help, Dr. O. A week ago (15 days after returning from 6 weeks riding and camping in North Carolina and Virginia) my 17-year old gray Arabian Lance's rear legs swelled up to the hocks (no definition) and also had heat in them. After drawing blood (CBC), my Veterinarian found that the red count was low (and one "low lymphocyte(?)") and also stated that the blood looked abnormally thin. He says the horse has anemia. Lance was running a high fever and felt extremely hot to the touch. The glands on both sides of his head were quite swollen, gums a little pale. At times he would breath hard. He is easily winded with little exertion, which is very abnormal for him. Eating and drinking well. The Dr. gave him a Baytril shot (continued for 4 more days), Banamine shot (and prescribed twice daily Banamine), Dexametasone injection. Performed an Abdominal Paracentesis, which was unremarkable showing a small amount of sterile peritinitis, needle aspiration of swollen gland showing only salivary gland inflammation. He poulticed the legs the first visit, which helped the swelling only a little bit. The swelling has gradually gone down, but sometimes increases again. Two days later Lance's front feet were very swollen and by the next day he had some sores on the backs of his feet and also rusty colored blisters on his tongue and stomatitis on his gums and under his tongue. At this time it was also noticed that the inside of his nose was shiny dry, inflammed reddish/yellowish, no discharge originally, now looking a little moister, glands under mouth also swollen. The third morning he had sores on the fronts of all of his feet (looked somewhat look dew poisoning) with serum oozing out. This morning his back feet were very swollen and he had a great deal of heat above his hooves on all four feet (no bounding pulse. I am treating the sores as I would dew poisoing/scratches. His back legs had swelled again but not as bad as the worst. Also this morning the bottoms of his front feet have a light red colored area surrounding and following around the inner hoof wall (from toe end extending about halfway back). State agricultural Doctor does not think that it is Vasticular Stomatitis (test pending), said it could be EIA, EVA, rabies or ingested toxins. (fairly large quantity of pigweed eaten the last two weeks in NC where the hay was horrid with lots of weeds, observed eating oak leaves upon return home in spite of ample grass and hay). Other tests: lbb Lyme (negative), Equine EVA (not back), IDEXX Rocky Mount. Spotted Fever (negative), EIA (Coggins test -- not back), Fluid Analysis w/Cyto, Blood Smear. My Vet has ordered a couple of additional tests for Ehrlichia at labs that do more sensitive testing. He has also put the horse on forty (40) 100 mg Doxycycline tablets twice daily. I'm not sure where to post this but am very worried to have 2 Vets think that this may be EIA. Any help of suggestions? I am very scared for my beloved Lance. What do you think about all of this inflammation? |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 654
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008 - 3:44 pm: | |
Forgot to add that Lance's mane and tail hairs are falling out. |
Sara Wolff
Member
Username: mrose
Post Number: 3915
Registered: 1-2000
| | Posted on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008 - 4:08 pm: | |
Oh, Vicki, I feel for you. How scarey! I wish you and Lance the best. It sounds like you are doing all you can for him. Your love for him shows through in your post. I hope and pray he recovers from this. Please keep us posted. |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 655
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008 - 6:11 pm: | |
Thank you, Sara. To me this horse is priceless and I told my Veterinarian that if having results back earlier for anything could potentially be helpful to the outcome that I wanted to go ahead.
I should have added a couple of things to my post such as the horse has not been lame so far (though I am increasingly worried about laminitis setting in) but the sores make him sufficiently uncomfortable that I have had to continue the Banamine although the period of fever has passed. Also, he was immediately put on Red Cell. This has been very frightening. I've had Lance since he was 2 and we have been partners in more fun than I could have every imagined. He is my heart. Sorry about all the spelling errors in my first post. I am kind of an over-tired wreck right now getting by thanks to help and prayers from family and friends. I need a diagnosis and I know that this heat, swelling and inflammation must stop before my boy can start to be okay again. |
Sara Wolff
Member
Username: mrose
Post Number: 3919
Registered: 1-2000
| | Posted on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008 - 7:46 pm: | |
Spelling errors? You certainly have a good excuse.
I've been where you are, although the problem was different. So have others on HA. I know you'll get a lot of support. I just wish we all lived near each other so we could physically be of help.
If you have to keep him on pain meds for very long, you might want to consider putting him on Gastroguard. It was recommended to me by her vet when Libby was on bute for so long. She never did develop ulcers even though she was on several very strong antibiotics and bute. |
Elizabeth Kaufman
Member
Username: ekaufman
Post Number: 623
Registered: 3-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008 - 7:51 pm: | |
Good lord Vicki, I wish I could help. Know that we are all thinking of you and pulling for a fast recovery and a useful diagnosis.
I hereby declare you exempt from the rules of spelling and grammar for the duration of this post.
Please let us know how you and Lance get along. Wishing the very best for you both. |
Cindy O'DELL
Member
Username: zarr
Post Number: 1126
Registered: 6-2000
| | Posted on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008 - 8:17 pm: | |
Vicki, Lord the not knowing is the worst.Hope you find out very soon! There is NO reason for what I say next save it worked twice that I know of Thermoflex used on the legs and the feet in ice water helped stave off laminitis! No medical reason why could have been luck. I wish you tons of that and a rapid return to health for Lance! |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 656
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008 - 9:30 pm: | |
Thank you Sara, Elizabeth and Cindy for the kind words and good suggestions. I iced Lance's legs and feet tonight and it took the heat out of the rear legs only briefly. He seems okay in the front still, except for the sores (no heat now) and I have applied loads of Desitin for protection on all 4 feet. The swelling in the hind legs has not improved much today after worsening, and I may continue to ice a number of times daily in the pursuit of warding off laminitis. Dear Lance is taking everything in stride and I was very happy to find a proper combination of ingredients to add to his feed so that he happily eats his Doxycycline. Tonight I am thankful for that and for your help and encouragement. |
Corinne Candice
Member
Username: corinne
Post Number: 1351
Registered: 9-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008 - 10:09 pm: | |
Vicki...thoughts and prayers from Demetrius and I for you and Lance. I hope you get some answers soon...please do keep us posted as to his condition! Keeping you in our thoughts!
v/r
Corinne |
jos
Member
Username: paardex
Post Number: 1051
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 4:17 am: | |
Vicky what a horrible situation, I'm thinking of you and soo hope Lance feels better today!
Not knowing what you are in for must be so unsettling on top of it!
Jos |
Fran C
Member
Username: canter
Post Number: 1655
Registered: 1-2000
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 8:56 am: | |
Vicki, very sorry to hear of your troubles with Lance. I will keep my fingers crossed that your vet figures this out and you are able to treat him for a complete recovery. |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 657
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 9:44 am: | |
Thank you all so much. It looks like laminitis is just beginning. Calling farrier and Vet. Please pray for Lance. |
Sara Wolff
Member
Username: mrose
Post Number: 3923
Registered: 1-2000
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 10:26 am: | |
If you think he is starting to get laminitis, start treating it right away, even before the vet comes out. The sooner you treat, the less damage there will be. If he's not on bute, start him, put him in deeply bedded stall if he isn't already, and tape styrofoam pads on his feet. Read Dr. O.'s article re: laminitis on HA. Poor guy! Hang in there, Vicki! |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 658
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 11:31 am: | |
Thanks Sara -- We iced legs and feet. Lance is not distressed yet (of course, is on Banamine already) and if it is laminitis beginning we are immediately on it. My Vet. will be out at 1:00 and it sounds like he has the same idea of what you are saying to protect the feet. No word back yet from farrier. I am going to read Dr. O's article now and search for the styrofoam and tape. I had already gotten extra bedding in case this happened and will send my husband out for more. My Vet has now talked with the State of Florida Agricultural Vet. who was also out here and who is supposed to be very smart and has seen a lot of things. He told my Vet that he has never seen anything like this before, and I cannot help but think that maybe there are a couple of problems at once with laminitis now just beginning. I've done laminitis treatments before with horses and had good outcome. So grateful my boy is not yet suffering profoundly. Should add that he appears to have some edema in his chest (will confirm with Vet). Swelling in back legs not improving, heat comes back after icing or hosing. |
Sara Wolff
Member
Username: mrose
Post Number: 3927
Registered: 1-2000
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 11:58 am: | |
Is there any chance he could have eaten some noxious weed in his hay or anything else he could be having some kind of reaction to? Grasping at straws here, but what is going on with him sounds quite a bit like what happened to one of our horses years ago when he got into some hoary allysium. |
Elizabeth Kaufman
Member
Username: ekaufman
Post Number: 628
Registered: 3-2007
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 12:08 pm: | |
Hi Vicki,
Lance is lucky to have you. Certainly he is receiving the best care possible w/o a diagnosis.
I have used old flip flops and also jumping wedges(the black ones, not the flimsy lollipops) for hoof pads when I did not have styrofoam. They work fine.
Hoping hard for you and your horse. |
Lilo
Member
Username: lilo
Post Number: 885
Registered: 4-2000
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 12:15 pm: | |
Vicki - I just want to add my good wishes to all the others. You and Lance are in my thoughts and prayers. Hoping that you will get answers soon and with it the correct treatment.
Lilo |
Diane E.
Member
Username: scooter
Post Number: 2748
Registered: 9-2000
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 1:14 pm: | |
Vicki, wanted to add my thoughts and prayers are with you too. Hoping Lance recovers soon.
I have used the closed cell, foam garden kneeling pads from Walmart with good success, when I can't find styrofoam. |
Cindy O'DELL
Member
Username: zarr
Post Number: 1128
Registered: 6-2000
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 2:59 pm: | |
Vicki, will echo Sara on weeds fiddlehead ferns are tempting to horses and cause great upset!
Can you tell we are all wishing we had a wand to wave and make Lance better in a blink?! |
LL
Member
Username: frances
Post Number: 664
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 3:09 pm: | |
What a horrible situation Vicki. I do hope the vet can pinpoint the problem on this visit so that you know how best to combat it.
I have heard that (computer) mouse pads are useful in the event of laminitis.
Good luck ... |
Aileen
Member
Username: sunny66
Post Number: 2148
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 5:34 pm: | |
Sending positive healing thoughts to your beloved Lance and strength to you Vicki! |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 659
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 5:49 pm: | |
What absolutely great ideas and suggestions. I want to thank each of you for taking the time to help me. Lance seemed to very much like his ice water soak and ice wraps. Afterward, the Vet arrived early and was up at my barn walking him around for several minutes before I knew that he was here, and Lance did fine walking, however, he does not like standing on the left front (hard to make him pick up the opposite one) and that is the foot that has a pulse that can be felt for about 20 seconds at a time, stops and then returns. Neither foot showed tenderness to any of the tests that my Vet. did to the sole, though he did initially react to pressure on the middle front of the Coronet band, but after the first test there, he didn't react any more. This is a very stoic horse with regard to pain.
The left front foot has quite a bit of flare on it. He had been in shoes in NC. There is what appears as bruising on both front feet as I described earlier and it is worst on this foot. Vet. thought the brisk walking around may have helped the swelling in the rear legs. He is concerned about the possibility of laminitis given all of the circumstances. He suggested rocker shoes on front feet with a 3 degree wedge, not urgent to do so today, but soon for prevention. My farrier probably isn't going to agree with that as he likes to instead take a shoe and put it on backward, leaving it off the toe area. Farrier likes him in the deep shavings so he can manage as feels comfortable to him but that if things worsen, put shoes on. I hate it when farriers and Vets don't agree. I am thinking that the couple of times I have iced may have improved things since it was done so quickly but have mixed feelings about whether or not he should be out walking around right now. I have placed deep shavings in the stall. Vet. put standing wraps on the back legs at which point blood in the vessels above his rear legs stood out more. I have been instructed to remove them this afternoon, take Lance out for a few minutes of walking around, then hose/ice, and reapply standing wraps and leave him stalled in them tonight. Tomorrow I will have the EIA results, and the EVA maybe also. The Ehrlichia, Vesicular Stomatitis and some other things may take longer. I asked my Vet. about checking for excess selenium (which concentrates in some weeds or plants and would have had to have been from when I was in NC) and nitrates (created by pigweed ingestion). Also, I told him that there are signs around Moses Cone Park near Blowing Rock that warn parents not to allow their children to play in the soil because it contains dangerous toxins due to intensive agriculture over a long period of time (including growing apples). I have seen Lance eating soil or clay several times over the years. In fact, he was eating the new pine shavings as I was putting them in the stall today although he has absolutely beautiful hay. Lance's urine had been dark when this began and is now normal looking. The blisters in his mouth are much better and the ones in his nose are gone, though that is still inflamed. Still caring for the sores on the feet. Will let you know as test results come through. My Vet. is doing another CBC to see if the numbers have improved. Again, thank you for your caring, encouragement, super suggestions, prayers and hope. You really have helped me to feel better and to dare to hope. |
Sara Wolff
Member
Username: mrose
Post Number: 3939
Registered: 1-2000
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 9:58 pm: | |
You might discuss Stuart Clogs with your vet and farrier instead of the rocker shoes. I know I've mentioned them before on another thread; they have help Libby so much that I'm a strong believer in them, although I know they aren't good for all situations. The rockers have to be put on exactly right or they will do more harm than good from what I understand. If your farrier is experienced with them they work for some horses. I've learned the farrier had to know what he's doing. The clogs allow the horse to put weight where it is comfortable and are not nailed on so you don't have to worry about the nailing causing more trauma to the foot. I thought I'd just pass this on. |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 660
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 - 10:11 pm: | |
Thanks, Sara. This sounds very interesting and I will talk to my farrier and learn about this product. It sounds like something that he would approve of. Things have gone as well as I could have hoped for tonight, and tomorrow I should have some of the test results. |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: dro
Post Number: 21301
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Tuesday, Sep 2, 2008 - 8:40 am: | |
Hello Vicki,
I apologize for the slow response. I posted yesterday but apparently it got lost in our broken down connection we had this long weekend.
First let me say fever, lymphadenopathy, and peripheral edema are common to a several viral and a few rickettsial and bacterial diseases of horses. And most of these have a good prognosis for survival.
Hmmm some things have changed since yesterday but you have gotten hold of the laminitis article. If there is a real concern of founder I would consider the icing preventive treatment in the article as it is effective. I would be interested in your horses vital signs as discussed in Diseases of Horses » First Aid » Taking Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration and how these are changing over time. It will be the best indicator of how things are going. Lastly, exactly what type tests are being run: most of these tests are not accurate early in the course of a disease.
DrO |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 661
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, Sep 2, 2008 - 11:26 am: | |
Thanks, Dr. O. It is good to hear from you as I got a little worried that you didn't reply sooner because you thought the situation hopeless. After the first couple of days the temperature controlled well with Banamine and without Banamine pretty soon thereafter, though we put him back on the Banamine for other reasons. The horse is feeling much more energetic and brighter since last evening. Though I have been religiously charting his temperature for many days I didn't even take it this morning, but will do so the next time that I go to check on him. Throughout yesterday he was completely within the normal range. Yesterday the capillary refill time was between 2 and 3 seconds and I will check that too when I go up next. The gums are a better pinker color now than when this began. Urine is a normal color though early in the course of this, I believe that it was dark. 24 hours ago the backs of his front feet were bright pink. This morning that color is forming a band above the heel bulbs but also extending up to where each of the sores is located. The top half inch or more of each hoof has bulged out, which is especially noticeable toward the back of each foot. Since this illness presented, the right rear has been slightly more swollen than the left and that foot has more yellow-pink area on the front of it than the front of the other rear one. He also has a clean, dry, pink spot on the inside of that leg about the size of a dime that is peculiar because the skin on his back legs is black. Something about the bottom of that hoof seems different than the other three. This makes me wonder about the possibility of a snake, spider, or other bite though I cannot see any entry wounds and the skin looks smooth, but it is difficult to determine with swelling present. I remember noticing this pink spot when this started but dismissing it and now I am wondering if it is of any significance. I probably shouldn't even look to more possibilities until I get some test results back, but this is all very perplexing and is making me very anxious. I am still waiting for the EIA and EVA results. The EIA was drawn on Thursday, and this began Sunday afternoon a week ago. I will be sure to question my Vet about the tests and whether any need to be repeated. He is supposed to be re-checking the red blood cells as of yesterday and of course he did re-run the Ehrlichia and send that to two special labs. Last evening I followed what my Vet told me to do with removing the standing wraps then exercising the horse, hosing the legs for several minutes with pressure. After that I put ice wraps on for 30 - 40 minutes after which I put the standing wraps back on as per his instruction. Upon removing the wraps this morning, the swelling and heat in the rear legs was somewhat less. I should add that the swelling had been reducing gradually before getting worse again. The heat in the front didn't seem significant this morning though it increased after exercise. Where I had felt a pulse coming and going yesterday in the left front, there is occasionally just a hint of pulse there. This morning after removing the wraps I exercised him, hosed, cleaned and treated the sores and let him out to graze. I am going up now to check on him and see if the swelling/heat is any different. I hate to leave him in the barn in wraps if it is not going to do any more good than being out moving around, which seems to help the swelling too. I should add that early on with this, there were moments of increased respiration, which seemed also to coincide with the horse feeling burning hot. I can't answer about the heart rate though assumed that it probably increased when the respiration did. Upon the least exertion he would be winded at the beginning of this and for days thereafter. This has improved greatly just in the past day, though not to the degree that is normal for him. Thank you so much, Dr. O, for trying to help me and my Lance. I will post any test results or changes in condition, etc. If this mystery is solved it will be a good one for the records. Most importantly I want him to get well, but I would very much also like to know what caused this if at all possible. His manure currently does not have any shape to it, but I am presuming that this may be a result of the Doxycycline? |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 662
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, Sep 2, 2008 - 2:05 pm: | |
1:00 PM Temp. 99.0, a little lower than usual but it was raining earlier and Lance was out in it. Capillary refill time 2 seconds or a little longer. He appears to be getting a new set of blood-colored blisters on his tongue and maybe some new cracked skin in his mouth that look like black-colored cuts. He had about 3 oozing sores on his body yesterday but may not be significant. Today he has an area at the top of a front leg where the skin is forming some folds, one atop the other, and in the middle the skin has cracked open and peeled back in both directions. His nose looks like the skin has lost elasticity and that it is about to erupt as it looks like the beginning of sores. Rear legs do not look any more swollen, maybe even a bit less, some heat in all four feet but not feeling pulse in the one foot that I was more worried about currently. He was willing to pick up all 4 feet. No foot sensitivity to being walked but is less energetic and became winded more quickly than this morning or yesterday afternoon. Received a negative on the Coggins so that is good news if it can be relied upon to have been taken at the right point in this illness? I don't know whether to get the Vet back out because I don't know whether there is anything more to be done at the moment. |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 663
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, Sep 2, 2008 - 2:31 pm: | |
2:00 PM, Last time outdoors I had walked Lance around for the exercise but quit when I could tell that he was getting winded too quickly. The heat that has been in his legs is now better than it has been during the entire course of this illness. Heat and swelling has been from hocks down, rear legs only except for the heat in areas that have sores and intermittent heat in the feet. Right now the lower legs are cooler than the upper legs. |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 665
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, Sep 2, 2008 - 8:11 pm: | |
Lance doing better this evening. Capillary refill was up to 3 late this afternoon but this evening is very good. Temperature is down to just .2 higher than normal for this time of day. There is still swelling from the fetlocks down but the heat is gone. The new blisters on his tongue have changed from rust-colored to clear and he has no new sores since this afternoon. I have turned him out in a controlled area to graze. I am guardedly optimistic that he is beginning to work his way through this. |
Diane E.
Member
Username: scooter
Post Number: 2762
Registered: 9-2000
| | Posted on Tuesday, Sep 2, 2008 - 9:11 pm: | |
That's great Vicki, it does sound as if he got into some kind of weed. Hope his recovery continues! |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 666
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, Sep 2, 2008 - 9:23 pm: | |
Thanks, Diane. Things have sometimes varied quite a bit within a few hours so I am hoping not to go downhill again. My Vet. said that the red blood count is in the normal range now (answer to how quickly this changed may be found in Dr. O's articles, I suspect). Some of the white blood cell indices are in the low range but with all that he has been fighting that is perhaps not surprising. |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: dro
Post Number: 21311
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Wednesday, Sep 3, 2008 - 6:30 am: | |
The high fever, swollen lymph glands, and changes in WBC count strongly suggest infection instead of a toxicity DianeE. The number of bugs that could cause this does sometimes making a positive identification time consuming and expensive to run all the tests.
DrO |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 667
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, Sep 3, 2008 - 11:34 am: | |
My vet explained that the tests show Lance is now making new red blood cells. The main concern with the white cells relates to MPV, which is still low. His fetlocks are still swollen (but that is better than to the hocks) and he still has sores/blisters present. His temperature at 100.0 was about half a degree higher than normal for morning today and I gave him a half dose of Banamine. Have been instructed to give him a full dose if it goes to 101, but to try and reduce and get off the Banamine. Have been hosing, icing. No hoof sensitivity walking and pulse in left front has not presented again. Vet. explained that Lance is going to be "exercise intolerant" for a while yet. Capillary refill seems to vary depending upon where and when taken from very quick to up to 3 seconds, Respiration increases at times but does not persist as such for lengthy periods of time. Vet. wants to check the blood again in a week. He is treating this as though (ricketial?) tick related presently, though we are still waiting for EVA, V.S. and the rerun Ehrlichia. Thanks for your input Dr. O, it is very much appreciated. Thank you all. |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 668
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, Sep 3, 2008 - 7:05 pm: | |
Dr. O, I am having a very frightening experience with this. I gave Lance only a half dose of Banamine this morning so I guess that it has now worn off. He has not had a fever. I was icing Lance's legs and letting him have some hay in a hay bag. He started out very happy, peaceful, restful, quiet and in good spirits, like his normal self. By the end though, he was very agitated, scraping his teeth on the stall wall edge repeatedly and reaching back like he was going to bite me as I was brushing him. It was like a complete personality change, but similar to what happened the other day when he was off of the Banamine for a day. The look and demeanor is something that I have never experienced with him before even when he was in pain or being treated over a long period of time. Thinking back I am recalling that a number of times it seemed like there was some straining with swallowing, so maybe he was in discomfort in that way too. But the personality change made me wonder if the brain begins to swell or something when the Banamine wears off. My Vet who I do trust said that Lance is just tired of the whole thing and uncomfortable but I reminded him that I took care of Lance for weeks with his eye problem and have handled him in bad pain before but he never had a complete personality change. The area of skin that had cracked open and peeled back toward the top of his leg has now completely peeled off and briefly left an area that looked almost like mange. The skin first sags like it lost elasticity, then compresses together and finally peels off over a couple of inches square then it sort of all goes back together quickly again leaving lines behind that look like cuts. He has some of what looks like cuts in his mouth too. The color was like some of the other sores that he has had -- yellow and red except for the little piece of black skin lying there under which the tissue seemed to stretch out and then contract back. And it looks like he is going to get another like this on the opposite side of his body in the same location as the layers of skin there seem to be hardening, kind of compressing together as happened before the other area was forming that split. My Vet said the skin things may still be a result of the fever that he previously had. This is so weird. My Vet says that half of a dose of Banamine is not really much good as a pain reliever or anti-inflammatory so don't give him any more tonight at all and see what happens, but check on him to make sure that he is not having a colic. If anything changes badly I am supposed to call him. Dr. O, I have been around really nasty horses before but this boy has never been like this in the over 15 years that I've owned him. Do some horses go through Banamine withdrawal? Has anyone experienced this or such weird sores? As soon as I feel like something is getting better something else gets worse. Still swelling in the fetlocks. Thank you for any insights or experiences that you can share. |
Sara Wolff
Member
Username: mrose
Post Number: 3952
Registered: 1-2000
| | Posted on Wednesday, Sep 3, 2008 - 7:27 pm: | |
What a tough time you are having with Lance's problem! I feel for you! I'm thinking his reaction was one of pain. I imagine his Banamine had worn off before you were through working on him. The teeth scraping can be a pain reaction, and the other sounds like he was threatening you because what you were doing was either causing discomfort or he was afraid it would. Poor guy! If the Banamine is helping, why did your vet want him off of it? How about a couple of grams of bute? Dr.O will probably have an opinion on this. I'd be inclined to ask my vet about keeping him on some kind of pain reliever though. and the bute is an anti-imflamatory. |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 669
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, Sep 3, 2008 - 8:39 pm: | |
Thanks, Sara. I do have to wonder about taking Lance off of anti-inflammatories when his poor body is going through so much. When I went back up to feed he was agitated but happy to get his meal even though it was loaded with anti-biotics. This is the sweetest horse. As I thought things over I realized that as Lance was eating hay out of his hay bag he seemed to be struggling with swallowing. I am thinking that he associated that discomfort with the fact that I was brushing him. He is likely best off eating only off of the ground right now. I've been attacked by a rogue horse before, so when I see anger in one who has never shown it in his life, it is hard to process. Thanks for caring. |
Diane E.
Member
Username: scooter
Post Number: 2767
Registered: 9-2000
| | Posted on Wednesday, Sep 3, 2008 - 8:52 pm: | |
Vicki what a mixture of symptoms, the leg swelling, weird skin things, mouth sores,some trouble eating and drinking and a bit of personality change.
I wonder if the vet wanted to see how he'd be off anti-inflammatories? ...kind of to get the whole picture?
I hope Dr.O. can help you out, it seems very scarey.
Hats off to you for taking such good care of him, I sure hope he recovers, sounds like a wonderful horse. |
Tonya
Member
Username: pbauer
Post Number: 515
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, Sep 3, 2008 - 8:54 pm: | |
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