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Discussion on 2 WEEK OLD CONTRACTED COLT CAN'T GET UP | |
Author | Message |
New Member: Davissel |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 2:55 am: MY FRIENDS' HAVE A 12 DAY OLD COLT BORN WITH CONTRACTED TENDONS IN THE FRONT (FLEXURAL TYPE). I'VE BEEN TAKING CARE OF HIM AT NIGHT.AT 2 DAYS OLD, THE VET SPLINTED ONE LEG AND KEPT HIM OVERNIGHT. HE RETURNED HOME UNABLE TO GET UP ON HIS OWN TO NURSE. WE SPLINTED BOTH LEGS AND HELPED HIM UP EVERY HOUR TO EAT. THE VET SAW HIM AGAIN AT 7 DAYS OLD AND REMOVED HIS SPLINTS, SAYING TO JUST WRAP THEM FROM THE KNEE DOWN NOW. HE ALSO SAID HE HAD A POSSIBLE INFECTION AS HAD URINE COMING FROM HIS UMBILICAL CORD AND WAS RUNNING A SLIGHT TEMPERATURE AND SHAKING. STARTED HIM ON GENOCIN AND PENCILLIN AND DID BLOOD WORK. THE VET THOUGHT THE INFECTION WAS KEEPING HIM TOO WEAK TO GET UP ON HIS OWN. AT 11 DAYS OLD, THE BLOOD WORK CAME BACK NEGATIVE FOR INFECTION. THE UMBLICAL CORD IS STILL LEAKING SOME BUT NOT VERY MUCH. VET WAS ENCOURAGED BY LACK OF INFECTION, BUT PUZZLED AS TO WHY THIS COLT WILL NOT GET UP ON HIS OWN. WHEN HE IS UP, HE CAN NOT WALK ON HIS OWN. WE HAVE TO MANUALLY MOVE HIS FRONT FEET. THE PLACENTA CAME OUT SHORTLY AFTER THE COLT DID AND THE VET THOUGHT MAYBE HE WAS A DUMMY FOAL, BUT HE ISN'T SHOWING ANY SIGNS OF IT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF HIS INABLITY TO WALK. THE VETS LAST SUGGESTION IS TO LOAD HIM UP ON PAINKILLERS. IF HE DOESN'T IMPROVE AFTER THAT, THEY ARE GOING TO PUT THE COLT DOWN. MY QUESTIONS: HOW LONG DO YOU GIVE CONTRACTED TENDONS TO HEAL? SHOULD HE BE WALKING BY NOW? COULD PAIN BE KEEPING HIM DOWN? DOES HE JUST NEED MORE TIME? AGAIN, HE IS ONLY 12 DAYS OLD, EATING GREAT, ALERT, HEALTHY LOOKING IN EVERY WAY WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE UMBLICAL NOT CLOSING WHICH I AM ASSUMING IS UNREALTED. THE COLT WAS BORN REALLY BIG, AND THE MARE HAD A STILLBORN BABY THE YEAR BEFORE LAST DUE TO SUFFOCATION. WHEN HE WAS DOUBLE SPLINTED HE ALSO HAD A FEW BAD FALLS... IS HE JUST SCARED TO TRY TO WALK? MY FRIENDS WILL GIVE ME THE COLT IF I THINK I CAN SAVE HIM B'CUZ THEY ARE GIVING UP, AND I JUST WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR HIM IF HE CAN GROW UP TO BE A NORMAL HORSE. HOW MUCH MORE TIME SHOULD WE GIVE HIM BEFORE WE SEE IMPROVEMENT? |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 6:52 am: Welcome Selena,No one can accurately answer your specific questions about this foal without examining the foal and from your post it even seems it is not certain that contracture is still the problem. The time to correction depends on the severity but they really don't have to "heal" in the traditional sense, see Equine Diseases » Lameness » Muscle & Tendon Diseases » Tendon Laxity and Contracture. Perhaps pain might keep a foal from getting up but this would be rare and would seem to be identified on a physical exam. Foals that have had multiple falls still attempt to rise in my experience. The continued patent umbilical cord is worrying also for more on the umbilical cord problem see, Equine Diseases » Foal Diseases » Patent Urachus and Diseases of the Umbilical Cord. I strongly recommend your friend take the mother and foal to a referral institution that has experience with foals for a second opinion. DrO PS, Selena you will get more and quicker responses if you don't use all cap's in your posts. They are more difficult to read than when proper capitalization. |
Member: Banthony |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 9:50 am: Selena, We had a foal with patent urachus once and it was the devil to get to heal up. My vet suggested dipping the navel cord several times a day in penicillin. He said the penicillin would crystalize and help seal it off while being a topical antibiotic. That worked better that the other things we had tried (iodines.) The colt was on antibiotics the whole time.You might check out tetracycline - that is something we have tried on contracted tendons with success. The foal not being able to walk would worry me, and sounds like a different undiagnosed problem. But I wouldn't give up on him if he is as good as you describe in attitude and appetite. Sometimes these foals will take a dramatic turn one way or the other and that gives you the clue which way is the right way to go. |
Member: Frances |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 9:50 am: Can anyone tell me what a dummy foal is?? (Excuse my ignorance!) |
Member: Ilona |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 10:10 am: Hi, I Googled 'Dummy Foal' and there was a lot of information available, here is one of the websites I found.https://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:uaVIUZmqR8sJ:www.thehorse.com/viewarticle.asp x%3FID%3D879+dummy+foal+&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2&client=firefox-a |
New Member: Davissel |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 3:28 pm: He was given 2 doses of tetracyclin in his first 3 days of life but I'm not sure its helped. I'm not convinced this colt could ever walk. He can and has gotten up on his own but its inconsistent and he can't quite seem to figure out how to move his legs when he does get up. The vet think its might be brain damage (where the dummy foal came in), but when you look at his legs from the side, they are still bowing forward enough that his little hooves don't always squarely touch the ground. Its hard to croak him when he is so alert and eating well, but I suppose you can't keep a horse that can't walk. Everybody seems to think he should be up by now. How sad. |
Member: Echoval |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 4:51 pm: I have a colt that was born with all four contracted tendons the tetracyclin only helped one back leg then I started giving him injections of selenium used pvc pipe 2inch cut in half and vet wrapped him with cotton batting under the pvc so that it would not rub sores pvc was from the bottom of his heel to just below his knee did that on the front legs only for about three weeks by that time the other back leg was ok so now I had two go legs then I just wrapped the front legs with just cotton and vet wrap with reg leg wrapps over that and would stretch his tendons with my hands as far as I could you can see that it will hurt but it needs to be done have someone hold him down than after two months one of the font legs became straight so he was walking much better than I let him out in the pasture with his Mom and would bring him in every day to give him foal feed from Buckeye feeds that is for foal leg problems it took the other leg two more months But every one told me to shoot him but I did not give up we will see how he will be when it comes time to put weight on his back I just love him to death he has become so trusting because of all he has been though I would worry more about his umbilical cord for infection good luck |
New Member: Davissel |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 5:55 pm: How old is this baby Patricia? And how long till he was walking at all?The vet here is saying his only hope is to take him to OSU, the university hospital. They've got $3K into him already and not looking to spend any more! I'm not sure what they could do for him, but it would be nice to know what is wrong with him. |
Member: Echoval |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 6:39 pm: He was born July 7th 2005 in three months he had 3 good legs than I turned him out in Pasture to get the other tendon stretched he hobbled around but he needed to stretch those tendons than he finally started walking normal end of November ask your vet to give him selenium shots they are lacking selenium mom did not get enough when she was pregnant |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 6:58 pm: For more on Dummy Foals see, Equine Diseases » Nervous System » Dementia: Depression, Excitement, Coma » Maladjustment SynDrOme in Newborn Foals.DrO |
Member: Ryle |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 7:46 pm: Selena,Dr. O is right, this foal needs to go to another vet for a second opinion sooner rather than later as foals are much more susceptible to infection and with the patent urachus he has a constantly open route for bacteria to enter the body. We are treating our 3rd colt with a patent urachus for this spring and our standard therapy is hospitalization with the foal on Naxcel IV, gastrogard orally and infusion of iodine into the urachus once a day. If the patent urachus doesn't close with medical management (usually give it around 7 days) then surgical repair is required. |
Member: Echoval |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 9:03 pm: Selena my foal could"nt get up either If their is no infection I would just keep feeding him when he gets strong enough he will first start walking on his toes then start to come down as the tendons relax don"t give up give him a selenium shot to began with he will come out of it It will take time, |
New Member: Davissel |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2006 - 10:12 pm: Thanks for everyone's help, this has certainly been a rollercoaster. Talked to the vet that has been caring for him, he thinks his future is grim, even if we take him to OSU. The university hospital will find out for sure what is wrong with him, but the vet isn't convinced they can save him. He thinks it is a genetic deformity of some kind, and he is an experienced vet that heads up the reproduction clinic at a pretty advanced facility here in town.He has seen a lot of babies and isn't hopeful about this one. I question keeping him alive, as even if he walks well enough to live maybe he will never walk normally. The vet seems to think that tendons aren't his biggest issue. The question then is, is the open umbilical cord causing him to be sick and too weak to walk? He has been tested for infection and it came back negative. The vet said he will run more tests tomorrow, just to be sure. |
Member: Paul303 |
Posted on Friday, Jun 2, 2006 - 1:46 am: Does that mean that the tendons and the patent urachus are both involved in a genetic or congenital synDrOme that includes other defects? |
Member: Frances |
Posted on Friday, Jun 2, 2006 - 6:38 am: Thanks Ilona and DrO for dummy foal info.Selena, I have nothing helpful to say, but I really feel for you and wish you all the best. It does sound from what others have suggested that there's still a chance here. Lynn |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Friday, Jun 2, 2006 - 8:11 am: Selena, your posts continue to remain just vague enough that I have difficulty getting a picture other than the foal is seriously ill, unable to rise for uncertain reasons, and the vet thinks the prognosis is poor.I do know taking a wait and see attitude with sick foals will often result in a foal's death. If you do not want to commit the resources of time and money with a poor prognosis that is perfectly understandable, we all have limits as to what we can do. But if you want to do all that is possible, I think the foal sounds like he could use a bit more aggressive diagnostics (ultrasound of the navel for infection?) and perhaps therapeutics (is he still on antibiotics and perhaps omeprazole to address almost certain issue of ulcers). DrO |