I also think it’s quite possible it is a vaccine reaction. I have two minis that react badly, especially to the rabies. One fairly severely and quickly with both me and prior owners. I won’t do the vax unless titers indicate. I know that’s iffy but it is what it is and the vet is ok with it. The only reason I can think of for the rads is if they think he is beginning to founder. Still jingling!
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Jingles for Bo & @Heinz_57 continue.
Adding to the rabies vax issue:
My TWH reacted to a neckpoke rabies vax by bring unable to lower his head for 24h.
I had to hang hay he normally ate off the he ground & his raise his water bucket.
After that he got rabies in the hip.
Better a sore butt!
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I mean, it’s not out of the realm for something like this to induce laminitis, but I’d think (and hope) vet would have mentioned if he had developed signs of laminitis overnight. I know the irregular swing you’re talking about - currently I’ve attributed it to the weak/arthritic stifles and a bit to the pretty straight nature of his hind leg conformation. But it could be a neuro clue too. At any rate, it was present prior to all this.
@starsandsun funny, when I mentioned the lame leg to the vet last night she said ‘let’s focus on getting this under control and then we’ll worry about the leg, I’ve seen horses come in lame with colic and the lameness resolved once the colic was treated’. Except… if you’re desperately looking for any source of pain to explain his condition, why would you not consider checking the leg he is dead lame on, that has an ankle the size of a softball and a strip of hard swelling along the cannon? Even if that turns out to be just a localized reaction to the rabies, I feel like it’d be the first logical stop after all the colic-related things have been checked out when looking for pain.
I have done a lot of googling on vaccine reactions and specifically rabies reactions in horses, as well as COTH searching. From the info I’ve gathered, his condition really isn’t significantly atypical of a severe reaction. Once he’s hydrated and the ‘colic’ appears to be resolved, it’s really just pain management until the reaction subsides.
Anyway, I’m just over here waiting to hear how the 2nd attempt at a belly tap went, and what’s next. Those of you who have had to deal with reactions before, did your vets report anything to the manufacturer? Were any of your treatment costs reimbursed? I need to go research that avenue.
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Chiming in with an anecdotal vax reaction story:
I’ve owned one of my mares for 17 years. She is of unknown vintage but her current age is guesstimated at somewhere in her mid-20s to early 30s. A couple years ago the vet came to do the annual shots and teeth floating. It was all very routine. The next morning, she acted like this was the end - hung her head, dull and strange expression, did not want to move, and literally dragged one of her front feet when she did take a step. It was alarming, for sure. Cue panic on my part and the vet came out. It was a reaction to one of her vaccines - he suspected the rabies. Within two-three days she was much recovered, but as the vet says “Never another vaccination of any sort for her. She’s done!”
Hoping for that same response from Bo.
ETA: Yes, vet did report the reaction to the manufacturers but no, there was no reimbursement.
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Thank for the update! I’m sure we are all anxiously awaiting news on Bo with you!
It does seem odd to be thinking about hoof rads if there is visible swelling in a leg. The only thing I can think of would be that an inflammation response from vaxx combined with a hind leg lameness could lead to founder up front. Might not really develop the typical stance or eggshell walking or restless weight shifting if they have him on pain meds for the colic. I’m trying to stay positive about the vet but of course it could be they are just throwing things out there “just because”.
I hope poor Bo gets better soon. Poor dear has had enough troubles in life.
No experience here with vaxx reactions but I had a dog vaxx fail (breakthrough infection) and vaxx company comped care.
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He’s not at TAMU is he?
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BVEH. One of the new young vets. If I’d had more brain cells working last night, I probably should’ve just taken him to TAMU, it’s only like 15 minutes farther. But since he was JUST at BVEH a few hours prior, I thought the continuity would help.
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Thanks for the updates. I worried all day at work. Jingling…
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Jingles… he’s a tough old guy, I’m hoping he’ll bounce back.
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More jingles for Bo!
Years and years ago, Rosie had a bad reaction to the Fort Dodge WNV vaccine. She’d actually been in the first group of 86 horses on Chester County, PA that all came down with WN over the course of about a week (2002? 2003?). She barely survived, but ultimately bounced back with no lasting damage, and my vet got several opinions about whether to vaccinate her the following year or if she was now immune. (There was so little knowledge about the virus back then!)
The consensus was to vaccinate, so we did, and in several hours all of the WN symptoms had come back. It took additional supportive care to get her over the reaction, but Fort Dodge did pay the several thousand in vet bills with no question. My vet was the one to handle all of the filing and paperwork with them.
Since then, I’ve continued to vaccinate for WNV, but for many years afterward, we’d chase the vaccine with a proactive shot of dex just to be safe. Thankfully she never had another reaction.
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I just came in here and was reading up on the wonderful Bo and now this! Jingles and hugs to you. I’m crossing my fingers and toes.
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Positive update - I just spoke with the vet.
His gum color is returning to normal, he’s hydrated enough that they’ve stopped fluids, as of the last time they flushed he was no longer having reflux, and his small intestines all look normal now, rectal exams show normal manure consistency. They are going to give him some dex, do another ultrasound late tonight/morning and hope to start offering him his coveted Purina Senior in a mash tomorrow morning (I warned her that he is not going to be interested in anything else, and may reject it wet). I’ll get another update in the AM unless something comes up tonight.
We seem to be on the same page now re: it being a reaction to the vaccine, and it sounds like maybe he has crested the hill so to speak. 
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Woohoo! What great news!
Jingles full force for continued progress
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Sending healing vibes from Colorado.
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I’ve searched around COTH and found several stories like this, where the manufacturer reimbursed for vet bills after a bad reaction. I know the vet is the one who has to handle this, I’m just curious if anyone knows or remembers any more detail about how they went about it. I don’t yet know what brand of vaccine was used but when I speak with the vet in the AM, am going to ask and also ask if this has been reported to the company yet. I’d like to approach the idea of reimbursement since the vet will have to drive that bus unless it’s offered, but just saying ‘I’ve heard of people who got reimbursed’ isn’t much info to offer if they’ve never been down that road before.
While I’m certainly prepared to pay the thousands of dollars this is likely to cost (that’s horses, folks!), even a partial reimbursement would obviously be most welcome.
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The vet is just going to have to call and say something. I had a cat who had a very unfortunate litter box accident that I wound up taking to the vet to get shaved down. The vet called the litter company to see if they knew of anyway to dissolve the litter out of his coat. Even though they couldn’t help, and we had not asked them to do so, they paid for the vet bill. We wound up having to sedate the cat in order to trim litter out of his feet and from some other very sensitive areas….
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Thank you for the update. It makes us all breathe a little easier knowing that it looks like her turned a corner. He is SO lucky to have you. I hope that the new vet is savvy enough to help you get some sort of reimbursement.
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Hopefully it will be that simple! Would be a huge weight off my back.
In other news, I just got the FEC results in my email and all three were ‘negative’, so 
for that. 
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I do remember that back when this was happening to Rosie, it took more than a month (probably at least two) for the vet to get paid because she gave me a heads up that I would be receiving a vet bill automatically, but not to pay it, even if it became past due, because the office manager knew the payment would be coming from the vaccine manufacturer.
I’m glad to hear Bo’s doing better! I’ve seen multiple bad reactions to vaccines in horses and they’re all terrifying to see, but they were also all resolved with prompt treatment.
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