Meet Matilda! Pictures 10/1

[moonlitoaksranch]

@MorganMaresVT That’s really good news! Are there any lasting side effects?

Matilda had a slight temperature when the vet checked her. Who knows how long she’s been infected, but likely a couple of weeks to month, since that’s when the ticks were really out in force around here (although we don’t know for sure where she came from). Her hooves seem to show signs of a past fever. They compounded the doxy for us into neat little flavored (banana?) packets to dump on her feed twice a day and mix with a little water to get it to stick. So far, she’s enthusiastic about eating it, as she is about all food. I suppose that’s what happens when you don’t get enough.

[WavyRider]

Alfalfa can be a problem for metabolic horses because of the protein. My EMS/IR horse doesn’t tolerate it and I know many others in the same boat. If there’s a risk of laminitis, it’s probably wise to avoid alfalfa for now.

Edit: unless that’s what the vet said! Sounds like she’s on alfalfa pellets. It wouldn’t have been my first choice, but I am an internet stranger and not a vet

[MorganMaresVT]

@moonlitoaksranch

Are there any lasting side effects?

I have not seen any lasting effects, though with all these awful tick borne illnesses, it can vary so much from horse to horse. Josie is also living retired pasture pet life (she’s in her early 20s and also came to me from a neglect situation), so I can’t say whether she would have had trouble being ridden. She lost a lot of weight in the acute phase of the illness, but did put it back on readily. Vet was happy with how well she came through it.

I’ve never used the powdered antibiotics but will keep that in mind for the future if needed.

[moonlitoaksranch]

She had been eating from an old round bale at the place where we bought her. They gave her some oats as well. Since arriving here, she’s had access to a round bale, was started on grass hay, and fed a combo of senior feed and alfalfa pellets (vet approved). Now, we’re keeping the feed the same but slowly increasing the alfalfa hay. Everything is just slow and easy because she might have a history of laminitis. She also gets hand walked and grazed on grass for 10-15 minutes twice a day. She eats it all and has well formed manure, so it’s going well.

[moonlitoaksranch]

Re-feeding plans are so individual. I guess you start with what they were eating (if they were eating, but that’s an even more complicated situation) and build it up over time. Watch for colic and watch their manure. I think it also depends on what part of the country you live in and the time of year as to what your resources are. Our grass is rich, too rich, in fact, so introduction must go slow. Our grass hay this time of year is too early to be high in nutrients, but good for gut recovery and motility. Alfalfa is cheap and available so it’s a good resource as well but should be brought in slowly. It’s always a balancing act. We waited a few days to offer salt and mineral blocks because even that can be a problem. If Matilda hadn’t been eating at all before we brought her home, it would have been so much harder. I think those horses are fed small amounts of grass hay every few hours to get their guts going again. They have to have water every few hours as well because of the high risk of colic. Then, they often get loose stools.

[WavyRider]

100% agree! I have never had to refeed a horse and I am sure you and your vet are doing the very best for her. It’s wonderful to see her condition improving already and the light come back to her eyes.

[moonlitoaksranch]

Oh thanks! I don’t have any experience with EMS/IR. That’s good to know.

[hoopoe]

@moonlitoaksranch

Vet suggested genetic testing of stock horse genetic problems to know what we’re dealing with.

it sounds like you have a good vet on your side. I assume you have pre / probiotics to help with the antibiotic treatment. Probiotics alone are also shown to increase digestive efficiency and nutrition gain worth

[Bluey]

@WavyRider

Alfalfa can be a problem for metabolic horses because of the protein. My EMS/IR horse doesn’t tolerate it and I know many others in the same boat. If there’s a risk of laminitis, it’s probably wise to avoid alfalfa for now.

Edit: unless that’s what the vet said! Sounds like she’s on alfalfa pellets. It wouldn’t have been my first choice, but I am an internet stranger and not a vet

Each horse is different, our Cushing’s horse lived and thrived for many years practically on alfalfa alone, with our vet’s approval.
I would not dismiss alfalfa offhand, unless explained why and directed to by the one horse’s vet.

[moonlitoaksranch]

She trotted around her pen today while waiting for her grain! She’s definitely showing more energy, but our son said she was just as sweet when he took her out to graze. She also did the cutest head flip. Very Arabian-like.

Color experts, do you think she’s a blue roan pinto or a bay roan pinto? Her back looks grey, but those ears look bay to me.

One more complication. She did come from a farm with a pretty lousy fence separating mares from the stallion. It was just one or two strands of wire, like hot wire, but not on. The seller said she only bred one of the mares and the stallion had an injury that was eating up vet bills, so we’re probably safe. I described the situation to the vet and she suggested a pregnancy test, just in case. We’ll wait until she gets her vaccines. She doesn’t need to be shunting energy to grow a baby horse. We could use some prayers for not being pregnant. If she’s positive, we’ll definitely do the 6 panel test.

[firecracker]

Hard to say whether the ears are sun-bleached or not… and the white covers a lot of key areas where you can often get a better idea of whether you’re looking at a dark bay/brown, or a sun-bleached black. I see what you mean though, you can definitely see brown in those ears. At a glance, she looks like she has a black base. On her left side, where she has some color in her flank area… is there any brown there?

Will cross all my fingers and all my toes that she is not pregnant! Yikes on mares separated from a stallion with two strands of not-hot wire.

[Scribbler]

That’s a tricky question about color because a lot of black horses have some brown especially ears and muzzle. And bay horses tend to have definite black tips to their ears.

[firecracker]

Yes, but a true black (genetically black, extension present with no agouti) should not have brown at all unless the brown is the result of sun-bleaching.

A lot of seal browns that look almost black will have some brown in the flank area, which is why that spot may provide a clue. I can’t tell in the pictures if there’s any brown there or not.

[jvanrens]

nd1 can cause lighter colouring in the ear on black (E_aa) horses. Sometimes it’s very light!

[firecracker]

Ah, yep, you’re right on that. I know a black Andalusian filly with primitive markings (very clear dorsal stripe) that I think must have nd1, and she does have some lighter coloring that I don’t think is due to sun-bleaching.

Color genetics can be super interesting!

On Matilda… she could be a very dark bay/brown, could be something like nd1, could be sun-bleaching. Only way to know for sure is to color test!

[moonlitoaksranch]

Hmm, I should get a picture of her ears. They look like they have black tips, which could be bay, then combined with grey markings mean bay roan, or is that grulla? Could it still be blue roan?

We take her mask off briefly every evening to treat some sores on her forelock. I’ll get pictures tomorrow night.

[Heinz_57]

@moonlitoaksranch

Could it still be blue roan?

I am far from a color expert but I’m guessing she has Sabino, not a true roan.

[moonlitoaksranch]

Ear pictures. She doesn’t have any brownish anywhere but her ears. The other splotches of color are white and black hairs mixed to look grey.

[moonlitoaksranch]

And her after bath pictures. This was her week 2 bath. She did much better with the hose. Her skin is healing up. Much less swelling and all the little bites are gone. The first few ribs are not as visible. Her neck is a little bigger, it isn’t as flat between her croup and her tail, and her hip is less prominent.

[atr]

She’s got nice solid legs and good-looking feet. She’s going to be a solidly-built gal when she fills out.

She looks like she’s starting to show her character a bit, too!

I do enjoy these upgrade threads. They restore my faith in human nature.