You might try posting the case on the facebook group “horse vet corner”- only vets answer posts and it’s a good way to brainstorm ideas.
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Alk phos tends to be high in young animals, due to bone growth. Or liver issues.
LDH elevations could be of either liver or muscle origin.
But an infectious agent is still a possibility.
Some sort of toxicity may be the problem. It is a good sign that your filly has survived whatever the initial insult was.
Wish I could offer you a more specific armchair diagnosis.
I know how stressful it is to have a sick equine many miles away from you. BTDT, got the T-shirt.
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Thanks for chiming in, @Ghazzu. I really appreciate the input.
Sydney had another temp spike to 105 late last night, but the breeder was able to quickly get it down to 102 by cold hosing her whole body. We’re trying to give Banamine only as much as absolutely necessary, since she’s so young.
At morning check, her temperature was 100.5. :applause: Still too early to drop our guard, but hopefully that’s a positive sign that she’s on the upswing. Fingers crossed.
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Jingling for your filly! I hope you continue to receive good updates.
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Fingers crossed!
It may not help, but with the suspicion of liver involvement, you might consider putting her on a milk thistle supplement.
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If you spend just a little time there you will see some of the scariest suggestions and recommendations coming from some of these “vet” :eek: :no: I trust COTH WAY more than that group.
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Oh wow, that’s scary!
I hope everything turns out well for your filly!
Did they do a necropsy on the colt?
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Thanks for the milk thistle suggestion; I’ll look into that.
Her temp came up a bit today, but it stayed in the 102-103 range, which is much better than what it was. The breeder was able to rig up some panels in her pen to force her to stay in the shade, and she’s been getting hosed every couple of hours throughout the day, which is helping a lot. She’s still eating and behaving normally.
I haven’t heard anything on what they decided to do with the colt. I know the feed is being sent off for testing, though.
Sending jingles for your filly! This may be a stupid question, but are they making sure to scrape/towel her off after a few minutes post-cold hose? Left soaking wet, the water can trap and hold in heat, which is the opposite of what you want.
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Any chance of anaplasmosis?
Just wow. Dead foal, your foal was in a paddock with it at the breeder’s farm.Your foal is ill with no diagnosis and you don’t know what “they decided to do” with the colt re;necropsy? Is this breeder experienced in sporthorse breeding? :eek:
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Hope all turns out well.
IMHO It is (or was) vital that the dead animal’s cause of death is discovered ASAP. I hope that the necropsy has been performed and it is just a delay in the news reaching you.
How far away from you is this breeder located? How well do you know them?
I can’t imagine waiting for testing of feed yet neglecting to necropsy the dead foal.
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Other than the fever, she doesn’t have any symptoms of anaplasmosis, but that’s an interesting thought.
Wow. This was unnecessarily snarky. No, not being an owner of the dead colt, I don’t know whether or not he will be necropsied. If he were MY horse, I would absolutely have one done. But he isn’t, so it isn’t my place, especially considering the stress of this whole situation, to push on that. I’ve made the suggestion, and that’s all I can do. Even if that IS going to be done, necropsies take time (when I had my gelding euthanized in October, it was almost a month before we got the full necropsy results).
This is a very experienced breeder. No, she isn’t a “sport horse” (by this board’s definition) breeder, but I’m not sure what the discipline of the horses involved has to do with her experience or the standard of care. I’m in close communication with her and have no reason to distrust her. I very much appreciate those who have contributed productive suggestions and input. I don’t, however, appreciate being chastised over decisions that are out of my control.
As reminder for those who came to the discussion later, I am over 1,700 miles away from my filly. I have two veterinarians working on this case, the breeder’s vet in AZ and my vet here at our vet school. Neither vet, at this time, feels that the filly should be hospitalized or that there is anything else we can do medically for her, in the absence of any clinical signs other than a fever, aside from working to keep her hydrated and her temperature as low as possible. Believe me, I WISH there was something more to go on, but this is all we have to work with at the moment.
Sydney’s temperature stayed below 103 all night; a small improvement, but an improvement. She’s still bright, alert, and eating well. Fingers crossed that the trend for improvement continues today.
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Fever was my horse’s only symptom.
I’m glad to hear her temp stayed at least below 103* for a good 12 hours and she’s still acting normally!
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I’d have expected some sort of evidence on bloodwork for anaplasmosis. Even if you don’t catch the inclusion bodies, there’s usually thrombocytopenia and neutropenia.
You could always run titers.
How common is it in the region where your filly is?
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I haven’t seen anything alarming there- but most of the posts I follow are essentially hunting zebras-
Crowd-sourcing ideas for which diagnostic to pursue next works out well there from what I have seen.
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According to the CDC, the incidence rate in Arizona is zero. So, that’s unlikely, I guess.
Another suggested possible cause I’ve heard tossed around is rhodococcus. Apparently they don’t necessarily display symptoms in all cases? That might be one worth exploring.
Her temp stayed in the 101.5-102 range all day today! Seems like we’re making slow but steady progress.
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