Nothing to add as far as advice but wanted to add some Jingles! Hope your guy is feeling better soon!
Thanks Everyone! Jingles needed! He finally allowed me halter him and we got him inside, he is upset to out of sight of his buddies, but doing okay. Temp still 99.8, still acting odd but at least moving his neck all around. Senior vet at the practice on his way, to do a second opinion. Maybe we will find something more?
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Oh wow, I hope you get some answers soon. Donāt you wish they could talk?
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I hope this gets resolved soon. Our heifer ingested senna plants and showed neuro symptoms. They thought at first it was red maple, but she pressed her head and ducked out of the light. She also had trouble swallowing. She took so long eating her grain that it was painful to watch. Is your boy maintaining his weight? Wishing you good answers and a quick recovery.
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Joining the jingles for answers and solutions.
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This sounds pretty scary.
My mind tends to leap to big awful things like tetanus, rabies, and botulism poisoning. Has he had a Coggins test recently? There are symptoms in common with those you describe of Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA), Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM), and Equine Influenza Virus. Symptoms of those last three diseases are detailed on this site:
https://www.in.gov/boah/2418.htm
He probably has none of the above, but when your vet gets there it wonāt hurt to ask if he has tested for those and if not, why. Letās hope it is something more benign like an allergy or bug bite.
Good luck and best wishes on your horseās recovery.
So senior vet just left. Looked him over completely and he feels like it is a Neuropathic. Not like EPM, ( not ruling it out) but not common. He feels it either something he consumed or a neck injury. Took more blood, tested eyes, ears, feet, teeth, heart rate is high, temp normal. So weāre are testing him for everything, to rule those out. Put him on full dose SMZ for a week, 4 days dexamethasone. If the blood and stool does not tell us something, then we wait for 48 hours, then do a chiro consult. If those do not improve we treat for EPM.
Small solo paddock w/ run in turnout for now. Keep him quiet and comfy, try to get him to eat, supportive care. I am really worried about my big boyā¦
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Any obvious grey horse melanomas anywhere?
One could be hitting something that is causing those symptoms?
Bet your vet ruled that out already.
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Such a worrisome group of symptoms. Sending healing vibes your way.
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No, he one small tumor on his spine (behind the saddle that he has had since a yearling, biopsied benign and too risky to remove. I checked him pretty thoroughly every week or two , so no. That is kind if our worst fear that it is a brain tumor. We just have to wait and see if any treatments work. If we get no improvement, then we have to make bigger decisions. He is not a candidate for the spinal fluid EPM test as he is allergic to anesthesia. All that would be left is a CT and MRIā¦
Jingling like crazyā¦
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Iāve been thinking of you today and I hope your boy feels better soon!
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Iām sure your vet ruled this out, and you probably already vaccinate for it, but Botulism popped in my head.
Big fat pony is jingling for your boy to show improvement overnight :sadsmile:
Hoping the best for your sweet boy.
Oh man! You are giving him great supportive care. Heās got the best chance you can give him. If itās a poisonous plant, his body will just have to detoxify itself.
Morning update, he is acting a little better. He ate well last night and laid down to sleep, (did not the night before). Still acting spooky and distant but I am not pressuring him. I am trying to make his life as stress free as possible. Now the main job is getting all the meds down his gullet without stressing him out, lol.
Whichever COTH member suggested Dark brown Sugar is an angel who should be knighted in heavenā¦Mixed the SMZās with half cup hot water and three tablespoons of Brown Sugar, let it turn to goo and mixed in his feed and he went right at it. He is MR PICKY, cannot remember who suggested this but bless your heart!
ML Oaks - No red maples, we have pecans, lot of pecans and some water oaks, but no maples.
So waiting on test results and the bill for two calls, testing and meds with mixed anxiety, this one should be a doozy.:eek:
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Sure hope you get some answers. Iāll follow while I jingle!
Hoping for a good update this morningā¦
More jingles from SWPA!!!
Sending more jingles your way
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