He hasn’t been having any respitory issues and the show was a 15 minute trailer ride last week.
I tend to stick to one days shows when they’re babies. 
Any snotty nose? Anything new in his environment?
Well…
Short history, he shipped to east coast 2 months ago, then was shipped back 6 days later. (still toO pissed off to tell the long ridiculous story)
I gave him 3 weeks off, vet checked him and everything was fine.
Started him back then 3 weeks ago took him to a friends training barn.
Got a little runny nose and cough for about 1 week then was fine. No temp, just figured new place. Took him to a 3 day show, he was fantastic but day 3 got tired. I knew he would be tired that’s why we only did a few classes.
Gave him 3 days off after show then started riding. No cough, runny nose, temp nothing, just lethargic.
Then yesterday (7 days after show) he had a small puff on his leg, rode him and he felt a little weird so I figured the bump was making him a tad weird.
This morning both hinds are huge. Small fever, no cough, no runny nose and eating fine. (except for the fact he is closing his eyes while eating)
So that is the story. Going out now to meet the vet.
Any updates?
It took my young horse a very long time to learn to sleep away from home. That may be part of your issue.
Vet pulled blood. Temp was normal after the gram of bute I gave him.
She will get the results tomorrow afternoon on the blood.
She wasn’t really sure what it could be until blood comes back. She said maybe a bug at the show. Didn’t think kicking the stalls would cause both to swell, although she did think they both palpated differently (one like cellulitis and one like a blunt trauma) she also said cellulitis is usually one leg and didn’t see any visible cuts on either leg.
She also said that his runny nose weeks earlier could have been a mild strep, that if that’s the case he could have the aftermath that causes leg swelling. Can’t remember the word she used.
When his younger brother went to his inspection, he brought back something and they both had the runny nose and cough. But mom and my old retired gelding had nothing, so who knows!
I will post tomorrow when I get the results.
For now she just said bute, cold hosing and wrap.
Purpurin hemorrhage a? Think that’s what it is. I know I spelled it wrong, but it is a vessel reaction to the strep virus up to 4 weeks after the sickness. Mso the time frame is right, but reading the symptoms, his are extremely mild.
But she said his cold was so mild that the very small chance that this is it, then the swelling would be very mild as well.
You could mud his legs to draw out the swelling and make him more comfortable.
Rhino presents some times like your horse, but the blood work should tell if that is what it is.
You mention earlier that your horse was “fully vaccinated” - did you vaccinate against Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA)? If not - particularly if the horse is a stallion - you might want to ensure that it was one of the diseases tested for (and it probably wasn’t as it will require a separate test).
Symptoms include:
- Depression
- Lower limb edema
- Conjunctivitis
- Epiphora ("Tearing")
All of the above appear to possibly apply to your horse. Less common symptoms include:
- Adventitious edematous swellings in the intermandibular space, beneath the sternum, the shoulder region or other parts of the body;
- Respiratory distress, including polypnea and dyspnea, especially in young foals;
- Coughing,
- Diarrhea;
- Posterior paresis and ataxia;
- Submaxillary lymphadenopathy;
- Papular eruptions on the mucous membrane inside the upper lip; these are usually found in association with a skin rash;
- Gingival and buccal erosions.
While this is probably a low risk, it is still present and in view of the potential consequences if he is a stallion, should be considered. The University of Kentucky (Gluck) offer a free testing service. If he is a gelding, other than the immediate infectious risk, once that has passed, it is not an issue.
If you need more information, please do not hesitate to PM me.
Good luck.
I can’t offer any advice, but still sending jingles your way!
Please let us know. I had a filly with purpura hemmoragica. Hard to diagnose. Vet noticed burst tiny blood vessels in her guns. The swelling was scary.
Also, EVA might be a consideration.
Hope you get this figured out and solved.
Have him checked for tick borne disease. Symptoms & history both match. Lyme, anaplasma, etc. He could have been bitten by an infected tick while on the east coast and have been harboring and infection that was worsened by the stress of the show.
Lethargy, fever, cellulitis. Could have a high white count and low platelets too. Your vet may not be as used to seeing this as we are in the east.
Ticks huh? That’s a possibility.
She doesn’t think it’s the purpurin, but she didn’t want to rule it out.
He is a gelding so EVA is also out.
The swelling was way down with the hosing and wrapping so I am hoping that it won’t get worse.
I am going to go check on him as soon as I feed my horses at home.
Seconding tick-bourne diseases. Around here (nearly the epicenter of tick-bourne diseases) any horse presenting with the symptoms yours has would be treated immediately for Erlicchia/ Anaplasma while testing was pending. Swollen hind legs and fever are very common with Erlicchia, and differentiate it from a horse with Lyme. And since these aren’t generally seen in the west, it may not be the first thing your vet thinks of.
Yeah he would be on a doxycycline just from symptoms around here.
[QUOTE=volvo_240;6634577]
Yeah he would be on a doxycycline just from symptoms around here.[/QUOTE]
Ditto. And it can’t hurt.
His legs look much better today. Still puffy, but better.
He ate all his breakfast and no temp.
I will report back when I get the blood results!
[QUOTE=Samotis;6634497]
He is a gelding so EVA is also out.[/QUOTE]
Being a gelding means that EVA is not an issue as far as long-term effects are concerned, but it could still possibly be the cause of the current issues.
Good luck!
Blood came back normal. She said White blood cell was normal and fibrinogen was normal.
She said there was a slight left shift on the white cells meaning they were fighting something off but she said it was barely shifted.
So I will see him this afternoon and if he hasnt improved then I will talk with her about other possibilities!
