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 Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
    
Location: Georgia |
Ok guys need some help trying to figure out what is going on with my 21 year old gelding. On Friday night he wouldn't eat his feed. Was not even the slightest bit interested. And let me tell you that this horse only thinks about food, so that was a very big red flag. We immediately checked vital signs and the only thing off was his temp, which was slightly high. This was accompanied with some swelling around his sheath area. Gave him some banamine to make him more comfortable and let him be for the night. Fast forward to the next morning, still not feeling good so we called the vet out. She wasn't too worried but pulled blood and said to start him on banamine twice a day to control fever and keep comfortable. Her diagnosis was something viral that was causing his stomach lining to become inflamed...hence the swelling. All blood work came back normal.
So over the past few days we have been watching him and checking temp several times a day. Swelling has not gone down but is moving toward his chest. Last night his temp was normal so we decided to skip the morning dose of banamine but tonight his temp was up to 103, which is the highest it has been. We are at a loss. Vet is still not terribly concerned. He is an older horse so maybe just having a hard time fighting the infection off. I'm just hoping it's not something more serious. The belly swelling really has me concerned. Have any of you seen or dealt with anything like this? I'm going to try to attach pics from my phone....
Edited by Runninbay 2016-02-08 9:01 PM
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Go Get Em!
Posts: 13503
Location: OH. IO | If I were your vet I sure would be concerned.have any equine hospitals near you? Prayers for your horse |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | with a fever Id be concerned appears to be a infection.. there are weeds that cause edema but Id be heading to a large equine hospital.. |
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 Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | Friend of mine had something similar in a horse of hers. His edema spread all through his belly and chest. Temp as well. They never got a definite diagnosis but he spent several weeks at the university of Ga and foundered pretty severely as a side effect. They guessed that it was an intestinal infection as well. He would eat wood and I wondered if maybe he got a splinter in his gut or something like that. Nothing to mess around with, especially with a temp. |
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Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
Location: Georgia |
The vet facility that we are using has always done good by us and have always told us to go to a university if they thought it was necessary. Im not saying this isn't the case here, but they are normally very quick to tell us when we need to get a lager facility's assistance but they don't feel that is necessary as of now. I am hoping we don't regret this decision. The temp and the swelling definitely concerns me. I've owned this gelding for 16 years and he has only been sick a few times. I hope it doesn't come to us having to take him elsewhere, but if that becomes the situation we will certainly do it. I was just posting here to maybe get some better ideas of what exactly is going on. So many people on here I figure someone might have some experience with this. |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | oh good glad you have faith in them.. the temp concerns me but it may be a virus .. sometimes weeds can cause the sheath to swell but never have seen the stomach muscles swell.. its Ventral edema , fluids pool to that area..several easons why.. hope he is better soon..did you all check for beans? |
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Tried and True
Posts: 21185
Location: Where I am happiest | When was the last time this horse had a coggins test? Please do so asap!!! Hate to say it and not to be a alarmest but the symptoms are classic AND there have been numerous positive tests this last year. When your vet ran blood was it just to check levels or did they send it off testing for virus's? There are a few different viris's that present just like this so I'd sure be on top of it and get more blood ran checking for viris. Does the horse have diahrea? After loosing a very healthy 6 year old this fall to a sudden illness that started just as reduced appetite and fever and 2 days later in the hospital it's better to be safe then sorry. |
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 The BHW Book Worm
Posts: 1768
| What are his stools like? |
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Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
Location: Georgia | ThreeCorners - 2015-12-23 7:43 AM When was the last time this horse had a coggins test? Please do so asap!!! Hate to say it and not to be a alarmest but the symptoms are classic AND there have been numerous positive tests this last year. When your vet ran blood was it just to check levels or did they send it off testing for virus's? There are a few different viris's that present just like this so I'd sure be on top of it and get more blood ran checking for viris. Does the horse have diahrea? After loosing a very healthy 6 year old this fall to a sudden illness that started just as reduced appetite and fever and 2 days later in the hospital it's better to be safe then sorry.
I have considered this because when I was researching, he does display some of the symptoms of EIA. But he got his coggins done in October. He gets vaccinated twice a year with the 6-way as well. His stools seem to be normal. Not runny at all. His temp this morning was 99.4. We gave hime 10cc banamine last night around 9 PM. We are going to recheck him when I get off work at 4 PM.
Edited by Runninbay 2015-12-23 8:40 AM
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Go Get Em!
Posts: 13503
Location: OH. IO | Hows your boy tonight? |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Checking in on him tonight. . . |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Runninbay - 2015-12-23 8:39 AM
ThreeCorners - 2015-12-23 7:43 AM When was the last time this horse had a coggins test? Please do so asap!!! Hate to say it and not to be a alarmest but the symptoms are classic AND there have been numerous positive tests this last year. When your vet ran blood was it just to check levels or did they send it off testing for virus's? There are a few different viris's that present just like this so I'd sure be on top of it and get more blood ran checking for viris. Does the horse have diahrea? After loosing a very healthy 6 year old this fall to a sudden illness that started just as reduced appetite and fever and 2 days later in the hospital it's better to be safe then sorry. I have considered this because when I was researching, he does display some of the symptoms of EIA. But he got his coggins done in October. He gets vaccinated twice a year with the 6-way as well. His stools seem to be normal. Not runny at all. His temp this morning was 99.4. We gave hime 10cc banamine last night around 9 PM. We are going to recheck him when I get off work at 4 PM.
All the coggins proves is the horse did not have the disease that day, he could have contracted it the next day, etc.
In your area have you had excess moisture lately, do you live in swamp land, how are the bugs, do you still have some, or non at all. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | My boy started out looking like this with fever and it moved up to his chest, he had Pigeon fever.. |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Is there heat on the swelling areas? |
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Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
Location: Georgia |
Thanks for checking on him guys! He is doing about the same today. Not better, but not necessarily worse. We had the vet come out again this afternoon. She pulled more blood just to compare with the first sample. Everything seems the same (normal) except now his white blood cell count is in the normal-high range. Not 100% what that change means. We have started him on antibiotics. The vet said if we don't see a change by Friday she wants us to bring him into the clinic for an ultrasound to see if he has any internal abscesses. His fever remained relatively normal today. It was 99.4 this morning and then 100.3 at feeding time this evening. We will be rechecking him in about her hour to see if he will need a dose of banamine to get though the night.
Southtxponygirl....I read you post and immediately researched Pigeon Fever. Honesty he is displaying most of the symptoms described. How was your boy diagnosed and what was the treatment process?
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Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
Location: Georgia | Southtxponygirl - 2015-12-23 9:57 PM Is there heat on the swelling areas?
Meant to address this in my last post, but there is definite heat in the area around his sheath. And it makes him uncomfortable when we touch that area. I'm sure due to the stretching of the skin. The ventral swelling doesn't feel overly warm. |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Runninbay - 2015-12-23 9:47 PM
Thanks for checking on him guys! He is doing about the same today. Not better, but not necessarily worse. We had the vet come out again this afternoon. She pulled more blood just to compare with the first sample. Everything seems the same (normal) except now his white blood cell count is in the normal-high range. Not 100% what that change means. We have started him on antibiotics. The vet said if we don't see a change by Friday she wants us to bring him into the clinic for an ultrasound to see if he has any internal abscesses. His fever remained relatively normal today. It was 99.4 this morning and then 100.3 at feeding time this evening. We will be rechecking him in about her hour to see if he will need a dose of banamine to get though the night.
Southtxponygirl....I read you post and immediately researched Pigeon Fever. Honesty he is displaying most of the symptoms described. How was your boy diagnosed and what was the treatment process?
There were out breaks that summer here in South Texas, Im thinking it was in 08 maybe 09 cant remember, but he was the only one out of my 4 horses up here at the house that got it, nobody else came down with it thank goodness, I was talking back and froth with my vet at Retama, I knew what to look for cause I have seen other horses with it, I took him in once to have it looked at, but my Vet wanted to wait another week for it to be full blown, my horses chest area fill with pus and then he lance it to drain it. Ask your vet to see if they have any cases in your area. The only time its contiguous is when the area burst open and the other horses come in contact with the pus, I have no ideal how my horse got this mess. So if it is Pigeon Fever, you need to wait it out and then have the area drained.
But talked to your Vet tomorrow and ask to see if its possibe it could be this. |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | My horses chest got really swollen and tight and lots of heat, the swelling started were your boy is swollen and it just traveled between his legs and up his chest. |
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Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
Location: Georgia | Southtxponygirl - 2015-12-23 11:04 PM Runninbay - 2015-12-23 9:47 PM
Thanks for checking on him guys! He is doing about the same today. Not better, but not necessarily worse. We had the vet come out again this afternoon. She pulled more blood just to compare with the first sample. Everything seems the same (normal) except now his white blood cell count is in the normal-high range. Not 100% what that change means. We have started him on antibiotics. The vet said if we don't see a change by Friday she wants us to bring him into the clinic for an ultrasound to see if he has any internal abscesses. His fever remained relatively normal today. It was 99.4 this morning and then 100.3 at feeding time this evening. We will be rechecking him in about her hour to see if he will need a dose of banamine to get though the night.
Southtxponygirl....I read you post and immediately researched Pigeon Fever. Honesty he is displaying most of the symptoms described. How was your boy diagnosed and what was the treatment process?
There were out breaks that summer here in South Texas, Im thinking it was in 08 maybe 09 cant remember, but he was the only one out of my 4 horses up here at the house that got it, nobody else came down with it thank goodness, I was talking back and froth with my vet at Retama, I knew what to look for cause I have seen other horses with it, I took him in once to have it looked at, but my Vet wanted to wait another week for it to be full blown, my horses chest area fill with pus and then he lance it to drain it. Ask your vet to see if they have any cases in your area. The only time its contiguous is when the area burst open and the other horses come in contact with the pus, I have no ideal how my horse got this mess. So if it is Pigeon Fever, you need to wait it out and then have the area drained.
But talked to your Vet tomorrow and ask to see if its possibe it could be this.
This makes me feel slightly better. This gelding has been pastured with my yearling and I've been on edge keeping a good eye on her. I'm praying whatever it is, stays away from my other horses. So you just had the area lanced then drained? Did you have to keep the horse on antibiotics until the infection cleared out completely? We took his temp tonight and it was 99.7. So im hoping we have the fever under control. He is a big horse that already has some laminitis issues so that last thing we need right now is any cause for him to founder. The belly swelling seems to be steadily moving forward.
Edited by Runninbay 2015-12-23 10:21 PM
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Runninbay - 2015-12-23 10:20 PM Southtxponygirl - 2015-12-23 11:04 PM Runninbay - 2015-12-23 9:47 PM
Thanks for checking on him guys! He is doing about the same today. Not better, but not necessarily worse. We had the vet come out again this afternoon. She pulled more blood just to compare with the first sample. Everything seems the same (normal) except now his white blood cell count is in the normal-high range. Not 100% what that change means. We have started him on antibiotics. The vet said if we don't see a change by Friday she wants us to bring him into the clinic for an ultrasound to see if he has any internal abscesses. His fever remained relatively normal today. It was 99.4 this morning and then 100.3 at feeding time this evening. We will be rechecking him in about her hour to see if he will need a dose of banamine to get though the night.
Southtxponygirl....I read you post and immediately researched Pigeon Fever. Honesty he is displaying most of the symptoms described. How was your boy diagnosed and what was the treatment process?
There were out breaks that summer here in South Texas, Im thinking it was in 08 maybe 09 cant remember, but he was the only one out of my 4 horses up here at the house that got it, nobody else came down with it thank goodness, I was talking back and froth with my vet at Retama, I knew what to look for cause I have seen other horses with it, I took him in once to have it looked at, but my Vet wanted to wait another week for it to be full blown, my horses chest area fill with pus and then he lance it to drain it. Ask your vet to see if they have any cases in your area. The only time its contiguous is when the area burst open and the other horses come in contact with the pus, I have no ideal how my horse got this mess. So if it is Pigeon Fever, you need to wait it out and then have the area drained.
But talked to your Vet tomorrow and ask to see if its possibe it could be this.
You know its been so long ago I cant remember if we put him on antibiotics or not, I need to try and find my vet bill and see, but I'm pretty sure we did. Yep my vet walked my boy a ways away from the stalls and office and we stood under a tree and he lanced it and drained all the pus out, didnt want that nasty stuff around the barn. But I will try to find my bill and see whats on it. |
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