Anyone got any miracle cures for a serious horsey virus??

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mollymurphy

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One of the horses on our yard is really poorly at the moment. She's 27 and was found down in the field on thurday night. She was brought in but wasnt herself. The owner was at work, so text me to ask me to have a look at her. When i got to her stable, she was lay flat out and breathing fast & heavy. Her heart rate was 58 and her temp was slightly high. I couldnt get hold of her owner, so i just called the vet.

Anyway, blood tests showed a low white blood cell count, suggesting a viral infection. The vet thinks her gut is infected in some way as she's a bit colicy. She's hardly pooing and is dehydrated. Well, she was until they put her on a drip. She's got no appetite which is very unlike her and just spends most of the time lay down.
She's on strong antibiotics to kill off any secondary infection and she's on strong pain killers. As soon as this wears off though, she just lays down and looks about ready to give up.
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Vet has been out once or twice every day. She isnt getting any worse, but she's not got any better either.

We've got no idea where she's got the virus from - she's not been off the yard. Can theses things just be airborne? Is it possible that i could carry it and pass it on to mine? Vet reckons not, but i thought you could. None of the other horses are showing any problems, so do you reckon they're unlikely to have been affected?

And finally, any tips for improving appetite? Any amazing alternative therapies/remedies for viral infections?

Fingers crossed she pulls through - she's very poorly at the moment.
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Lou. x

And a pic of the old girl with a random leaf in her mouth which she was carrying around!

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Poor girl
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I've never been in a situation like that, so don't have any advice to offer sorry. How about giving her a bit of beet pulp to improve her appetite? Most horses love it as it's sugary
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Sounds like, at her age, it may be time to let her go
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She may well have got some nasty taking advantage of a weakened immune system. You may never know what's causing it but I think it unlikely it will affect any other horses.
 
All viruses are spread by direct or indirect contact so if it is a virus that the mare has picked up then, yes, it can be spread. From my experience what the mare has is a dose of 'old age' and her system is closing down.Some oldies take forever in closing up shop and some seem to do it over night
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.The fact that shes down isnt a very encouraging sign and I would be prepared for the worst! Hope Im wrong
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. Mairi.
 
She was last wormed on the 15th of October with Equest. Why do you ask? Possible reaction maybe?
She's hardly drinking anything at all. She ate almost all of a soaked leaf of hay last night and has nibbled a bit today, but that's about it. She's been offered sloppy feeds (soaked high fibre cubes, Happy Hoof, etc with molasses) but she's not too bothered. Will have a little pick, but then she'll leave it. Totally unlike her!

I know what you're saying about maybe she's near her time. I was only looking at her in the field the day before she got ill and i noticed that every time i'd seen her lately, she'd been on her own, away from the herd. That's what they do in the wild isn't it? Poor girl. The vet doesnt seem TOO concerned though, so i hope she's right and not me.
 
Sorry Lou, hope we are completely wrong, but I tend to agree with Boss & Mairi. I have seen this myself when old age creeps up and begins to shut the body down. Pray to God it is purely a viral infection. Can you tell us what the rest of the bloods revealed, apart from white cell count? This could be relevant hun. Hx
 
'Virus' is often an answer when the vet/dr don't know what the problem is. try her with literally anything she may nibble at - fruit/veg/biscuits/sarnies/cake whatever you can think of.
She is a very pretty girl and I hope she pulls through.
 
I can see that our fav forum vet 'Star' is on line now. If we all shout really loudly, she might come in and give us the wisdom of her experience.
 
I'm not sure tbh. I only had the results relayed to me by the owner after she'd spoken to the vet on the phone. The owner is being very optimisitc about it all - she's had the pony for years and years and i think she doesnt want to see the potential seriousness of it all. The vet said her organs were ok (at the time) though, so that's good. She's got some sort of impaction colic and a secondary gut infection as well. She just looks so tired and when she lays flat out, it's scary! I personally think she's got Cushings as well, but her owner doesnt think so. She's a new laminitic, struggles to lose her coat, has a pot belly and has the baggy eyes. Not sure if that would have anything to do with this?
She went out for a little graze at about 4pm today and she was quite interested in the grass, so that's good too. Will text her owner now and see how she is. x
 
Yeh sorry to be nosey . its prob not the case and im not trying to alarm you in any way ,im not a vet and i dont try to make out i am . Take everyones comments on board but run suggestions past your vet before u try anything out on this old girl please!!! this is why i ask about worming. A year and a half ago my mare was showing all the same symptoms as this horse.Same age 27 appeared to be in good overall health for her age ,had good appetite, teeth were fine,digestion fine wormed as regular as clock work.One day i noticed her stood by herself in the paddock in the corner away from the others .She did this for several days she would pick at the grass a little then stand for long periods not doing anything.Knew this wasnt like her and put it down to her age and that she was prob tiring and slowing the pace down. Then when i brought her in to the stable in the afternoons she would lie down ocassionally looking at her stomach as if she had collic. Got the vet out but by the time he arrived no symptoms and no temp all appeared normal.The following day she had gone totally off her food and what looked like worms in her droppings.Got the vet out again and explained her worming routine and he decided to put her on a five day panacure course even though she had a strict worming regime.Still off her food a day after i got the vet back out because she developed diorrhea .He thought was prob the effect of the wormer but took some bloods anyway to see if there was an underlying problem.They came back indicating poss worm damage . She had actually contracted salmonella , this was not picked up until after i had to have her pts because the vet never took an initial stool sample,because her immunity was low she could not fight it off had she been younger she may have pulled through .Please keep an eye out for any changes like this .if in doubt get the vet good luck
 
We looked after an old arab who had cushings, he was never laminitic and was doing fine until the day he was lying down in the field which wasn't normal for him. We called the vet, who declared he was just an old horse with a bit of arthritus and gave him enough bute to last the rest of the summer. On the evening he had not really eaten his afternoon hay but seemed bright in himself. The next day he was put to sleep as all his organs were packing up, no droppings, no drinking, no eating and not getting up. It was very rapid as 24 hours previously he was fine but cushing is a bit like this, their liver seems to stop funtioning and floods their body with toxins. If she's taking an interest in grass then that is good, but ours got up in the field and carried on eating.
Hope it turns out ok.
 
we had almost exactly the same problem with an old horse at our yard a couple of months ago...symptoms sound identical. It turned out the he had perotinitis (perferated gut) caused by an ulcer. It was touch and go for a while but he responded to treatment and he pulled through and is back to his old self now.
Apparently ulcers are a common thing and these complications arise...maybe worth asking the vet if this could be a possibility. main thing is to keep his heart rate down...anything over 60 is a real cause for concern....our horse's HR peaked at over 100 and by all rights he should have had a heart attack at that rate, but fortunately he was a strong as the preverbial...

Hope she gets better soon...she looks really nice
 
This did cross my mind Steve, but as much more is known about ulcers these days I didnt pursue it. Lou - get them to do a peritoneal tap to see if there is a perforated ulcer which could cause peritonitis. If this is the case, ask me, Druid or Steve for info. x
 
Thank you everyone! The vet did mention doing a peritoneal tap, but then changed her mind and said she didnt want to put her through it. I'll ask the owner again today if she's no better. I'll also look into salmonella for her.
Fingers crossed! Thank you again. Lou X
 
Hi

I am hatties owner - luckly she didnt have a 'bout of old age' and isnt 'shutting down', neither does she have cushings (even though she may have a pot belly shes 27!!) and she is not a new laminitic, i completly appreciated some of your advice and theories but to all those negative ones you were very wrong. I was also not complacent/ overly optimistic at all i was completely broken hearted and did every thing i could to get her better. My vet has advised me that she is in fine health and will hopefully make a full recovery. And if she wont i wouldnt ever think twice about having her PTS i have owned her for nearly 16 years and that is the first time she has ever been seriously ill.

This is the first time iv ever been on this site and just wanted to thank you for upsetting and offending me.
 
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