CAN YOU ALL SEND GOOD VIBES PLEASE?

H

henryhorn

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Devon UK
www.narramorehorses.blogspot.com
Today another foal Music Man has gone down with whatever killed the last one on Saturday, they suddenly get the runs, lose weight rapidly and become very depressed due to rapid dehydration. The dung has blood in it too.
The vet came asap (only sign up to now has been foal appeared quiet earlier today and lost a little weight over two days) and he was here within 20 mins of my call. It's on a drip and antibiotics, finadyne and has a port stitched into his neck so we can administer more glucose and fluids later this evening.
We have searched the field and can only pin it down to one of the two water supplies, one is trough based the other a stream.
The vet reckons some sort of water born parasite like giadiasis (?) or crypto spirydium, either way none of them showed up last time on the lab tests so they are repeating the same things on dung/blood/samples from this foal.
Also to be tested is the stream water..
We have scoured the banks upstream for pollution and apart from some old builder's rubble containing old plaster nothing seems near the supply.
(you don't suppose asbestos could be in old plaster? or arsenic?)
We have had more wet weather than ever before and we don't poo pick, so perhaps the bug has come from dissolved poo? There are a mix of horses in there however, usually four mares and foals, two other mares and a gelding...
The mare and foal will be monitored through the night and if necessary we will keep him on a drip all night. (me and CCj will take turns).
The stock have been allocated one of the hay fields for now as something in there is causing this so they can't go in that field.
He also has a rain rash type thing on his head back and bum just like the other foal did, but the vet reckons that's nothing to do with it.
I however feel it is because neither of the two bouncing round other foals had the rash and the dead one did..
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So if anyone has any ideas, please tell me, otherwise come on guys, send every bit of good thoughts at that foal (he is on my blog called Music Man, Judy's foal) www.narramorehorses.blogspot.com
I can't bear it if we lose him too, he is such a super foal...
 
Loads of good vibes being sent to you, could be a parasite thats doing the rounds, though odd the lab tests picked up nothing before...
 

Oh god I'm so sorry to hear this - you are having such rotten luck
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Sending every possible vibe I can muster. Can't help with any ideas at the mo but will put my thinking cap on .... if only Julie Dicker was still with us hey??
 
Good vibes and positive thoughts coming your way. I really hope your foal makes it. Sorry I can't shed any light on the cause but I know what it's like to lose a horse prematurely. Good luck!
 
Oh HH i'm so sorry to hear this.
And so sorry to hear you have already lost one, I must have missed this. Which one if you don't mind me asking, have you already lost?

Huge hugs and positive vibes winging their way to you.
 
oh god what a cr*p time your going through. loads of hugs and positive vibes on the way to you x x x x . hope the vets etc find whats causing it so you can treat it ASAP. unsure about the asbestos.

edited to remove the bit about salmonella!! took so long to post you had already adv that it was ruled out!!
 
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Sorry to hear this HH. Hope he pulls through and you find out what is happening. I would guess it's probably linked to the water. You never know what somebody may have put in there, or may have leaked into the water course.

I remember a local stream near us that the dog always tended to swim in, must have been contaminated a couple of years ago as she became seriously ill. Was the only thing we could link it to.
 
oh - I hope things go well - good vibes going your way - and I hope that it is just the one field and that moving the other horses and foals will keep them safe


with the wet weather - could it be a form of grass sickness ?
 
Diva the lovely filly. She was ill for a week and we nursed her carefully but she just died in the night. Whatever it is affects their kidneys too, but with this foal we have caught it much earlier. probelm is until we actually know what the cause is treatment is a gamble..
 
2 of mine have had what my vet calls a "viral" eye-infection....

he's convinced it's water bourne in this never ending deluge....

all x'sd for your little ones.
 
Thats awful! Gutted for you, sorry I can't be of any help, have you not had the histology report back yet? Maybe that will shed some light on it? Lodas of good vibes for you and your foals (((((((((((((((((((((Good Vibes)))))))))))))))))))))
 
That field is fed by two sources, a tank from our main water supply and the stream which they tend to use when that side of the field (big field).
The tank supply gets an ultra violet light thing shone on it at source so should be clean and free of bugs.
The stream enters our land via next door, winds it's way through the cow fields next door then back into us again. It then goes down one more field into the river.
None of the other horses have access to it, and none of the adult horses in there are ill either, the remaining two foals are galloping round like mad things as usual..
vet didn't mention grass sickness and symptoms don't fit apart from rapid weight loss.
 
So sorry to read this Sue, needless to say that all my vibes are winging their way down to you.
Will also be hoping and praying that your others are unaffected by whatever it is. X
 
Oh HH
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I am sending you IMMENSE Vibes!!!!!!! I really hope for the best for the foal!

I hope you get to the bottom of this and are not left wondering and worrying
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Have they tested for Leptospirosis yet Sue? With such wet weather the rats are on the move which could be a factor and what's that other rat borne disease, canoeists sometimes get it?.

Years ago, OH had a load of calves come down with similar, they lost a few, it was thought it was in the old buildings even though they had been fumigated etc. The only thing that helped was for the cows to be injected so that it got to the calves through the milk. Don't know if this is any use to your vet. What is it in rubble that's poisonous, is it something like the old plaster, I know we were all poorly when we were doing here so that could be related somehow. Do you know where the rubble was from, that might be a clue?

So sorry, Sue, what rotten things seem to happen to you. Fingers crossed for the poor soul.

The rash could simply be their system was below par which allowed them to go down because of being so wet all the time (just a thought)
 
HH - it's related to the cows - I googled the symptoms and it keeps coming up with cows and calves - but my pc is on a go-slow
 
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