Box_Of_Frogs
Well-Known Member
Well, Sunny has taken a further turn for the worst today. Background: he is 27 and has terrible COPD from a pollen allergy, also had 1 eye removed 7 years ago. He's been on Cavalesse all summer and it has saved his life as his lungs were so damaged that we didn't think his quality of life would be acceptable this summer just gone. He stopped the Cavalesse a couple of weeks ago since there's now no pollen in the air. I put him on brewers yeast at the same time as it is almost neat B vits, which is similar to Cavalesse. All the horses on my yard are out from 3pm to 9am and in from 9am to 3pm. This is the pattern all year unless we have heavy snow. They all thrive on it regardless of breed, age, sex, size.
About 7 - 10 days ago my YO spotted Sunny at about 8am lying down in the middle of the field in the pouring rain. All the others were standing with their bums wedged in the hedge. He was slow to stand and could barely put 1 foot in front of the other to walk in. By 4pm however, he was his old self again. Vet was called anyway, just in case. All vital signs seemed ok except for his lung sounds which are shot to hell and back. They took bloods. Results the following day, nothing much to report except that, amazingly, his liver enzymes were raised. They came out to take more bloods to send off for Cushings (just in case) and bile acid test. Results won't be back until Weds or Thurs. I almost called the vets again this afternoon. Over the last year, Sunny has grown more and more unable to regulate his own temperature effectively. Well, since that 1st episode 10 days ago, he has come in clammy and cold regardless of what rug I put on him. Every morning he is strangely lethargic, and by the afternoon he seems a bit better. The last couple of mornings he has seemed confused coming in, uncertain which is his stable and what to do next. Then today, he was standing totally at rest in his stable but not his normal self. When I counted his breaths per minute (8 - 12 is normal, 25 - 25 is normal for Sunny) it was 58!!! And he was sweating and clammy again. He's eating fine and appears to be pooing and peeing fine too.
I have a horrible sick feeling that these strange symptoms (blood sugars normal, no signs of infection) could indicate a shortage of oxygen to the muscles and brain. If he's still the same Monday morning, I'm getting the vets out again but I suspect there's not much that can be done except the dreaded steroids (that didn't help his lungs a year ago). I think if he was human he'd a) be on a lung transplant waiting list and b) need to be sat in his favourite armchair 24/7 plugged in to an oxygen cylinder.
Please please please has anyone experienced anything like this with their horses? If so, what helped/didn't help, what was the outcome and if not good, how long between 1st symptoms and the final decision? If I'm totally off the wall with my worries, does anyone know what the problem could be? Vets baffled so far too. Many thanks x
About 7 - 10 days ago my YO spotted Sunny at about 8am lying down in the middle of the field in the pouring rain. All the others were standing with their bums wedged in the hedge. He was slow to stand and could barely put 1 foot in front of the other to walk in. By 4pm however, he was his old self again. Vet was called anyway, just in case. All vital signs seemed ok except for his lung sounds which are shot to hell and back. They took bloods. Results the following day, nothing much to report except that, amazingly, his liver enzymes were raised. They came out to take more bloods to send off for Cushings (just in case) and bile acid test. Results won't be back until Weds or Thurs. I almost called the vets again this afternoon. Over the last year, Sunny has grown more and more unable to regulate his own temperature effectively. Well, since that 1st episode 10 days ago, he has come in clammy and cold regardless of what rug I put on him. Every morning he is strangely lethargic, and by the afternoon he seems a bit better. The last couple of mornings he has seemed confused coming in, uncertain which is his stable and what to do next. Then today, he was standing totally at rest in his stable but not his normal self. When I counted his breaths per minute (8 - 12 is normal, 25 - 25 is normal for Sunny) it was 58!!! And he was sweating and clammy again. He's eating fine and appears to be pooing and peeing fine too.
I have a horrible sick feeling that these strange symptoms (blood sugars normal, no signs of infection) could indicate a shortage of oxygen to the muscles and brain. If he's still the same Monday morning, I'm getting the vets out again but I suspect there's not much that can be done except the dreaded steroids (that didn't help his lungs a year ago). I think if he was human he'd a) be on a lung transplant waiting list and b) need to be sat in his favourite armchair 24/7 plugged in to an oxygen cylinder.
Please please please has anyone experienced anything like this with their horses? If so, what helped/didn't help, what was the outcome and if not good, how long between 1st symptoms and the final decision? If I'm totally off the wall with my worries, does anyone know what the problem could be? Vets baffled so far too. Many thanks x
