Disney foal is in horsepital... :(

EgerdenFarmStud

EgerdenFarmStud

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I posted a couple of days ago that my mare had had her foal Disney nearly 3 weeks early, she was struggling to drink so I was bottle feeding her every hour... Yesterday afternoon she started to drink from mum by herself which was great, but she couldn't get up alone so I continued hourly checks to get her up to eat... At 8am we noticed she wouldn't put any weight on her off hind and thought probably either jointill or mum has stepped on her. Vet came out and was slightly worried by inflamed hock and heat so we rushed her in to Bell Equine for tests. They took fluid from both upper and lower parts of hocks and discovered lower joint was septic. They've put her under GA to flush it but vets are worried as it's un common to be in lower part of joint and in a foal so young. They informed me that it was going to cost around £4000 and that the outcome wasn't great... They've had 2 or 3 ( they say ) foals with jointill in lower part of hock and only one went home... :(

Has anyone ever had a foalie with this, and please tell me your happy endings...

I'm beginning to think I'm destined not to have horses... I try to keep mine in the best possible conditions, as happy as they can be and with the best of everything that money can buy, and all mine seem to have something go wrong. Yet people who really don't care too much have healthy happy horses...

Just feeling a bit sorry for myself and am worried sick about baby Disney... Mum ( Willow ) has been a star throughout...

X
 
So sorry to hear about your problems, no help here I am afraid just loads of best wishes. But have you posted this in breeding? There are loads of breeders there with lots of foal experience. Hope it works out for you, Willow and Disney.
FDC
 
Oh bless poor baby...really hope it makes it...

Sometimes magical things can happen - my horse had a v rough start in life being rejected from a mum who couldn't suckle him, nearly starving to death and being unable to lie down or move about too much due to his hocks being massively swollen

He pulled through with lots of love and care [and hock massages - not that I think you should do them...]...he is now the biggest bruiser in town, 17hh, about 700kg, hard as nails and utterly beautiful
 
HAve a look at this site

http://www.longspring.co.nz/page/28/colombia-nz

This horse I nursed as a foal - he had everything under the sun. Born with Septicemia, he had ulcers, a ruptured bladder, joint ill, he was unable to stand and was semi-concious. He spent the first two weeks of his life on a heated water bed, with a permenant drip in his neck, we initially tube fed him, then when he was awake bottle fed him on special formula.

He was truly amazing - how he lived I really don't know. Me and another girl were on 6 hour shifts supervising his care, turning him as he couldn't stand, changing his nappies - adult incontinance pads, giving medications, changing the drip and willing him to live.

He made it and the day he tried to get to his feet - on a water bed - was the best day we cried.

I soo hope your little Disney makes it, they are often tougher than you would ever believe.

(((((HUGS))))) to you and Disney
 
Thanks everyone... Just spoken with vets... She made it through GA and is still sleepy but doing ok. There were no traces of septicaemia in the blood at 4pm so hopefully we can stop it reaching that far from now on... Won't know much until lunchtime tomorrow but vet will update me again in the morning...

Xx
 
My fellow had joint ill, started in hock. I had had the vet out as the mare needed cleansing, and stitches. A couple of hours after he went I noticed the foals hock had started to swell and called him back. We immediately started foal on antiobiotics.

He was a very strong and robust foal, about the size at 1 day old of a normal 2 week old foal (in fact the vet stated that he looked 2 weeks old and thought I was trying to trick him... not sure how he could of thought that though when the mare had obviously just foaled, and when I had rung him in the night as the mare foaled to ask a question, but I never liked that vet much).

He recovered fine without the need to go to horse hospital (in fact he was just kept out in paddock with his mum, as I did not have a stable).

The vets did say though that most of the time with joint ill, it is not such a good result. I think it cost me about $400-500 AUD. (About 15 years ago).
 
So sorry to hear your foal is needing horsepital treatment :(

I have a 2 year old who had joint ill in his hock when he was a week old (mum ran milk too freely a few days before he was born and we didnt collect......wont do that again!) Had the flush at great expense, and luckily hadnt spread to other joints. He was a robust foal, and is now a robust 2 year old. At castration he needed prolonged antibiotics and i do wonder if his immune system is lower due to his joint ill, but apart from that he is and has been as normal as any other youngster (just more expensive!) We did get him horsepitalised within 6 hours of joint ill being present tho - and i am sure the early diagnosis and treatment helped xx
 
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