Ponygirl777
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone.
I'm wondering if the wonderful and collective hivemind of the Forum can maybe throw up some ideas or advice?
Quick background: 8 yo Highland gelding getting over a recent bout of mild laminitis. Has always been barefoot but due to vet concerns he has his first set of heartbars on last Thursday. No problem with that and he's been more comfortable and striding out well.
On Friday he had a bout of pretty explosive diarrhoea and looked tucked up and miserable so the vet was called (bank holiday out of hours rates - hooray 😕). By the time the vet arrived he was bright and alert. He was given muscle relaxant, pain relief etc, sedated and given a rectal exam. All seemed fine and his clinical signs were all normal other than a respiratory rate of around 45. We checked him every few hours and he was absolutely fine and back to normal.
He was turned out on Saturday morning and we brought him in at 11am for a session with his Equine Touch bodyworker which he thoroughly enjoyed. He was so relaxed by the end that his head was practically on the floor but his respiratory rate had crept up into the 40s again. He had a drink of water and a cold hosing as it was rather hot - this did seem to bring his resp rate back down to normal so we breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he was just too hot (although he's been out in hotter conditions before with no issues). However, later in the evening when the temperature had dropped his resps were up in the 40s again. Otherwise he was bright, cheery, alert and full of his usual nonsense, was pooing and peeing normally, and eating and drinking. We called the vet again who thought he needed to be seen and came out again. She was pretty baffled but did a thorough clinical exam, including checking the feet and shoes incase there was any connection. Again all clinical signs were normal except the respiratory rate, and there were no signs of pain or discomfort. She could hear his breathing with the stethoscope (apparently it's generally pretty hard to hear) but there were no crackles. Again she gave more muscle relaxants and pain relief just incase and following that everything returned to normal. She has drawn bloods but unfortunately the lab will be shut until Tuesday due to the bank holiday. She suggested steroids but obviously with his laminitis history we'd prefer to avoid that. She's left us some Trimediazine which we'll start him on today.
This morning he's again bright, cheerful and full of beans and is eating and drinking normally, but his resps are up once again.
Any thoughts? He isn't coughing/sneezing and hasn't got a runny nose. Could this have anything to do with the shoes going on (unlikely I know)?
I'm wondering if the wonderful and collective hivemind of the Forum can maybe throw up some ideas or advice?
Quick background: 8 yo Highland gelding getting over a recent bout of mild laminitis. Has always been barefoot but due to vet concerns he has his first set of heartbars on last Thursday. No problem with that and he's been more comfortable and striding out well.
On Friday he had a bout of pretty explosive diarrhoea and looked tucked up and miserable so the vet was called (bank holiday out of hours rates - hooray 😕). By the time the vet arrived he was bright and alert. He was given muscle relaxant, pain relief etc, sedated and given a rectal exam. All seemed fine and his clinical signs were all normal other than a respiratory rate of around 45. We checked him every few hours and he was absolutely fine and back to normal.
He was turned out on Saturday morning and we brought him in at 11am for a session with his Equine Touch bodyworker which he thoroughly enjoyed. He was so relaxed by the end that his head was practically on the floor but his respiratory rate had crept up into the 40s again. He had a drink of water and a cold hosing as it was rather hot - this did seem to bring his resp rate back down to normal so we breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he was just too hot (although he's been out in hotter conditions before with no issues). However, later in the evening when the temperature had dropped his resps were up in the 40s again. Otherwise he was bright, cheery, alert and full of his usual nonsense, was pooing and peeing normally, and eating and drinking. We called the vet again who thought he needed to be seen and came out again. She was pretty baffled but did a thorough clinical exam, including checking the feet and shoes incase there was any connection. Again all clinical signs were normal except the respiratory rate, and there were no signs of pain or discomfort. She could hear his breathing with the stethoscope (apparently it's generally pretty hard to hear) but there were no crackles. Again she gave more muscle relaxants and pain relief just incase and following that everything returned to normal. She has drawn bloods but unfortunately the lab will be shut until Tuesday due to the bank holiday. She suggested steroids but obviously with his laminitis history we'd prefer to avoid that. She's left us some Trimediazine which we'll start him on today.
This morning he's again bright, cheerful and full of beans and is eating and drinking normally, but his resps are up once again.
Any thoughts? He isn't coughing/sneezing and hasn't got a runny nose. Could this have anything to do with the shoes going on (unlikely I know)?
