Pony with pneumonia

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Renegade13

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Hi everyone, I'm new to this😬
I am at my wits end.....pony took pneumonia just over 3 weeks ago, since then she has had so many ups and downs. At best her breathing was normal, lungs clear and heart rate good, then she has relapsed ..she seems to respond well to steroids but each time she comes off them she relapses. Stopped steroids again yesterday, started her on inhalers, she got wet in field last nite, was shivering this morning and breathing laboured again so gave her a shot of colvasone this morning....can't go on like this. Can anyone advise?
Most of the time she looks like a well pony eating grass in the field. Putting to sleep is only a very last resort, I will do anything to make her better
 
Two things come to mind, 1 it is only 3 weeks so treatment will be ongoing I cannot see why she is not still on steroids and when she does come off it needs to be done slowly with possibly her staying on a low dose for some time , to my mind she has not had enough time yet to be off them fully, 2 has the pneumonia been fully diagnosed, getting a proper diagnosis and the appropriate treatment will be key, I would expect her to be on anti biotics for some time, again 3 weeks is not long enough to be giving up but I would be looking at different options and maybe another vet if yours is not giving you more idea of what is going on.
 
First thought is that steroids are the last thing to give when there is infection as they supress the immune system. They are very effective for allergic/asthma type things but if there is an infection then the pony should be on antibiotics. My mare had aspiration pneumonia - she spent about 4 or 5 days on IV antibiotics (3 different, very strong ones) followed by 2 weeks on oral antibiotics when she came home.
If you're being told she has pneumonia and she is not on antibiotics then you need a different vet.
 
She had been on steroids injected into the muscle twice daily,as things improved a lesser dose orally.
She is still on antibiotics and also had antibiotics tubed straight into her lungs last week
Vet not sure of cause, possibly started as an allergy or fromchoke?
I am feeling more positive now as you have said it's been only 3 weeks!
Today she is back onto steroids, inhalers, cough medicine and antibiotics
Since I posted this morning and she is back on the steroids, her form is better, she ate her feed and is back to the grass
Thank you for your advice��
 
It does take a long time to come back from, esp in this wet but also mild weather - with cold spells. you say she got wet lastnight in the field - did the vet suggest she should be inside at all? I only have human experience, but i would want them to be warm and dry if possible..
 
Renegade13 said:
She had been on steroids injected into the muscle twice daily,as things improved a lesser dose orally.
She is still on antibiotics and also had antibiotics tubed straight into her lungs last week
Vet not sure of cause, possibly started as an allergy or fromchoke?
I am feeling more positive now as you have said it's been only 3 weeks!
Today she is back onto steroids, inhalers, cough medicine and antibiotics
Since I posted this morning and she is back on the steroids, her form is better, she ate her feed and is back to the grass
Thank you for your advice��
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That makes more sense. It does take them a while to recover. given the cause is unknown she may have some sort of allergic/asthma thing underlying it all which is why the steroids help.
I would be being very careful to ensure she doesn't get cold and wet - ideally avoid stabling as there is less dust outside but I'd have at least a rain sheet on and if forecast isnt' great then padding as well.
Hope she continues to improve
 
He wants her out and to be honest her breathing is better when she is out. I had a rug on her when it was raining but she sweated a lot so took it off ...last night i was caught out....I had checked on her a few times through the night,she had been eating away. She did have an open sided hay store to stand in... tonight rug is back on and stable door left open just in case
 
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