Mary Bee
Member
Bought Pony October 2023 aged 4.
2 weeks backed - for my experienced 16 year old to bring on as an all rounder pony
14.1 coloured standard bred x trotter.
Lower end of the market
Since we have had her she has been showing potential in temperament and performance of becoming a lovely ridden pony.
She was 5 in May 2024
First ever vaccinations…
1st flu and tet 30/5
2nd 19/6 in chest (too early -20days since first jab)(there was a muddle over this date…vet sent text reminder on 13/6 saying vaccs due on 27/6, owner saw it, needed a vet visit for something else, rang reception and got it all done at the same time…which was 19/6 …the vet that came was a summer holiday locum from up country….So neither owner nor vet spotted this error.
3/7 call from vet, they had spotted the error, and said they needed to come out and repeat the injection the next day or that evening. (I did wonder if it was the right thing to give another dose of the vaccine?)
repeated 3/7 in neck(34days since first jab)(My daughter was out and I, Mum, forgot to say to vaccinate in the chest please, not the neck)(We have had problems with ponies sore in the neck from jabs before)( and it seems the jury is out on this topic, many saying the neck is not the place to inject although it seems like standard practice often?
Vaccine was Equilis Prequenza Te
After this injection in the neck pony was very sore in the neck for one week, was struggling to graze, was very sensitive. We didn’t contact the vet again as we had had this experience before with another pony and he got better and was fine.
However, since this double vaccination, with one in the neck experience, pony is simply not the same pony, she is more placid, less forward, her wide eyes are now more closed, her pupils not reacting to light/dark changes, but eyesight seems good, she has strange intermittent head sweats. She has a runny nose. She has a very sore neck and doesn’t want to be touched.
Could there be nerve damage?
Took her to original vet early August..
At that point the main symptom was her eyes - now half closed eyes…, pupils not reacting to light/dark changes - when she used to be a wide eyed pony..
No conclusion
One week Danilon prescribed. No change.
She was sound and riding well, just less forward, but over the following weeks my daughter found her just not wanting to do anything - and more and more sensitive to being touched around the neck, just a completely changed pony.
24th September we called on Vet Number 2. His opinion was that it was unnecessary for Vet 1 to repeat the vaccine. He did say pony exhibited a curious mixture of symptoms that would be hard to unravel.
…he suspected a respiratory infection...and as a first step prescribed expectorate...Sputolosin, Antibiotics... Doxycycline
He also noted the pony’s neck stretch (carrot stretches -) were stiff ….and back legs not crossing over each other on tight turns …as they should be … maybe because she is still young and has only been in light work since being unwell…
He took bloods.
The blood tests only showed a mild bacterial infection. pony still just doesn’t want to be touched and seems increasingly uncomfortable. Vet 2 is suggesting a neck x ray, to see if damage from the injection, maybe scar tissue, near the spine? If something is spotted he is suggesting injecting with cortisone. But how does this help with the other symptoms?
A particular chiropractor has been recommended to us, but at the moment we don’t think pony will stand for being touched at all….
Her history - She had come from a farmer that bred lots of ponies - and the lady we bought her from had her 6 months to start her off. We had her vetted before we bought her, but only 2 stage, as she was so recently backed and not yet cantering etc. She was recommended for the activities we intended. She had rainscald when we got her - noted in the vetting - , which meant that her neck was sensitive then too, but it improved, but maybe her neck was always sore?? When she arrived home - 45 minutes in the trailer, she was drenched in sweat and had mucus pouring from her nose....it wasn't her first trailer trip. She was sensitive to old hay as bedding and got a cough from it soon after she arrived and needed steroids to clear it. A sensitive type. Needless to say no more old hay bedding and lives out.
Right now we are trying homeopathy to de-tox the vaccine. We got the exact vaccine remedy from Helios.
What step would you take next in our situation? We are worried about her future as a ridden pony and her well being generally. Thanks very much for reading.
2 weeks backed - for my experienced 16 year old to bring on as an all rounder pony
14.1 coloured standard bred x trotter.
Lower end of the market
Since we have had her she has been showing potential in temperament and performance of becoming a lovely ridden pony.
She was 5 in May 2024
First ever vaccinations…
1st flu and tet 30/5
2nd 19/6 in chest (too early -20days since first jab)(there was a muddle over this date…vet sent text reminder on 13/6 saying vaccs due on 27/6, owner saw it, needed a vet visit for something else, rang reception and got it all done at the same time…which was 19/6 …the vet that came was a summer holiday locum from up country….So neither owner nor vet spotted this error.
3/7 call from vet, they had spotted the error, and said they needed to come out and repeat the injection the next day or that evening. (I did wonder if it was the right thing to give another dose of the vaccine?)
repeated 3/7 in neck(34days since first jab)(My daughter was out and I, Mum, forgot to say to vaccinate in the chest please, not the neck)(We have had problems with ponies sore in the neck from jabs before)( and it seems the jury is out on this topic, many saying the neck is not the place to inject although it seems like standard practice often?
Vaccine was Equilis Prequenza Te
After this injection in the neck pony was very sore in the neck for one week, was struggling to graze, was very sensitive. We didn’t contact the vet again as we had had this experience before with another pony and he got better and was fine.
However, since this double vaccination, with one in the neck experience, pony is simply not the same pony, she is more placid, less forward, her wide eyes are now more closed, her pupils not reacting to light/dark changes, but eyesight seems good, she has strange intermittent head sweats. She has a runny nose. She has a very sore neck and doesn’t want to be touched.
Could there be nerve damage?
Took her to original vet early August..
At that point the main symptom was her eyes - now half closed eyes…, pupils not reacting to light/dark changes - when she used to be a wide eyed pony..
No conclusion
One week Danilon prescribed. No change.
She was sound and riding well, just less forward, but over the following weeks my daughter found her just not wanting to do anything - and more and more sensitive to being touched around the neck, just a completely changed pony.
24th September we called on Vet Number 2. His opinion was that it was unnecessary for Vet 1 to repeat the vaccine. He did say pony exhibited a curious mixture of symptoms that would be hard to unravel.
…he suspected a respiratory infection...and as a first step prescribed expectorate...Sputolosin, Antibiotics... Doxycycline
He also noted the pony’s neck stretch (carrot stretches -) were stiff ….and back legs not crossing over each other on tight turns …as they should be … maybe because she is still young and has only been in light work since being unwell…
He took bloods.
The blood tests only showed a mild bacterial infection. pony still just doesn’t want to be touched and seems increasingly uncomfortable. Vet 2 is suggesting a neck x ray, to see if damage from the injection, maybe scar tissue, near the spine? If something is spotted he is suggesting injecting with cortisone. But how does this help with the other symptoms?
A particular chiropractor has been recommended to us, but at the moment we don’t think pony will stand for being touched at all….
Her history - She had come from a farmer that bred lots of ponies - and the lady we bought her from had her 6 months to start her off. We had her vetted before we bought her, but only 2 stage, as she was so recently backed and not yet cantering etc. She was recommended for the activities we intended. She had rainscald when we got her - noted in the vetting - , which meant that her neck was sensitive then too, but it improved, but maybe her neck was always sore?? When she arrived home - 45 minutes in the trailer, she was drenched in sweat and had mucus pouring from her nose....it wasn't her first trailer trip. She was sensitive to old hay as bedding and got a cough from it soon after she arrived and needed steroids to clear it. A sensitive type. Needless to say no more old hay bedding and lives out.
Right now we are trying homeopathy to de-tox the vaccine. We got the exact vaccine remedy from Helios.
What step would you take next in our situation? We are worried about her future as a ridden pony and her well being generally. Thanks very much for reading.
