Vet help for isolated friend

pootleperkin

pootleperkin

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A friend who lives in the middle of nowhere in Nevada, USA (nearest neighbour 400 miles away!) has been in touch to ask for a bit of advice about one of her horses who is off colour - this is her e-mail:

'Allie horse has a 102.9 fever this a.m. She has been off her feed for about 24 hours…worse today than yesterday. No cough, no resp distress, I saw her have a good poop. Eyes are clear. She is listless.

Any ideas?'

I immediately thought bacterial infection at that temperature, but she doesn't mention a wound and her respiratory signs are clear. I have told her to look for small puncture wounds and any signs of colic, also to keep taking her temperature. Any other ideas?

I'm guessing if she stays this way with no other signs, then it must be an infection of some sort and antibiotics will be the way forward.

Rebecca will get the vet if she is mega worried, but I think the nearest is about 100 miles away, so is usually just contacted if really, really necessary....... I would p**p myself if my vet were that far away!!
 
Thanks Gonetofrance
smile.gif
- it is a good article, I just looked at it a little while before you added the link, which backed up my idea of some kind of infection.

According to the US department of agriculture, piroplasmosis isn't endemic in the USA, so hopefully it isn't that - doesn't sound very nice at all!
 
It is as common in regions of the USA as it is in France....... but it is tick transmitted, so if they have no problems with ticks where they live it's unlikely, but if they do have ticks, then it's a real possibility.
 
QR

A high temperature is normally a sign of an infection somewhere (and almost 103 IS worryingly high). Are there any other symptoms, ie, has she pinched the the horse's skin into a fold to check for signs of dehydration, how many breaths per minute - it should be between 8-12. What colour are the horse's mucous membranes, has she checked how quickly the blood returns to the gums if she presses them with her thumbs? Are the horse's lymph nodes in its neck/jaw swollen?

Personally, if I were in your friend's position I'd be on the phone to the vet asking his advice. He can ask her many more questions that he thinks might be relevant than might be asked on a forum. I'm sure with him being 100 miles away he'd be not only more than happy to offer advice, but may also put himself on standby should the horse need urgent treatment (that's if heaven forbid he's not already out on another emergency).
 
I only know what she said in the e-mail that I posted - I asked her a load of Q's along this line to find out more and I'm sure she will be on the phone to the vet if Allie isn't looking up soon. I'm with you, I would defo be on the phone as soon as, and that is what I advised her.

I posted on the forum as I was kind of interested as to what everyone else might think and to see if I had missed anything glaringly obvious - I was intrigued by the fact that there weren't any respiratory symptoms, as a temp in that region in my experience if often caused by a 'flu.

I'll post if she gets back in touch.
 
She has just mailed...

'Fever up to 103.6 now. Just gave her 11 cc penicillin.

She doesn’t have any marks on her…I suspect this is viral. The black mare I think had a touch of it a few days ago but recovered quickly. I never did take her temp because she was only off 1 day. Stomach is fine, she’s not dehydrated, colicky or shaky.

I’ll keep you posted…she really isn’t interested even in treats.'

Have just mailed her back and said to definitely ring the vet!
 
Give her the link for here - she may be interested, especially in the article GTF posted about.

And fingers crossed for the mare. Do let us know how she get's on.
 
Will keep you informed, so long as she does me!

Just to fill you all in on who I am helping a little here - I don't know her too well; we stayed with them (she and her husband) when on holiday in the summer and liked them a lot. To reassure you all, she is a very intelligent, caring woman who looks after all of her animals very well, but they are kind of up against it when it comes to getting vet help as I described before. Until you are out there, you don't know the meaning of remote - it took us nearly 2 hours to drive there from the nearest small town. I have no doubt that Allie will have vet help pretty soon though.
 
Wracking my brains here, everything from snake bite, nasty insect bite, poisonous plant, drinking unsuitable water but without knowing the risks in that area or contact with other animals/horses. Sorry no help--hope she has had chat with vet.
 
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