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Paresh
Gold Member
613 Posts |
 Posted - 03 Oct 2010 : 10:28:37 AM
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| Hope he has improved over night, sending healing vibes your way |
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Nut
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
2838 Posts |
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jamie
Bronze Member
Scotland
193 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2010 : 10:40:48 AM
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| Very sorry to hear this - best wishes for a good outcome x |
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barbara.gregory
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4531 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2010 : 11:35:38 AM
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How awful, I do hope he is better soon. With the high temperature it does sound like an infection. Is there a different antibiotic your vet can give him as it may be that the bug is not sensitive to one he is having.
When my stallion broke his jaw (you could see the jaw bone) yhe vet said that he could give him their standard antibiotic or a better one that was a lot dearer but he thought would be better in case the bone got infected. I went for the dearer one and he was fine. The one we used was crystapen.
I have said a little prayer for him. It is awful to see a foal like that. I do hope he is improving. They go downhill very quickly but they can also bounce back quickly/
Healing vibes going his way, you can do, little man.
Barbara |
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Quarabian
Platinum Member
Wales
4340 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2010 : 12:38:53 PM
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Oh poor boy and poor you. I am with Sue B on this one in that my first instincts are that he has eaten something that hasn't suited him. Definately go for the electrolites as I have seen lambs make a dramatic recovery with these. You need to buy him some time to get better.
Healing thoughts and vibes sent to Sammy.
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Pauline
Platinum Member
England
3185 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2010 : 2:34:20 PM
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Back in February this year my little New Forest Mare had similar symptoms as your boy. We never did find out what the cause was.
Is your boy drinking if so that is good, Honey gave up drinking.She came in with very very bad diarrhea, was depressed and would not eat.When the vet came he found her to be very toxic and he wanted to PTS then and there, she is 21 years old.
She was given Antibiotic and Finadyne and bloods were taken.The vet said that is she was still with us the following day and she was still not drinking he would put a drip up. We could not take her to the vet hospital as she is a little wild and would not be happy.
The following day she was still with us so we gave her some fluids. We left different foods. I also got hold of Roger Hatch who sent me some L94 which is a liver and kidney tonic, I also gave her some Aloe Vera juice and Pink Powders, as she was not eating I syringed it into her.
This is Honey with her drip up
Slowly slowly each day she improved. It took her about 2 weeks before she was well enough to go out for a short walk.
I also have a friend whose New Forest Gelding had the same thing.
Be careful about giving electrolytes if he is not drinking much. Electrolytes can dehydrate them if there is no fluids in the gut.
My thoughts are with you and your boy. I will be sending him some Reiki
Pauline
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Pauline Higgs
Equine & Human Holistic Therapist
www.thegentlestouch.co.cc
www.endurancegbmidsouth.co.uk
Berkshire / Hampshire Border |
Edited by - Pauline on 03 Oct 2010 2:38:13 PM |
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xsara
Gold Member
822 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2010 : 3:40:40 PM
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| I hope he pulls through and doesn't get any worse any news on how he is today he sounds like a very special boy and hopefully will give you many years of enjoyment |
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garnet
Platinum Member
2382 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2010 : 3:45:50 PM
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| I do hope your beautiful boy will soon be feeling better. Thoughts are with you at this terribly worrying time. |
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Zenitha
Gold Member
England
1078 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2010 : 7:38:33 PM
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Thankyou so much everyone for your kind words and thoughts, and for all of your good advice, it really means so much 
Today he seemed brighter - I had a shock this morning when I arrived to give his antibiotics - he was flat out on his side with his eyes open, but he didn't even flick an ear when I spoke to him. He then decided to stop playing dead, got up, and started tucking in to Mum's food !!! He ate a little (first hard food he has touched for 5 days) and ate a little haylage if I fed it to him. His temp was back down again.
I went over to collect some more medicine from the vet for his diarrohea (sp again !)who told me that unfortunately with rhodococcus they can seem very bright, despite being desperately ill  so I dare not get my hopes up. He is still not convinced it IS rhodococcus - mainly because such high temperatures are not typical for the disease.
Sammy is now having Azithromycin & Rifadin antibiotics for the Rhodococcus (£64 for 3 days supply - he will need to be on it for up to 4 months ,gotta find thing sto sell  )gastroguard for his stomach, Finadyne for the pain, some other thing specifically for diarrohea in foals, some sort of powder that is supposed to absorb the toxins from his gut, and electrolytes. If he is still scouring tomorrow he will have to go on a drip. All of this is syringed down, he's getting pretty fed up of me sticking things in his mouth (and his bum - bless him) BUT today he has been enjoying a scratch whereas yesterday he didn't really want to be touched.He is being offered all different sorts of food, but really enjoyed some freshly picked grass today (his stomach is rolling and gurgling horribly all the time).
Some people have suggested to me that he may be better off going somewhere like Newmarket where he can get the very best treatment - I'm going to talk to my vet about it tomorrow. Obviously I want to give him the best possible treatment, but I also am bearing in mind that both he and his dam are very sensitive - I don't want to stress them so much that it is detrimental ....
Well, off now to give the next round of medication - oh how I long to see his big black eyes looking over the stable door at me as normal...
Thank you all again, it really does help |
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Edited by - Zenitha on 03 Oct 2010 7:41:09 PM |
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sab2
Platinum Member
8467 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2010 : 8:52:05 PM
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| Bless him so pleased he seems a little brighter , hopefully tomorrow he will be brighter again, give him a big cuddle from me and best of luck little man. |
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Avonbrook
Silver Member
287 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2010 : 9:05:30 PM
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Fingers crossed for you. Always a tough call on whether to hospitalise, sounds like you're doing a great nursing job thus far.
Rowena |
  
www.avonbrookstud.co.uk |
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buffy
Gold Member
Scotland
835 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2010 : 9:07:14 PM
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Delighted that things are looking brighter. He is lucky to have you in his corner, his own personal Florence Nightingale!!!!
Wishing you all the very best and hope tomorrow sees him improve even more.
Sandra
x
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lisa rachel
Gold Member
Wales
831 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2010 : 09:06:08 AM
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Oh Zenitha I am so sorry to read this, thinking of you and Sammy.
Bloody Rhodococcus is not as rare as it used to be unfortunately, here in West Wales I had not seen it until a few years ago and now we see it every year... brought back from Newmarket and Irish TB studs at first
Has a PCR test been done to confirm Rhodococcus? sometimes radiographs are worth doing too. Anyway you will have had the very best advice from Liphook so I'm sure all possible is being done, all my best wishes for a good outcome xx |
lisa |
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arabianrio
Gold Member
England
1300 Posts |
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Anne C
Gold Member
United Kingdom
886 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2010 : 09:50:31 AM
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Hope he's a bit brighter today, fingers x for him!
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Anne |
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pinkvboots
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
3290 Posts |
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mogwai
Platinum Member
England
2717 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2010 : 10:03:43 AM
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Oh goodness jane, poor little love! He sounds like he's a fighter, and you're giving him every chance to get through this.
Wishing him a speedy recovery
Ros |
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NatH
Platinum Member
England
2695 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2010 : 2:09:44 PM
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| How's your little man today? |
Natalie
Chapel Lane Arabians
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pleasures
Gold Member
United Kingdom
781 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2010 : 3:17:33 PM
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Jane so very sorry to hear that your boy is so ill, they do bounce back and then it is one day at a time. I know how you are feeling as Bertie was only three days old when he got double pneumonia and septicemia. he went to Rossdales and I have so much faith in them. He sounds as though he is getting the best kind of medicine but I would watch out for the picked grass it is still quite rich and will not help the back end probs. The Gastro guard is expensive but so good preventing the unpleasant repercussions from all of the anti biotics.
I used to hand feed Bertie both pre and pro biotics with Manuka Honey and if you can get a bag of the milk re-placer and sprinkle a little on some of his feed then that will give him the vits that he needs as he is loosing quite a lot with the loose stools. I also used to give him some Pep-to Bisodol (sp) which is very good for settling the tummy and can be bough from most chemist works a treat.
I hope that he gets better soon they are amazing little fighters.
Good luck
Sue
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saddlebred
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
1706 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2010 : 4:52:55 PM
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| I do hope he soon turns the corner Jane. I always worry when they are so young that their poor little bodies wont cope with all the drugs. Poor little mite. Get well soon Sammy. Big hugs to you too. |
Based Bewdley Worcs |
Edited by - saddlebred on 04 Oct 2010 5:39:17 PM |
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Vera
Membership Moderator
United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
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Zenitha
Gold Member
England
1078 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2010 : 9:13:57 PM
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Thankyou everyone - he's hanging in there. He seemed much the same today, his temperature has now been 38.2 or thereabouts for 36 hours now - which is fantastic. He's still looking very poorly, but is picking at Mum's feed, and today as it was so lovely he went out for half an hour for some grass, poor boy is so wobbly on his legs, but his odema is quite bad so he needed to move about a bit, and poor Mum is swelling up too. I'm sure he enjoyed the sun on his back.
Thanks for the tip about the PCR test Rachel - I really am anxious to find out whether it IS Rhodococcus - yes because of the other foals but even more importantly because I've discovered that it can be passed to humans with a lowered immune system. My daughter Rhiannon (she's 11) is on Methotrexate for her arthritis, which is a cytotoxic drug, which works by lowering the immune system. As Rhiannon handles Sammy every day, she could be affected - but symptoms aren't noticeable until the disease is already well established. I've made an appointment for her at the docs anyway.
I asked my vet re the test, he spoke again to Liphook who said that it wasn't really reliable enough to place a lot of weight on the results  Also, because of the diarhhoea, they have stopped the antibiotics he was on, and put him on Norodine. I must admit I'm quite worried about this - the antibiotics he had originally didn't work (can't remember the name but it looks like urine & is kept in the fridge) so I'm now concerned that these won't either, and he will start going backwards again  He's still so poorly and weak, I don't know if he can rally again - though I realise that diarrhoea in foals is very serious too, he is still well hydrated. I suppose all I can do is watch him even closer, if thats possible ! Must admit after the 'grass sickness' episode, I no longer have the unquestioning faith in vets I used to have (that is no reflection on you Rachel btw !) |
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lisa rachel
Gold Member
Wales
831 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2010 : 9:38:17 PM
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Fair enough re the PCR, though we do use it , mosts tests can have false +ves and -ves and have to be interpreted with that in mind (I think the Rhodococcus PCR is approx 100% sensitive and approx 90% specific), but personally I like to get as much evidence as poss behind a diagnosis especially in the early stages of a disease, I would respect Liphooks view though. I understand your feelings re vets after your recent experiences, and we are all humans and make mistakes but please don't feel too insecure, you are in safe hands with Liphook's advice, there are some really excellent vets there.
Thinking of you.I really hope that it will all be OK for little Sammy.
Lisa |
lisa |
Edited by - lisa rachel on 04 Oct 2010 10:10:43 PM |
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barbara.gregory
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4531 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2010 : 11:55:38 AM
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So pleased to hear that he is hanging on; hoping for some real improvement soon.
My stallion had really bad diarrhoea when he was a few weeks old, no other symptoms but it was like dirty water for about ten days. He was fine apart from that, no temperature, eating well and running around as normal. He had something I was supposed to syringe down him to replace electrolytes etc but he wasn't the easiest foal and not a lot of it went in him; I seemed to get most of it spread over me. My vet wasn't too worried as he was so well in himself. It started around the time his mum came in season and lasted until the next season but then just stopped one day. He is now 11 and almost 16 hands so didn't do him a lot of harm. I do hope that sammy will recover soon; lovely breeding!
Barbara |
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precious
Platinum Member
England
2253 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2010 : 12:47:48 PM
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Hope little sammy keeps improvingxx
sending hugs to you both x |
     
Gemma Thompson
Birmingham West Midlands
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Please pray for sweet Sammy
