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Hello lsweeny,
Sorry for the delay, we have been traveling the last week. Hmmm the symptoms sound like an undiagnosed lameness followed by vaguely colicky symptoms associated with a transient fever episode. As to a single cause that seems unlikely but Lyme’s disease can cause a multitude of symptoms if this is an endemic disease to your area it could be considered. Tick fever (anaplasmosis) generally has more persistent fever and presents with vasculitis and jaundice is common. Best is not to prejudge and let a thorough physical exam and targeted lab work lead you.
DrO -
So if it had been just the fever, I would have given it a little while to see where it was going to go. But given all of the other weird symptoms, she went off to the vet, even though she looked fabulous, wasn’t limping and didn’t have a fever. And….of course the blood work was unremarkble. Some evidence of banding. Vet didn’t think it warranted testing for tick disease, pigeon fever, but retained blood so that we could do so if she became symptomatic again. So far, so good. No more weirdness, eating like a “horse” and no more fever.
Sigh….
Of course, if we had stayed camping, then she would be down for the count…..
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As I reread the above I don’t have any further diagnostic info but do have one recommendation. The thing I am certain I would have done differently is given flunixin (Banamine) for the colicky symptoms. We carry both injectable and paste when we camp. Research shows the oral paste works almost as well as the injection as it is very rapidly absorbed from the gi tract. It may have saved the trip and the mare would have been more comfortable, at least from the colic.
DrO -
To follow up on this, I now know what was causing this. Her back feet were getting bruised. I had ridden her for years with boots on the front, barefoot on the back. My husband, who is a bigger guy, started riding her, and she is now in her teens. After several episodes of this, we started putting boots on the hind feet, and she stopped spiking fevers, walking weird a couple of days after camping trips, etc.
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