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| Discussion on Runny nose and eyes in foal | |
| Author | Message |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Tuesday, Jan 24, 2006 - 9:28 am: A couple of weeks ago I bought a coloured cob foal at an auction. He is 6-9 months old and was said to have been weaned but I doubt this as he tried to suckle my gelding when I turned him out and would not eat hard feed. He didn't exhibit any signs of being ill at the sale but the filly in the next pen was heard to cough.The day after I bought him he had a bilateral nasal discharge of thick bright green mucus.The following day I called the vet as I was not sure whether his lungs were affected as I could hear his inspiration. He had a temperature of 103 degrees but was eating and passing normal DrOppings. I have never heard him cough even after exertion. The vet diagnosed Upper Respiratory Tract infection and I gave him 6 daily injections of Excenel antibiotics. The runny nose cleared up on the 4-5th day but his eyes still ran. He was then seemingly OK for a week except for runny eyes and is eating 2lb stud cubes morning and night and ad lib hay then his runny nose returned but was a paler milky yellow colour. Everything else seems normal.The vet says that the Excenel would have cleared up any bacterial infection so wants him in to the hospital to endoscope him to check for deformed palate, gutteral pouch problems etc but as the colt has only just been handled and is starting to trust humans I really don't want to travel him and put him through this unless absolutely necessary. Are there any other options - nasal swab? Could it not be a cold that he got at the sale like kids do when they start school that could run it's course or could I be putting him at risk?! PS he is not yet insured! Thanks for any help |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Wednesday, Jan 25, 2006 - 10:58 am: Update: the discharge is now just from the right nostril and like a thick creamy gloop that he snorts out/rubs off on his knee particularly when head down eating. Otherwise no swellings or sensitivity on face/neck etc. I did a 5 day wormer on him recently but that shouldn't cause anything like this should it? I am leaning towards waiting to see what happens but don't want to risk gutteral pouch infection (are these common?, lung damage (but no cough apparent) or flu/pneumonia etc but to me he doesn't seem ill enough for these? |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Wednesday, Jan 25, 2006 - 11:04 am: Absolutely Jo, while the scenario you describe is the norm for an infection, it would be unusual for the problems the vet described because he has not had chronic problems from the beginning of birth.DrO |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Wednesday, Feb 8, 2006 - 9:29 am: Thanks I'm glad I didnt have him scoped- the foal is far less snotty just a bit now and again a month down the line but whatever virus/infection he brought with him has spread to my other horses. My 4 year old coughs and has thick creamy yellow snot with a temp 38.5-39.4 but is fine in himself then a week after he got symptoms my 14yr old mare got it. She is far worse - depressed off her food, temp up to 39.7 but varies, occassional cough and again the creamy snot. She stands away from the other horses and occassionally stands at the trough as if thirsty but reluctant. After a few days I found an egg sized hard lump under her jaw between her cheek bones where they join the jaw on the opposite side from her snot. The vet came and gave her anti inflammatory jab and I give her 25ml Neopen which is Penecillin and neomycin antibiotic daily (7 day course). It took until the morning of the 5th day before she perked up and ate normally and the lump is smaller and still hard.Is it possible that she has strangles although the others weren't so ill and she is the oldest and most experienced/immune or would this be a swollen lymph node as it was localised and wasn't squidgy? Vet says no point swabbing as treatment the same regardless but I'm a worrier and am concerned about bastard strangles or that she'll infect the other 2 if they just had a virus and she's got the bacteria. Also how long can a snotty nose run without being cause for concern?! |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Thursday, Feb 9, 2006 - 6:36 am: If it is not Strangles it is doing a good imitation of it. There is no particular time frame for worrying about a snotty nose, mainly you want to watch for symptoms of your horse worsening. You may want to review our article on penicillin (Equine Medications and Nutriceuticals » Antibiotics and Antimicrobials) to be sure the type of penicillin, the dosage, and the frequency is consistent with current recommendations.DrO |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Thursday, Feb 9, 2006 - 9:17 am: Thanks again for your prompt reply - you save me many sleepless nights!So - I read the info on strangles and penicillin but I'm not sure about the dosage info - my Neopen bottle says neomycin 100mg/ml and procaine penicillin 200mg/ml and I am injecting 25ml daily into a 500kg horse if that's any help. Also says methylparahyDrOxybenzoate, sodium formaldehyde sulphoxylate & disodium edetate. It also says that it should be given for a maximum of 3 days and my vet said 7. I have given 6 but her neck muscle has a vertical hard swelling and she is eating normally and seems ok so I am tempted to stop - Q1 - is this the right dose and enough days? Q2 - is it possible that the foal and the 4 year old who has never been anywhere and who share her field had mild strangles but no abcesses or are they now at risk from catching it from the mare? Q4 - worse still could they have bastard strangles internal abcesses as they never had penicillin and the vet hasn't advised it? Q3 - is it ok that the lymph node/abcess went down without errupting? Or will the antibiotics have done that? Q4 - How long do I wait post symptoms before riding/meeting other horses? Thank you and Sorry to ask so much - I have had this mare 10 years without her ever being ill and hated to see her so depressed, I have never been so happy to see her just eat hay normally!!! (I don't know how to move this to the strangles page??) |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Thursday, Feb 9, 2006 - 10:20 am: Taking by the numbers you have given:1) I usually see penicillin given in international units but you can make the conversion 1 mg = 1,000 units. The dose looks on the low side to me, it should be given twice daily. Even using our lowest recommended dose from the article: 10,000 units/kg x 500 kg = 5,000,000 units = 5,000 mg = 25cc twice daily. You do not need the neomycin you should use straight procaine pen which is more concentrated so less volume is needed. The length of time to treat is in the article on Strangles. 2) Yes and Yes, either is possible. 4) Possible but it is very unlikely a horse that showed no or minimum symptoms would develop bastard strangles. 3) It may swell again and rupture when you discontinue antibiotics. 4) 21 days after all symptoms are gone is pretty safe}. DrO |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Friday, Feb 10, 2006 - 8:18 am: Thanks again for all that - far more informative than my vet - I always feel as if I am questioning his opinion!...2 more things...If the lump doesn't grow again now I've stopped the antibiotics can I assume it's not strangles? Also would you advise separating my mare from the other 2 as they've now been sharing mangers troughs etc for a month or would this cause more stress and increase chances of catching something? NB None of them have been anywhere other than local lanes for a month and the foal is the only newcomer - all have had snots and temp but nothing else and seem to be nearly better. Thank you so much |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Saturday, Feb 11, 2006 - 10:21 am: No and no I would say. If I read your post right, I don't see a point in separating them now.DrO |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Wednesday, Feb 15, 2006 - 1:55 pm: Thanks again - 1 week after discontinuing antibiotics the lump under her jaw has returned to size of ping pong ball as you predicted. The odd thing is that her temperature has been and still is normal over this week(between 37.8 and 38.2) and she's eating drinking and acting normally whereas I thought it was the lump that made it difficult to eat before and gave her the high temp. Is this all the usual way things pan out with stangles/infections or would you recommend the vet take a second look at the lump? |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Wednesday, Feb 15, 2006 - 2:34 pm: PS the lump is very hard and just on the right side rather than oedema puffiness and she lets me handle it ok. The vet checked her teeth on his last visit and I guess tooth problem would also give her a temperature. I am now wondering whether she has had this lump of some sort all along and I just didn't notice it! Or is it normal that the cough, snot and temp go and then the abcess comes after as a recovery? |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Thursday, Feb 16, 2006 - 8:25 am: Usually horses with this scenario don't have fever or other problems as they now have a local problem in the lymph node. And usually it just stays local. It is the infection in the throat that causes the fever and inappetence.I would wait and see if this thing does not go ahead and rupture or go down on its own. It you have the time hotpacking might speed it up. DrO |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Friday, Feb 24, 2006 - 8:00 am: Update : over 2 weeks on and the lump is still large egg size and hard. I have separated her incase the pus is infectious to others even though they had mild symptoms.Back to the germy little foal....! He still has an intermittent bilateral creamy discharge with very rare cough but is lively in himself. His eyes are always runny with greyish sleep. The vet did the dye test and it did come out of his nostrils but took a while so I was gonna have them flushed when he's castrated. The vet is concerned that it may be a gutteral pouch infection as the strong course of antibiotics did not clear it up fully. Is there any other way of testing this as inless it is a likely possibility I would rather not travel and stress him. The others caught the snotty nose and the mare is showing strangles/ URT virus symptoms so I thought it was something infectious the foal brought - or is gutteral pouch infection infectious to other horses too?? |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Saturday, Feb 25, 2006 - 9:23 am: It depends on the cause of the GP infection whether it may be contagious Jo. Besides scoping, ultrasound for puss in the pouch might be useful in an experienced sonographers hand. If the discharge is improving you might just consider more time. If not culturing after 72 hours off antibiotics may lead to a more effective antibiotic.The problem is most likely the tissues damaged by the initial infection have not healed so no matter what antibiotic you choose it will just select for a resistant organism. It is also possible your new young horse is having sequential URT infections to the bugs on your farm. Note that all surgery's should be postponed until completely well. DrO |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Sunday, Feb 26, 2006 - 8:12 am: Thanks - will give him more time. Does the hold off all surgeries apply to flu/tetanus vaccines too as the foal is booked for 1st jab next week and others, including abcsessing mare, are due boosters at the end of March? |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Sunday, Feb 26, 2006 - 10:48 am: I would wait, if it develops a reaction to the vaccine it might create a diagnostic dilemma and while the immune system is primed reactions are more likely.DrO |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Monday, Feb 27, 2006 - 4:55 am: OK thanks - will hold off on vaccine.It just occurred to me that they are all having a supplement of echinacea and garlic during the coughs and cold season - Q1 even if this is doing no good it shouldn't do any harm re immune responses attack on strangles/URT infections should it? Re the mare's abscess - it practically filled the gap between her cheek bones under her jaw by 3rd week and has been weeping clear yellow liquid for two days - I kind of imagined from other posts that it would bust open and there'd be loads of pus rather than stay large and weep -Q2 - do you advocate leaving to run it's course with poulticing or opening and draining/flushing by vet - she's OK in herself, eating and normal temp. Q3 PS how long after initial symptoms of strangles can I relax and stop worrying about internal abscesses/bastard strangles?! |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Monday, Feb 27, 2006 - 7:44 am: Taking them in order:1) We don't know. 2) Yes 3) You should stop worrying right now. It does not help and it is a rare complication that when caught early treatable. DrO |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Monday, Feb 27, 2006 - 8:31 am: Geez that was quick! Thanks - just to clarify -leaving abcess to weep preferable to opening and flushing? |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Monday, Feb 27, 2006 - 6:47 pm: Not always, if it is ripe (softening) I would lance it.DrO |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Wednesday, Mar 8, 2006 - 1:54 pm: Thanks again - next installment. Foal discharge thick and unimproved so had nasopharyngeal swab taken from him and also a swab from the mare's abscess when it was lanced. Culture results came back as streptococcus equi simularis (what is this - never heard of it?!)in the foal and streptococcus equi equi/strangles in the mare. I guess he must have it too and infected her as she has not been in contact with any other horses/places etc. Trouble is the Excenel I gave him is penicillin and the vet reckons that should have cleared it unless he carries it in gutteral pouches. I am now really concerned about this carrier stuff as technically all my horses could now be carriers even though only the foal has a discharge but the only way to tell apparently is this 3 consecutive weekly swabs which are expensive and distressing to collect and as the foal's came back negative for strangles is there any point?! I hoped to buy a batch of youngsters in for bringing on this summer but dread the losses if strangles takes hold.So any info on strep equi simularis - does it pose any probs diff to the strangles and how likely are symptom free post recovery horses to be carriers? Thanks again - I will certainly take more care when buying a pasture companion in the future as this foal, cute as he is, is turning out to cost twice his price in vet fees! |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Thursday, Mar 9, 2006 - 6:22 am: S equi similaris (?) I cannot find that in pubmed and I would assume it is so similar that it is really Strangles. Carriers are rare Jo so your goal should be to get him cleared up while preventing exposure to other horses and areas. After that you should be in good shape. Can you tell me what were the ingredients (there are several types of penicillin), concentration of each, and what dosage rate and frequency you gave to your foal? Also how long did you treat for.DrO |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Thursday, Mar 9, 2006 - 2:09 pm: I've thrown the bottle away and can't remember except that it was a powder you mixed with sterile water and it was penicillin but broad spectrum and was supposed to not have anything with much resistance to it (not much use to you I know!). I was only told to do the injections for a week and he did get a bit better for a week or so after but reading your article now we know it was strangles I think that was not enough or for long enough. Q1 - So how many ml of procaine penicillin for a foal who is about 12.2hh and weighs about 200kg/440lb and for how long? The only symptom he exhibits is an intermittent creamy nasal discharge so it's hard to say when it has cleared for sure.Also he has now had those same symptoms with nothing else for over 2 months without getting better or worse - Q2 - does this indicate he may be harbouring it in gutteral pouch(es)or can this be the case that it hangs on a while sometimes? PS Do we get different strangles her in UK as it seems to be treated like the Black Death! - my vet won't have him at the hospital now he has a diagnosis for fear of infection and recommends all my horses have a pouch flushing sample taken. One horse has wobbler synDrOme and is very unstable under light sedation and gets worse if he pulls against handler so I feel this would be dangerous and unecessary but I am also concerned none of my horses would be allowed at the vets should they need it unless I can prove they are clear. |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Friday, Mar 10, 2006 - 7:23 am: It is treated the same way here. I cringe when I hear of a barn outbreak in our area because everyone does treat it like this is some form of Ebola virus, particularly barns I service since we don't recommend routine vaccination. It is good to be careful about spreading it and we too do not bring infectious diseases into our hospital barn with but rare exceptions and even keep a specially designed quarantine stall. I prefer treating them at home and as the last call of the day.These type infections are always worse in the very young and your experience is not that odd, remember the kids in schools who when they got a cold would have a snotty nose for most of the year? After 2 months I would be tired of this also and I would try a course of penicillin with an emphasis on training the little guy to stand quietly for his injections. For dosage information use that at Equine Medications and Nutriceuticals » Antibiotics and Antimicrobials » Penicillin. You will find specific information on treatment and dosage based on type infection and age. If you don't get improvement in 5 days consider adding scoping and if it is coming from the guttural pouches flushing while maintaining the antibiotics. You should maintain the antibiotics...hmmm...2 weeks. This should give the epithelium of the respiratory tract a good jump on healing. 3 weeks would be better but it is hard to stay on the good side of the colt for that long sticking him 2 times daily. DrO |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Sunday, Mar 26, 2006 - 12:43 pm: Thanks - I have now been injecting him with 4500mg procaine penicillin every day for 2 weeks and yes the snot became clear and runny then dried up to just moist nostrils but I am still getting (or rather the colt is!)occasional snorts especially when eating that produce yellow gloopy snot. It is getting increasingly difficult to inject him as he is familiar with the routine and I am running out of new sites to surprise him from!I will carry on for as long as I can do the jabs safely. I did have the vet try to scope him while doped but because they didn't want him at the clinic they brought a mobile unit but the end was too large to enter the gutteral pouches. We did get all the way down trachea and everything looked normal.There were lots of DrOps of snot along his nasopharygeal passages so I am putting Sputolosin (?) powders in his feeds twice a day to try to get it all to run out.The pouches looked like 2 cream slits to me and we did flush saline through with a uterine (?) catheter but no snot or pus came out. The vet said he was encouraged by what he had seen and although wished he could have got a look into the gutteral pouch said he couldn't see obvious signs of infection.So...Q1 should I be seeing complete abscence of discharge by now after 2 weeks of injections? ...Q2 Will it be less effective if he has the penicillin in one dose a day to make his and my life easier?! ...Q3 Is it essential to get a vet who will get into the gutteral pouches or would the entrance or the flushing have shown signs of infection if it was this causing the lengthy recovery? Thanks again |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 - 6:16 am: PS anone know of a numbing cream or spray as it's the 1st jab he objects to not the plunger going down? Seems better of I use a fresh syringe for some reason (I always use a fresh needle!)Nose almost always clear so maybe not gutteral pouches - I just dread that symptoms will return when I stop the penicillin and I'll have to go through all this again but with flushing too!! |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 - 7:21 am: Hello Jo,I am sorry I missed your Sunday post. Q1 no it is not surprising you continue to see some snottyness. Q2 Yes it will be much less effective Q3 We will have to go with your vets opinion here as he actually saw the opening and did the flushes. How much longer does the veterinarian suggest you treat? I do not know of any numbing sprays but with proper training I usually find horses become less resistant to injection. Are you making sure the foal is quite and calm before you inject? Are you correcting bad behavior and rewarding good behavior in a manner that is clear to the foal? For more on this see Training Horses » Training Your Horse's Mind » Modifying a Horses Behavior: Conditioned Responses. DrO |
| Member: Canter |
Posted on Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 - 8:06 am: Jo, I have no idea if this would work on a hairy horse, or even if it's safe to use, but there's a sunburn relief spray you can get at any drug store called Novocaine (sp?). If I remember correctly from when I was a kid, it provides some topical numbing relief from severe sunburn. Unfortunately, I don't have any here to check the ingredients for DrO to comment on, but maybe it would be worth looking into.Of course, there's no substitute for good training and shots are a fact of life for horses so although your poor little foal probably feels like a pin cushion right about now, he's going to have to learn to deal with it. |
| Member: Canter |
Posted on Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 - 8:08 am: Hmmm...in thinking about this, I'm pretty sure I got the brand name to that spray incorrect...at any rate, check the first aid and or sunscreen sections of your local drug store. You'll find it. |
| Member: Corinne |
Posted on Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 - 10:24 am: Fran...I think we are on the same wavelength as I was typing my question while you were posting yours. Dr O....There is a topical called Emla that we use to numb the skin prior to injections on pediatric patients. It's by prescription only as it contains Lidocaine 2.5% and Prilocaine 2.5%. It greatly decreases the traumatic experience of giving injections in children, however requires 15-20 minutes prior to onset of numbness and of course there are contraindications for use. I personally love it. Now with horses, since they seem to remember pain, especially when you have to administer IM injections at multiple sites, (mine stands still but has an intense fear in his eyes and gets very excited during IM med administration) regardless of their training, could something like this help decrease the stress of giving injections as well? (Not implying that it can take the place of training) The web site for Emla is https://www.emla-us.com/facts/ Also, since I am not sure about Emla's use in animals, could people use a dab of ambesol, wait for the skin to numb, prepare the site with alcohol to prevent contamination, then give the injection? Or is benzocaine not suitable for use in animals? Ambesol...Active ingredients are Benzocaine 10% Inactive ingredients benzyl alcohol, carbomer 934P, D&C red no. 33, D&C yellow no. 10, FD&C blue no. 1, FD&C yellow no. 6, flavor, glycerin, methylparaben, polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol, saccharin I am a pain control advocate for children and would think it could have benefits in animals for pain control for them and to decrease the stress of the care taker... What do you think? Very curious...... v/r Corinne |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Thursday, Mar 30, 2006 - 6:05 am: All you can do is try Corinne, I don't see any likely additional problems with equine use. I wonder if the thicker hair and skin of the horse might decrease efficacy.DrO |
| Member: Canter |
Posted on Friday, Mar 31, 2006 - 8:18 am: Solarcaine! That's the name of the product I was talking about in my post above. I had an 7 hour drive for a business trip yesterday and instead of thinking about work, my mind was working over-time trying to remember the name of this stuff. I hope it helps. |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Friday, Mar 31, 2006 - 8:56 am: Thanks everyone - colt is now being really good so haven't had to resort to numbing creams/spray(famous last words!)and I'm trying to just go ahead and not react to whatever he does then feed him. He will have had jabs for 3 weeks on Sunday - nose moist but clear except for a yellowy gloop whilst eating on Sunday and again today(Fri). Vet says no harm in carrying on until clear so I'll give him another week or until he's completely clear for a week. Fingers crossed that will clear him up for good. Will they be immune to strangles forever then or just this year? |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Saturday, Apr 1, 2006 - 1:18 pm: Oh dear another big stringy gloop of yellow snot snorted out while he was eating his (soaked) hay today. How long do you reckon I should live in hope that his gutteral pouches are not infected ie how long should I keep on injecting - is there a time period that the snot should have cleared up in with him having the penicillin? PS his eyes are still runny but not sore or anything despite twice a day Maxitrol (Dexamethosone, Neomycin sulphate) cream - would this be any indication of pouch infection or else I was gonna have the tear ducts flushed through when he is castrated. |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Sunday, Apr 2, 2006 - 9:02 pm: Hello Jo, a single snort of snot should not trouble you and the inflammed eyes sound more like a possible recent viral infection or possibly dust irritation. There is no particular time period just look for consistent overall improvement. Lastly we discuss natural immunity in the article on Strangles.DrO |
| Member: Lexi |
Posted on Thursday, May 25, 2006 - 4:05 pm: Update: colt had the month of penicillin at your recommended dose and only had occasional snorts of discharge whilst eating, say once a week. 6 weeks down the line I had him swabbed to see if he was clear of strangles before I show him. The swab from his gutteral pouch came back clear of strangles (but then it did the first time too when he must have had it to pass it to my mare!)but still positive for strep. zooepidemicus. Is this is common and nothing to be concerned about or should I be treating/flushing? Could there be complications if I just leave it - He is only just a year old and I don't want his wind affected. And is this strep colony different to a gutteral pouch infection?Thanks again |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Friday, May 26, 2006 - 9:36 am: Step. equi subspecie zooepidemicus is a common respiratory contaminant but can be responsible for disease. If the organism was isolated in pure culture and the foal shows signs of disease you should consider continued therapy. If it was part of a larger group of isolates and the foal is not showing signs of disease you should consider letting it be. Either way this is a decision made by you and your veterinarian who can examine the colt. Strep can infect the guttural pouch.DrO |
| Member: lexi |
Posted on Tuesday, Jul 31, 2007 - 4:20 pm: Hi - this is in relation to the same colt who is now 2 and has been symptom free for about 16 months and doing really well. This morning he was standing depressed head low in the field shelter and did not move from that position all day. I thought it was the hot weather but he was reluctant to lead and kept trying to snort/neigh but it was as if it caught in his throat. His temperature was 39.6 degrees and I think I can feel a enlarged right sub mandibular lymph node again. I called the vet as he had not drank any water - just splashed it with his nose as I suspected strangles. He have him a shot to reduce his fever and left me with daily procaine benzylpenicillin 300mg/ml suspension (20ml once daily). I am confused as I thought that once he had had it he would not get so ill again - he had his gutteral pouch swabbed clear of strep equi 18months ago although I think he had strep zooepidemicus present - he has not been anywhere and is still with the 2 other horses he has always lived with who are symptom free and have been for 16 months so where has it come from - can the bug live somewhere for 16 months? Are all my horses at risk again or is it likely to be something other than strangles? I can't feel any blockage and he nibbles at hay though sometimes coughs it back and he ate a small feed of wet chaff. I put him back in the pasture with his 2 mates as the vet said they would already be contaminated by him anyway and they already had strangles...but so had the colt! Any help appreciated. |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Wednesday, Aug 1, 2007 - 7:55 am: Hello Jo,Since there is no history of recent exposure, Strangles seems very unlikely to me. For more on this and other possible diagnosis see the article associated with this forum, Nasal Discharge, Cough, and Fever. DrO |
| Member: lexi |
Posted on Thursday, Aug 2, 2007 - 2:03 pm: Thanks Dr O - I think I panicked a bit as it was such a horrible experience for my horses when they went down with strangles I didn't want it again! This time there is no snot (yet?) so I am not sure from the articles what it could be and I don't really want the expense and trauma of nasal swab/gutteral pouch swab unless vital. Does anything spring to mind considering1) there is raised temperature(103 at first now 101)depression and cough. He is opening his mouth and looks like yawning then grinding his teeth but his teeth look OK and there isn't any painful swelling obvious. Sometimes you can hear him 'wheeze' on exhale. 2 He has not been off the yard or in contact with any new horses - the only change has been a new batch of hay.So where on earth has this come from?!!! He is on procaine penicillin - if it is bacterial eg from hay will this be suitable? Thanks once again |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Friday, Aug 3, 2007 - 1:01 pm: The hay is an unlikely source Jo and young horses getting colds from out of the blue is common. Check out the subtopic "How Did My Horse Get This?" in the article associated with this discussion for possibilities.DrO |
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