Thank you so much for the thoughts and prayers, everyone. They are greatly appreciated. I am very, very worried about my boy and have spent very little time in the last 24 hours with dry eyes.
I apologize in advance that this will be a lengthy update, but I don't know when I will be on here next.
I will try to address the questions I saw posed best I can. Forgive me if I missed anyone, I am going on very little sleep right now.
When he did get up and was moved to his stall were all four legs in equal working order or was there noted weakness or lack of function on any particular side or end? While he is down how is he lying and how is his head oriented (up and alert, down flat, weaving)
Last night, when we first got him up, he was wavering and unsteady but walking with all four feet. The vet right away started rushing him towards the barn (a suddenly endlessly long trek across my small 7 acres, of course he went down just about as far from the barn as possible) and he made it about 20 feet before falling again. I had about 15 people there helping at the time, thankfully, so we just lifted him again, gave him a few minutes this time to "get his feet back" (he had been down for several hours at this point) and then started walking towards the barn. Initially he was very slow, but all four legs/feet functioning normally. 3/4 way to the barn he did stumble on a bit of frozen mud sticking up, and went down on his front knees, but righted himself without help right away. The further we walked the stronger he got - I assume that is result of circulation returning to his legs. When I first found him down (returning from shopping yesterday evening) he was laying prone, but he sat up sternal when I went out to check on him and whinnied at me. He would keep his head up, was even happily munching hay when I brought him some over, looking around, alert, etc. No signs of sweating/discomfort, he had passed manure laying down. When he went down again today he would mostly stay sternal, with brief breaks where he would lay out prone but would sit back up with encouragement. Since he was down for so long today before we were able to get him back up, we did let him go prone to flip sides etc from time to time and then get him sitting back up.
How long ago did the feeding of flakes to cubes occur?
What kind of cubes, timothy, alfalfa?
Maybe it could be a neurological or metabolic problem.
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The change from loose hay to cubes had occured for his evening feeding at 8 pm Saturday night, and for his morning feeding at 6 am Sunday morning. He exited the barn trotting and happy Sunday morning. All the horses were visited with for a while around noon on Sunday, in which Finn and all the others got snuggles and hellos, and all seemed normal. He went down sometime between 2:30 and 4:30 Sunday afternoon. I had more hay in Sunday evening and so he was given loose hay from about 7 pm on. The hay cubes were orchard grass cubes by Standees. Unsoaked. His normal hay diet consists of content tested low sugar grass hay. Neurological issues is what all three vets that have seen him so far suspect, at this point. We are hoping the blood tests will tell us more - results are expected first thing in the morning.
Just a thought, as this sounds like hardware disease in cattle when they eat a foreign object, usually metal. Has he had X-rays?
He has not had Xrays at this point as he can not travel. If he were stable enough to travel, he would be down at Purdue right now. A foreign object would not be out of the question, as I so have some debris in my pasture (it's been a long term clean up project). Normally my horses are kept on bales full time, but due to my truck suddenly dying and my hay guy having been unable to deliver that day, they were on the cubes instead, so they might have been scrounging around. Finn picking something up isn't out of the question and I will definitely pose the idea to the vets in the a.m.
Hopefully the vet can bring a portable exray machine tomorrow. Sure sounds nerve related......... Prayers are with both of them.
None of the three vets have offered a portable X ray machine, or mentioned anything nerve related other than the dangers of possible nerve damage with him being down. But I will ask them about it when they come out tomorrow. Thanks for the idea.
A thought just occured. Any chance he has something going on with his front feet? Too painful to walk or put pressure on them?
Nope. All four feet and legs were very thoroughly checked and hoof calipers applied. He has very, very, very good feet that are trimmed every 6 weeks. Rock hard feet with no signs of discomfort at all. Once he was up on his feet, he stands and walks fine (after some wavering, unsteady recovery time). He just lacks the "oomph" to get up on his feet once he is down.
Right now I am taking brief breaks to come inside and warm up, but otherwise staying with him out in the barn. So far he is pretty good and steady on his feet, just standing around munching.
The makeshift, temporary sling we have on him is loose enough to allow him some movement, but without much slack so he can't get down, if he lays his full weight on the ropes he still has plenty of room to get his feet back under himself.
Neither of the two vet clinics the three vets are from own a sling, and neither do any of my local horse rescues or the local spca - I have checked. To purchase a standing sling is out of the budget at the moment, particularly with the cost of these vet bills already being extensive. Currently he is supported under the chest/girth line with a wide tow strap, and a heavy strength nylon rope is passed between his hind legs in an X pattern. Both straps are anchored to a very strong beam above in the hay loft in multiple locations. If anyone has alternate suggestions about a better sling system or suggestions I would appreciate it. This is the best the vet was able to come up with with short notice and the limited items on hand. He has always been vetted and de-wormed regularly. His teeth were last checked in November and I was told he didn't need done, although the vet last night mentioned he did have some sharp edges and also, she believed, some unshed caps - but that they are not bad enough to cause this kind of problem.
I am suspecting I have seen signs of something going on for a long time, that were not properly recognized as issues. (I've had Finn since he was 2 months old). After his initial babyhood antics, he has always been a notably laid back colt. When Finn was gelded last April, he was very difficult to get back up after his surgery. At the time the vet joked about "some horses can be TOO laid back" - he was quite content to just lay there on the grass even after he was fully awake and it took some strong motivation to encourage him to his feet. He was a tiny bit slim in the beginning of his yearling year, but with the spring grass he promptly put on plenty of weight and was in fine shape the rest of that year. The winter shortly before his 2nd birthday he started dropping weight, and was put on a feed program, that has had alterations from time to time, but he has stayed on since. Through most of this summer he was on the slimmer side but in decent shape. He is a very leggy, tall, narrow horse by build. His nickname has always been "string bean". Late this fall he started dropping weight again, I have combated the weight loss with the addition of calf manna and omegatin to his diet. He has stopped losing, but has not gained, either. He has been kept blanketed all winter to prevent losing any precious calories to shivering. (northern Indiana, cold winter climate. However, until this week, we have had a pretty mild winter.)
3 year olds aren't typically hard to keep weight on, particularly drafts. I have Finn's full sister and his dam. His dam is the hardest hard keeper I have ever owned. His sister (who is a coming 2 year old) stays fit and in good condition on just grass hay and pasture.
So that's the rundown of the current situation. I am open to any and all suggestions or thoughts anyone might have. If I can't get on to post the blood test results in the morning, I will pass word on to someone who can.
Thank you so much, everyone.