Pigeon Fever

Hello, I am new to this forum and new to owning horses! I was obsessed with horses as a young girl and teenager, took lessons whenever I could scrape the money together. And now have finally been able to realize a long time dream.

A month and a half ago I got my first horse, Bolt. (my boys named him) He turned 1yo the day I got him. Had NOT intended my first horse to be so young, but the poor baby was homeless after tornados took out his previous owners fencing and barn. As well as killed the other horses, this young man jumped the fence and survived. Had a minor injury to his back foot that healed nicely. We did also end up getting the perfect beginner/first time horse as well. She is a 15yo 16hh Fox Trotter that was used as a therapy horse for handicap kids. I am in heaven with these two. :) But, as much as I thought I knew, I am finding I know next to nothing and things continually pop up.

The latest is it looks like my poor baby Bolt has pigeon fever. I am 75% sure he does. Will call the vet in the morning. His chest has an uneven mass that is getting tender.

I have been researching treatment and care. My problem is how contagious it is. The only way I have to seperate my horses once it is lanced is putting him in our round pen. Is that good enough? We do not have a barn as of yet. They have one pasture with a good 3 sided shed, that's it. Will I be looking at boarding at the vet for 1-2 months? I am praying not, as fate would have it we got into horses and my husband got laid off. I can scrape up vet costs, but not sure about long term boarding.

Another concern is the daily care. I am an RN, it won't make me squeamish to care for the abcess. But, being new to owning horses I have realized it is a lot more intimidating handling them as an adult who fears for their mortailty than a fearless teenager who has experienced people around whenever a horse is being handled. (which was my case, not saying that is the case for all fearless teens out there!) I am overcoming fears very fast and can confidantly do normal every day things. But I am concerned that cleaning a wound will hurt him, causing him to act out, and I won't know what to do...So, is it painful for them to have a wound like that cleaned?

Thank you for any tips or advice.

Sorry I wish I could help you I have never heard of the ailment that your horses has. Good luck with him tho I'm sure some ppl on the board can help you :) there are a lot of smart horsey types around here

Its called ALL HORSE SYSTEMS GO it s a vet manual for conditioning the modern sport horse but it has just about anything that can go wrong with a horse listed in pretty good detail. I've never had any problem that it did not address.

Welcome to the Forum :)

Thanks! This is apparently a fly born disease, one that is especially prevallent in drought situations. Which we definitely qualify for this year in Oklahoma. Really sucks cause I have been really trying to be on top of flies for my babies. I started using fly preditors, use that stuff you put along the mane line every 2 weeks, and fly spray....But something is definitely wrong with Bolt...Maybe it isn't pigeon fever, just my best guess right now. The vet will know. At first I thought it was just our new mare kicking him. We got him the end of May and her about 3 weeks ago. He is so young she immediately started teaching him herd manners. Which for him were all new....all he had ever been with was his momma. So, he did take a couple hard kicks in the learning process...But, this is definitely more than a bruise.

Hey I didn't even notice you were from OK. I was born and raised in and around Tulsa and Bartlesville. Happily lived there for many years and boy do I miss it :)
Good luck to you and your horses Oklahoma is a beautiful place to live.

Oh and a heaping tbs of Diatamatious (sp) earth will cut your fly population WAY WAY down make sure to get feed grade it keeps down worms in the intestines and stomach too. Flies can't lay their eggs in the poo (well they can lay their eggs but the larva die) that helped alot when we had a bad horse fly problem and you will see the effects in just a few days. Much easier than tracking down fly masks and dumping poisons on them, the only downside is that you can't garden with the poo well you can but it will kill earthworms too I think (not 100% on that) but when I start having fly problems I go back on it then when flies are gone I quit adding it to the feed so that I can use the poo for gardening safely.

My husband and I are transplants here. I grew up in Seattle, him Boston. Both of us were air force. We love it though. No, not the beauty of Seattle I was used to, and it is green in Boston too. But lots to offer for sure. And thank you for that info, I wil look for that book tomorrow. I am sure it will be handy.

I am in Mannford/ Bristow area of Oklahoma. I am using a apple cider vinager mix that is keeping the flies and ticks off. I would think keeping him in the round pen will work. Ask your vet his opinion about it. If we are near each other I would be happy to help you if I can.
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My 6 year old mare is now recovering from pigeon fever, we live in central texas and this drought is really taking a toll. I don't even have that many flies, I use fly predators and fly spray for the horse but she still contracted it. Your horse may have gotten it thru the injury he had, biting flies seek soft skin, or injuries and its transmitted thru that. Had the vet out 3 days ago to lance the abcess, you can tell when its ready lance because they will loose their hair (bald spot) in that area about the size of a baseball depending upon the abcess and the skin will start to peel. My mare also was walking quite painfully in the last couple days before it was lanced. Its not contaigous per say but if a fly bites her while she has it, and then bites another of your horses, they could get it so slather them in fly spray. When the abcess initially drains the puss from it also can be picked up by flies, so they recommend you dispose of the dirt/sand etc in the stalls on a daily basis..so I had a bucket and trash bags available when the vet doped Breeze up and intially cut into the wound so it would drain into a ready dispoable container. After this she is confined to her stall for a few days until the draining stops, and it starts the healing process. My vet recommended scartlet oil to spray into the wound (no hydroing it at all because you run the risk of spreading the puss). She feels 80 percent better already just by opening the abcess (plus good drugs during the process:). I keep ensuring I fly spray all the horses (including her and swat around the wound) and hopefully its as far as it goes. Even the vet says no one really knows if all horses can actually catch it or just immunity etc. Because he says in a barn of a 100 horses, sometimes only 2 can come down with it...so that says alot too. Also I have bleached/watered any containers in her stall pretty much daily lately (feeding all hay on the ground) and just to be on safe side halters/leads and brushes (they needed to be cleaned anyway). I have attached some before/after pics, maybe this will help. And yes intially thought it was a kick from my other horses initially also but it stayed hard and didnt go down after 24 hours like it did when she did get kicked last month. Do keep her away from other horses during the draining process, they can be close but not touchably close. My walker is currently keeping her company so she doesnt lose her mind from confinement but they can't come physically in contact.

To add I did let her out to graze with her buddies until the abcess started showing it was coming to a head(hair loss). I knew it was going to be hard enough on her to confine her afterwards, and the vet didnt seem concerned that I separate her til that time also.