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Very sick yearling - Any help appreciated * UPDATE; he didn't make it.

5K views 31 replies 22 participants last post by  Skyseternalangel 
#1 ·
Disclaimer before I start - we are a 17 hour drive from the nearest vet with surgical facilities, and there are no vets willing to come to a horse were we are. We are consulting via phone with the Closest horse vet but that is the best we can do.

Yearling was gelded on Friday. He was sedated with Ketamine, Xylacine (?) and took quite a bit too keep him under. Surgery went well and he was recovering well in the next two days. Monday he looked a bit depressed and colicky then quickly went downhill sweating and with high labored respiration. On phone advice from the vet he has had Finadyne, Gentamycin and penicillin. He hasn't passed any feaces, he has urinated once. He has purplish red gums with a super slow capillary refill time. We gave him 700ml fluids yesterday via iv. He has floppy lips so is struggling to drink, and his respiration in getting worse. Hi temperature and heart rate are ok now but have been up and down. he nibbled a little hay last night, was offered a soupy mash of mitavite gum nuts but shown no interest.

Any help is really appreciated. If anyone has seen anything like this. Our best guess is a reaction to one of the drugs.. Our vet just doesn't know.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Boy, I don't know. Internal bleeding maybe? The timeline seems right for a slow bleed but the gum color is wrong for that but maybe he's hypoxic or toxic.
Can the vet that gelded him come back out? This sounds pretty serious.

The best you can do is give as much IV fluids as possible to flush out his system if this was caused by the meds or bleeding.
700ml is not very much
I hope things turnout OK.
 
#3 ·
wild spot..I understand about the 17 hr vet with surgery..However, this sounds life threatening & no one on this forum will be able to help you! You MUST get him to a vet or he will probably pass away! purple gums, slow cap refill, no urine, no stool, not eating, not drinking oh my gosh ! get off the computer & get him IMMediate qualified medical attention!!

God Bless this baby!!
 
#5 ·
I understand not loading him up in the trailer for 17 hours. That's a long drive, and if you have to stop to take the colicy-acting horse out and walk all the time, well its no different than not going and just waiting out the next day. And to just drive and power through, you'd never know if the horse went down and died painfully in the trailer. And being yearling, well who knows how well he handles trailers to start with, extra stress may make things so much worse at this point.

My horse is allergic to penicillin, but thankfully not that bad. Hopefully pumping him with fluids can flush whatever may be causing the reaction quickly. His heart rate and temp still ok?

I'm hoping a vet gets willing to come out and you guys can figure it out if things start going up and down again. I don't know if he is your horse, but best of luck to the "we" taking care of him.
 
#6 ·
He is owned by my boss so either way the decision is out of my hands. He is swollen around his vein due to all the I've so far. The boss has been on The phone to the vet continually. He really isn't being much help. Have a vet from my hometown lined up to call.

I think he can't swallow and hence the rapid labored breathing. Vets latest suggestion is toxic shock. He is getting more drugs now.
 
#8 ·
awe, Hon, I understand now. the reason that the vet"really isn't" doing anything is the situation is grave. It is terrible to feel helpless. I wish there was something that someone on here could do for the little guy. But we sure are here to support you & give you hugs the best we can. The breathing is not because he can't swallow..its just how sick this little guy is...I am so sorry. I hope he pulls through.
 
#15 ·
I am sorry for the loss. Its sad when a little one doesnt make it. But what I want to know is what vet did the gedling and why wasnt he called when the colt fell ill. They can geld a horse but wont do emergency calls? That part I do not understand. The minute the colt started having symptoms the vet should of been called. 17 hrs or not (awfully far to NOT have a vet for emergency calls.) JMHO

TRR
 
#16 ·
I am sorry for the loss. Its sad when a little one doesnt make it. But what I want to know is what vet did the gedling and why wasnt he called when the colt fell ill. They can geld a horse but wont do emergency calls? That part I do not understand. The minute the colt started having symptoms the vet should of been called. 17 hrs or not (awfully far to NOT have a vet for emergency calls.) JMHO

TRR
How does a vet pack up and leave before the sedation wears off?
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#23 ·
Sorry guys I will clear it up. A vet was flown in from Perth for a 'vet school' - teaching is the basics of vet care BECAUSE of our remoteness. This was paid for by the mining company that owns the station. The colts were gelded while he was here. We are provide with vet bags that contain drugs we can administer, again because of our remoteness, and taught how to use and administer them.

The vet left the day after the gelding and was satisfied it went well.

The colt was fine for the rest of that day and the next. He only showed signs of being ill the following day.

The vet who gelded was given hourly phone calls and advised us on what drugs to administer.
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#24 ·
As I said earlier wild_spot, I am sorry for your loss. But I am even more sorry you had to read through what I term "the usual snark" that seems to permeate some posts around here. Obviously some people just can't seem to imagine someplace where the nearest vet is 17 hours away, which if one drives 70 MPH (US miles) equals out to roughly 1190 miles away. They apparently haven't been out of their own cozy little corner of the world enough to really understand just how remote you are talking about. They are also quite quick to assume that negligence is involved and almost trip themselves jumping to conclusions based on limited information.

/rant off.
 
#28 ·
Sorry the little guy didn't make it, and huge Kudos to Wild_spot for staying patient and explaining the situation rather than getting all defensive and pissy about it, well done.

I lived for a while on an island with no resident vet, and no plane service, so the vet was not so many miles away, but the boats only run to the tide times, so twice a day, meant we had a similar arrangement, vet would come on the boat, spend a few days doing the vet visits and leave the appropriate meds. It does tend to make a person a little more self sufficient, but it is very scary.
 
#29 ·
I agree, I could never bring my own horses out here. I am here as a casual for muttering season. I live in a capital city so am used to having an array of vets on hand. It was a pretty devastating few days. It still hasn't really sunk in that he is gone. I feel for his owner who had just made the heartbreaking decision to put him down when he passed on his own :(
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