Denim Deb Hay, hay, hay. Thank the Lord!

[AL]

Sounds like my little geldings dam, she did the stumbling, bumping into things etc. Animal control thought she had been poisoned, but she had EEE (encephalitis).

I hope the problem there is something easily contained and everything turns out ok

 

[valmom]

Just saw this, and sending good healing vibes for your mini. Hope it is something treatable.

 

[Farmfresh]

West Nile is an encephalitis - much of the symptoms are the same as Eastern and Western sleeping sickness. ALL are past blood born by an insect vector usually a mosquito.

All of them cause brain swelling.

 

[kcsunshine]

Prayers are being sent your way DD. Hope you hear good news soon.

 

[lorihadams]

I hope everything is okay today....any news?

 

[patandchickens]

I totally understand your concern, but rabies is incredibly rare in horses (esp. if they have been immunized in the past few years before the 'incident') whereas other sorts of causes e.g. various encephalitises are fairly COMMON, so I would betcha dollars to donuts you are safe. Obviously handle the horses carefully til confirmation, but, you know.

Best of luck, hope he's doing okay or better today, will think good thoughts for all of you,

Pat

 

[murphysranch]

Poor thing. How terrifying for everyone!

 

[Denim Deb]

Sorry I wasn't able to get on sooner, but I didn't stop all day! And, for dinner, I grabbed something from a store, and ate it at prayer meeting.

Today, the mini (Mason cuz he was born in May and he's a son), is doing much better! Yesterday, the owner and I were able to rig something up for a sling since he wouldn't stand on his own. He looked so bad yesterday that she was wondering if it was fair to him to even try and save him. Even in the sling, he wasn't standing, but was just kind of hanging there. He would not (or could not) eat or drink. We did try and get some water into him w/a turkey baster. I honestly didn't know if I'd ever see him alive again.

Today when I got to the farm, Mason was standing! He's still in the sling, and will be for a bit. He both ate and drank some. The vet was out again. He's giving him some kind of IV. I don't recall now what it is, but it makes his breathe really stink. And, if the vet were to get it on him, it could cause cataracts, so he wears gloves.

The vet is hopeful. This is day 3. And, unless he were to take a sudden turn for the worse, he should survive. And, while the vet is not ruling out anything, he's leaning more towards the West Nile. If it was any of the other 3, chances are he would gotten worse, not better.

Thank you all for your prayers and concerns. I can't tell you how much I appreciate them.

 

[Denim Deb]

Another update on Mason. Today, he's even better. When I got to the farm, he was calling out for his herd mates. Plus, he was trying to move around in his sling. The vet was out for his 3rd and last treatment, and he's greatly encouraged by his progress. We won't get the test results until tomorrow, but the vet is pretty sure it's West Nile. And, I also saw him get a good drink today, as well as eat some hay-first I've seen him eat since Monday. His owner really wishes she had called this vet on Monday instead of wasting time by calling the other one.

Today was a cold, wet, miserable day. Temperature wise, it wasn't too bad, only around 50. But, when you added in the wind and the rain, it felt a lot colder than it actually was. Misty was shivering. I don't know how much of that is because she's an Arab, and how much of it is because she's a rescue-even if it has been almost 5 years since she was seized. But, none of the other horses in her field were shivering. So, much to her disgust, she was haltered and tied so I could put her blanket on her. I checked her b4 I left, and she had stopped shivering, and felt warm under the blanket. Tomorrow, I'll probably be able to take it back off of her. I still haven't had a chance to wash her blanket, or Stormy's. And, Licorice has a new blanket, which is in my basement. I need to get them all cleaned, and get Licky's blanket out to the farm. It doesn't do her much good in my basement.

 

[framing fowl]

Hurray on the improvement in Mason! Glad to hear it!