EMERGENCY

[REO]

Are the pills the vet gave you BUTE? You have to be very careful giving Bute to minis, as it can cause ulcers. Many times, vets that treat big horses don't know the reation that certain things have on minis. Some times what is ok for big horses is not ok for minis.

I'm so glad Coco has you to love and care for him! Good job!

 

[Connie P]

You have received lots of very good advice here and you have handled this situation in a very mature manner. Give your dad a big hug for calling the vet for you and I hope and pray that your little one does not founder and recovers quickly for you. (((HUGS))).!

 

[mizbeth]

HI

How is your boy this morning! Yes you did the right things, and dad's a doll!

Follow the advise here, it is some good advice.

Beth

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

How is Coco doing this morning? I sure hope and pray everything is going to be all right for you and him. You were such a lucky girl to have a Dad who understands how important your Coco is to you, you should be giving Dad a big (((hugg))) from yourself and Coco. (THANKS so much Dad -if your reading this!) PLEASE make sure the pills he gave to you were not Bute. They can be very dangerous for a mini and alot of times if a vet isnt familiar with minis they do give his out. If it is Bute ask your vet for something like Banamine for the pain. Corinne

 

[rabbitsfizz]

How are your nerves this morning??? I too would like to commend your Dad for getting himself up to speed so quickly- when you've been someones little girl for so long it is hard to get yourself seen as anything else!! Hugs to you and to Dad- now go and check that is not Bute!!! Oh, and do not be too hard on your sister, we all make mistakes, she must have thought she was doing the right thing, at the time

 

[SunQuest]

I am another that is wondering how Coco is doing this morning? Good job on getting a vet to come out and make sure that your Dad knows just how much you appreciate him working on getting a vet there. (Thanks Dad!!!

)

Dr D. sounds like he knows what he is doing and by giving him that shot (actually a laxative) it will help to get the corn out of his system. Do be carefull if Dr D. gave him bute as it is super easy to overdose a mini with the bute as many vets over estimate the weight of a mini. (Our large 37" B-sized minis seldom weigh over 350 pounds and often vets guess them at 500 pounds!) But, while Bute is really really hard on minis, it is the preferred drug for treating the pain of founder in most horses. Banamine is an alternative that could be used. You may wish to ask Dr D. about using some gastroguard to keep ulcers from happening as well if Coco has to be on pain meds for an exptended period of time. (I know some people use other things like tagament to help prevent ulcers, but I have no experience treating with them.)

Yep, you are not totally out of the woods as founder can still set in, but you are giving Coco the best chance for coming through this without too many side effects which could result in permenant problems.

(((Hugs))) to you! Keep up the good work in caring for Coco!

 

[Magic]

How is Coco doing today? I'm so glad you were able to get a vet out to treat him. Good luck, I will be thinking of him and of you.

 

[luvmymini2]

Hows Coco today??? you did a great job,even staying level headed...give your dad a big {{Hug}}} for understanding the urgency of the situation...hope things get even better.....

 

[hhpminis]

I keep checking to see how Coco is today. Hope all is well and he continues to improve.

Like everybody else said, make sure and thank your Dad for getting the help you needed for Coco. Having one little mini is much different than having a herd of cattle, so this was thinking outside the box for him. Maybe you can offer to do some extra chores to help pay for the bill. It sounds like you found a very nice vet, with him offering to check back tonight at no charge. That doesn't happen often.

Please let us know how today is going for Coco and you.

 

[MInx]

How's Cocoa boy doing? Hope it's all good news..thinking of oyu both, Maxine

 

[Leeana]

Coco is up and walking. I checked him basically every hour last night, i dont think he is to happy with me for waking him up all the time. I took the hay out of his stall bc i always clean stalls on thursdays ...im glad i didnt put it off now.

Our vet Smith called around 11 this morning and wanted me to bring him in to have him looked at or i could wait untill around 6 tonight and he could stop over when he was making house calls. I decided that i might as well drive him over there while my dad was at work and my mom was on a business call in Indiana. I called my father and he said that if i wanted to drive him over there that i could. Vet did basically the same thing the other one did. He told me to take him to my pond outback and let him go into the shallow part where it comes up to his legs and let him walk around in it. So we came back home and did that. Coco is walking circles and following the cats around but im still worried.

He is still pretty plump. He doesnt seem to be in any pain ...but its not like i can ask him 'where does it hurt' and expect an answer. He's rolling and walking and i think thats a good sign. But i know where still not completely out of the woods from what Smith told me. He said colic and all this other stuff could still set in up to 2-4 days later. So im still a little worried but he said that coco is doing pretty good for eating all that he did, especially corn.

Me on the other hand ...i need Sleep, Food, and some pain pills because i've not got a headacke from worrying ...but its all worth it for coco. If i lost him i dont know what i would do.

The pills dont say on the bottle what there called. It just says 'dry pain pills'. Then on the back it has a weight chart that tells how many to give him. He highlighted the 350 pound one ...coco only weight 210. So im going with the 200 scale ..which is 2 pills every 20-24 hours.

im not going to yell at my sister. I think last night i was just all worked up and blaming it on her but its really not her fault. Im just going to let it go, im not going to yell or blaime anything on her.

Again, thank you guys so much. I didnt know whereelse to go or who to ask last night and this was the first place that came to mind.

 

[ruffian]

I hope that when you say "rolling and walking", he's rolling, and getting up and shaking himself? That's what they do when they are just scratching, but rolling, and up and down and walking could indicate colic or impaction.

Glad you were on top of this so quickly! Hoping for best for you and Coco!

 

[Leeana]

he's just rolling like he always is. He finds some dirt and rolls (scratching kinda of roll) and then gets up and finds another patch of dust and rolls some more.

 

[Hosscrazy]

Thank you so much for the update - we've all been thinking of you!

I'm glad to hear that so far he's doing okay.

And again, I am very proud of you for taking such good care of your little boy. Your quick action most likely made a big (and I mean BIG) difference in the outcome of this situation.

 

[SunQuest]

Glad to hear the update. I agree with Hosscrazy 110%. Your actions last night and continued vigilance today definately will make a HUGE difference in the outcome. As for the rolling, ruffian is right. A colicy horse will often just lay down and roll and then get up and go lay down somewhere else. One of the best indicators of colic is when they don't shake the dirt off of them when they are done rolling in the dirt. They shake the dirt off just like a dog shakes off water. Keep an eye out for this tell tale sign that something may be wrong.

Keep up the good work on helping him through this as your persistance in treatment will definately make all the difference on bad this will effect him.

And hugs to you on being mature enough to not yell at your sister. It is hard to not say anything when one is so worried about something they love as much as you love Coco.

Please continue to keep us posted!