Joint ill in foals

[Leeana]

Has anyone experienced "Joint ill" in foals? Could you please share your experience, treatment and outcome (short term and long term) as far as the horses overall soundness. I was told that foals with Joint Ill could develop arthritis as early as two years in some cases?

 

[Jill]

Leeana, I hope whatever foal you have on your mind will be okay, be it yours or one you've got your eye on.

All I know is the best way to prevent joint ill is to insure adequate transfer of passive immunity. The way to confirm this is with an IgG test. Foals who did not get adequate protection from their dam may appear perfectly healthy and active until they become sick (with joint ill or something else, early in life).

Best of luck and I hope those with hands on experience can offer some promising advice.

 

[Becky]

I've had the best luck treating joint ill with penicillin and SMZ's. My vet has had me use Naxcel but I haven't had it work. With Pen and SMZ's, the foals got over it quickly and never had any problem after. Ive used both at the first sign of lameness in a foal.

 

[Little Bits]

I had a foal with joint ill. Had a normal delivery, was a perfect colt and then after a week went backwards. His stifle joint swelled at first I thought his mother stepped on him. I had the vet out he was prescribed antibiotics( penn and gentamcyne). It really took a hold of his joints and others started to swell. He was obviously in discomfort most of the time. The vet said even if he got better he would probably be crippled the rest of his life. So I did what I thought was best for him in the long run and that was to put him down. I felt it was the humane thing for him as his discomfort was so heart breaking and he did't seem to be progressing.

That is just my case. However the outlook on it is not really all that good. My vet said that most of them end up being cripples.

 

[Leeana]

Is it normal for a 2 month old foal to develop Joint Ill? I have read that is is common mostly the first couple days to first few weeks.

Its being treated, i'm just wondering if the foal would be sound enough in the legs to be a show horse or to be "comfortable" enough to be a companion for someone if showing is ruled out.

 

[Becky]

I wouldn't say it's common in older foals, but not impossible. I can say that the ones I've treated personally and others that I've seen treated that got over the infection initially, never had any problems further down the road.

No lameness, no swelling as mature horses. Just normal horses.

 

[kaykay]

Leeanna I have seen foals as old as 5 months get it. Giving ecoli antitoxin paste as soon as they are born is the best way to ensure they dont get it. Ecoli is the cause of most joint ill. I was told giving smz liquid is the best treatment but only works if you catch it as soon as it starts. I always tell people if you see a foal limping at all call your vet and then immediately start smz treatment. Too many think the foal was stepped on etc when its usually joint ill. Sending good thoughts to you

 

[Charlotte]

Leeana, I hope your foal comes along well.

However the outlook on it is not really all that good. My vet said that most of them end up being cripples.

I'm afraid I have to disagree with this vet. I've seen a number of cases over the years in horses of mine and those belonging to other breeders. I haven't known any foals to not recover quickly and never have a problam later in life. My first experience with it was an arab filly. The vet had me using just Penicillin for several days and I didn't see improvement. For that matter the filly was going down quickly. Another breeder recommended Tribrissen (same drug as SMZ) and within 48 hours the filly was much improved. She went on to lead a very vigorous life as a performance horse with no soundness issues.

I've had the occasional foal develop joint ill and some were several months of age. I've never been able to relate the various cases to any particular cause. It just seems to pop up randomly. I've never found any one thing to be a sure fire preventative.

I would say if your foal is responding to treatment then it should have a good outcome. If the foal wasn't responding to treatment then that would be cause for worry and I would consider modifying treatment.

Charlotte

 

[wildoak]

My experience has been similar to Charlotte's, and the few we've had all recovered and went on to be sound healthy adults. For whatever reasons, we had joint ill for a couple of years in a row - many years back - in 3 or 4 babies. I believe we started with penicillin and gentocin, and quickly progressed to Naxcel which worked quickly. At least one of ours was a couple of months old. Vet did have to flush a couple of joints on one of them, not as big a deal as I supposed it would be.

My vet at the time was also treating a big horse foal for joint ill - he'd been at the clinic for a couple of months and the outlook was not good, so I guess there are lots of variables.

Good luck.

Jan

 

[Make A Wish Miniatures]

I have had foals in the past who developed joint ill. my vet had me treat them with both Naxcell and gentomycin at the same time. I think they stayed on the naxcell for ten days. All the foals ended up doing well with no ill effects down the road.I think the key is to treat at the very first sign of any hint of lameness. You just don't wait to see if it will get better without treatment. Some of my foals that developed joint ill had also passed their IGg with high scores . You can never tell why one foal will develop joint ill and another won't.

 

[HGFarm]

I would have to say they do NOT end up as cripples if treated early and correctly.

We had a colt many years ago with it- if I remember, the vet flushed the joint. He was immediately put on SMZ's, aspirin for the fever that he had and inflammation, and a couple of other things I dont remember.

This colt came out of it just fine and never had a soundness problem. If I remember, he was on the antibiotics for quite some time.