Now they are both sick

[GeneaD]

I would continue with the shots -- the Penicillin can't hurt him, and may help him.

If he is eating grass, but nothing else at least he's getting 'nature's horse food'. I would also suggest some form of ulcer treatment -- as it would coat his tummy and help ease any discomfort. Perhaps one of the vets would let you pick up some Gastroguard or something similar that you could give him. I know when any of my horses go off their 'feed' I automatically treat for ulcers and have had good results with the treatment within a few days. In his case, it's probably not ulcers, but perhaps his tummy would feel better. Even simple Maalox syringed into him could help.

Is Alfalfa hay available to you -- that you might be able to get a bale and see if he will eat that? It is a tummy soother, and also has the protein he could use. If not, you might try alfalfa cubes or pellets, and soak them to get some extra water into his system. Keeping him hydrated is important, so monitor his water intake and make sure he's drinking.

I can't believe that you are having such difficulty with the vets. I have great difficulty getting a vet here these days -- my equine vet moved away, and the other local 'boys' just enjoy working at the big cattle and quarter horse ranches (more money), but there is one who will eventually come after his other work is done.

If you have a trailer, perhaps you could take him to a neighboring town vet -- since yours are not responding. Or try calling another nearby town and explain the circumstances and perhaps some one will come.

I'm so sorry Tango is still having some difficulties. But if he's eating and drinking -- those are positive signs. Monitor him for any fever. The Penicillin should take care of any bacterial infection he might be having. I would keep up the supportive measures of water, grass and add the ulcer treatment. All may help him get through whatever this is.

JMHO

Lots of prayers coming to you and Tango!

Thank you for the advice.

Hay is hard to find around here and no alfalfa that I know of. I'll have my husband stop and get some cubes or pellets. Unfortunately we do not have a trailer. And we called 7 vets yesterday and only one of them were local. Our other local vets don't deal with large animals. The other vets we did get a hold of were as far as 2 hours away so there is no one else to call. Our horse vet won't be back until Nov.

So far Tango hasn't had a fever or shakes. He never got nearly as sick as Lemby. He's out eating grass right now and I've seen him drinking plenty of water. I just gave him some apple, which he loves and he ate those. He also took a couple of bites of grain. My husband is going to stop at a vets office and see if they'll give him some gastroguard. He just looks so lonely and sad out there by himself.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

This is insane that your vet never even bothered to show up and won't return your calls. I would report him and get his liscense be taken away.

I really want to say Tango may have ulcers. They will show colic like symptoms and get off feed when they are having ulcers but its not uncommon to cointue to eat hay or grass. I would try to get another vet down there, really examine Tango, get some bloodwork done and just see what you are dealing with. Giving the penn. shots shouldn't do any harm but giving banamine if he does have ulcers will make the problem worse so I would hold off with the banamine til you know whats really going on. I just hate to give much advice as we don't know what happened to your other one that made such a drastic decline in health, which I really think was some type of poisoning.

 

[JAX]

Contact your feed store and even the vets, they may know of someone in your area who would be willing to pick yall up with their trailer and take yall to the vet. Most horse owners are willing to help if they can. Probably offer them at least gas for the trip?

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Thank you for the advice.

Hay is hard to find around here and no alfalfa that I know of. I'll have my husband stop and get some cubes or pellets. Unfortunately we do not have a trailer. And we called 7 vets yesterday and only one of them were local. Our other local vets don't deal with large animals. The other vets we did get a hold of were as far as 2 hours away so there is no one else to call. Our horse vet won't be back until Nov.

So far Tango hasn't had a fever or shakes. He never got nearly as sick as Lemby. He's out eating grass right now and I've seen him drinking plenty of water. I just gave him some apple, which he loves and he ate those. He also took a couple of bites of grain. My husband is going to stop at a vets office and see if they'll give him some gastroguard. He just looks so lonely and sad out there by himself.

I'm so terribly sorry you lost your little one. I know what you are going thro, 2 years ago I lost a stallion here who got himself trapped between the rails of a fence sometime during the night and was stuck there while it poured cold rain on him. By morning he was in pretty bad shape. When I called the only vet available to me at the time I was told it was not convenient to come until 6 or 7 hours later and if I thought he was in trouble I should bring him in. When I explained the horse was unable to walk at that point I was told to " just pick him up and carry him, he only a mini" After suffering for hours we finally found a way to end his suffering ( my small animal vet helped us out). So I do know the bitterness and heartache you feel right now. It will get better, I promise. (((hugs)))

Oh and remember Tango has to grieve too, finding him a new home right now is not necessarily going to make him feel better. let him be a comfort to you and you to him. You might be surprised at how well he will adjust to being your one and only.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

I'm so sorry for your loss and all the heartache and BS you've had to put up with. A vet saying "you're out of my area; I can't help you" is one thing. To say I'll be there and never show up and stop answering calls is another. I would absolutely report that vet and if they ended up having a good reason, then they could defend themselves. It's really unthinkable in my opinion how someone, especially a vet or human doctor, could do that. But that doesn't bring your much-loved horse back.

I am not a vet and have only very little experience with a horse that was poisoned. In my experience, extensive blood work must be done to try and determine what, if anything, is damaged and that can sometimes tell you what the origin of the poison is. Another option can be a stomach tap to examine/test the fluids in there and then also an examination of the throat/esophogus (sp?) to look for damage/burns/irritation. There may be other things, but those are the ones I'm familiar with.

I will still do what you can to push for a vet to do complete blook work on your remaining horse. Possibly he didn't ingest as much of the problem food/hay/weed/etc., but could still need attention to fully recover. I agree with the advice to call your feed store/vets in surrounding areas and ask for the number of someone who might haul the horse for you. In my experience, there are people willing to do that.

I'm praying for you and your remaining horse.

 

[barnbum]

Thank you for the advice.

Hay is hard to find around here and no alfalfa that I know of. I'll have my husband stop and get some cubes or pellets. Unfortunately we do not have a trailer. And we called 7 vets yesterday and only one of them were local. Our other local vets don't deal with large animals. The other vets we did get a hold of were as far as 2 hours away so there is no one else to call. Our horse vet won't be back until Nov.

So far Tango hasn't had a fever or shakes. He never got nearly as sick as Lemby. He's out eating grass right now and I've seen him drinking plenty of water. I just gave him some apple, which he loves and he ate those. He also took a couple of bites of grain. My husband is going to stop at a vets office and see if they'll give him some gastroguard. He just looks so lonely and sad out there by himself.

I'm glad he seems to be doing fine! Thank goodness. Just a heads up that gastroguard is about $56 a tube and that's five doses. Good stuff though. Gosh--I've sent so many prayers for you and your horses. Let's hope the rest is good news. Horses are good therapy--once you've had them, it's hard to go back.

Hugs!

 

[Allure Ranch]

I'm terribly sorry for your loss....

 

[AnnaC]

So glad to hear that Tango seems to be holding his own, is eating grass, drinking and enjoying his apples. Will continue with my prayers for him until you are sure that he is 100%.

Is your normal vet (the one that is away until November) a good one, does he know you and your horses? If so, then I would think that he will be pretty disgusted when he returns from holiday, to find how the other vets in the area have treated you. Maybe he would be the one to lodge any complaints?

You do need to try to get someone to inspect your hay and the berries you found, if only for the sake of tracing other folk who may have also purchased from this farmer's fields (if the berries do prove to be poisonous). I know it is a lot to think about when you are in the middle of all this heartache, but identifying things may also help Tango should he need more treatment when a vet arrives - if one eventually turns up.

((((HUGS))))

 

[Marty]

Our nearest hospital is about an hour away so in a dire emergency all my local horse friends and I have had to rely on the local vets, until all of them closed up and moved on except my dog vet. Then we thought we were all saved when a new vet came to town a couple of years ago. I established myself with him right away, was a good client and always paid cash and had my horses under control and up and ready for routine stuff. Then when I had a life and death emergency, he wouldn't even return my repeated calls on his answer machine I was very specific about it being a 911 situation. I spoke calmly and clear and collected and described the problem. After doing first aid all day and all night in hopes he would finally call me, we couldn't wait anymore and I had to haul over to the hospital to get the problem solved. Three dad blasted days later that idiot vet calls me back to schedule an appointment and said he was sorry that he had been very busy. Normally, I usually would allow myself to be treated like a door mat but that time I do not know where I got the guts but I spoke up and told him what I thought about his lack of ethics. That so called vet turned out to be a real nightmare for all of us locals one way or the other who must have gotten his license to practice down at the Walmart. His name is MUD, the word is out on him and he has lost a lot of his clients.

I try to keep every medication I can on hand and so do my horse friends so we can help each other out in a pinch. If things start to get hairy and out of my control, we have to load up and haul. Contact a nearby stable and some local horse folk near by that you can buddy up and network with. They are around you just have to find out where. It really helps.

Again I am sorry you went through this. I'm not trying to give you any vet advise here but I'd give your little guy some Probios also. If you don't have any, I use Dannon or Yoplait yogurt but they really LOVE Activia. I love Gastroguard but if I'm out in a pinch I use Tagamet one or two tabs per day for 30+ days for ulcers. Best wishes. I hope your heart heals soon.

 

[SHANA]

I am glad I have a great vet clinic which is over a hour away. If an emergency and my regular vet is to far away they send another of their vets that is closer and phone just before the vet arrives. My vet is one of the top horse vets and the large animal hospital is a 3 hour drive away. Had to take a miniature fillys body there for a necropsy. The people at the large animal hospital came out asking if we needed help with the horses body(guess my vet didn't tell them it was a mini filly). LOL I hope you can find a gd vet for your remaining boy.

 

[Royal Crescent]

I agree with Diane's comments! I sure hope he is doing well.

She said-

I keep thinking and thinking about this vet that wouldn't respond, and personally, I think I would give him a very CALM call, and just tell him that because of his negligence and lack of response--especially since he SAID he was coming--Lemby went untreated and died, and that you are filing a complaint with the state licensing bureau. It's one thing if he hadn't said he was coming -- but he did say it, and then didn't come. Whether you do file a comlaint or not, isn't important. But maybe it will make him re-think how he treats people in the future.

I'm sure your regular vet will be appalled with his lack of care and will steer his clients away from this person. I would also share with friends the name of this vet. A hurt to his 'pocketbook' is the least of what should happen to him.

Hopefully, Tango is improving. I believe that the ulcer medications will help, and since it's been 2 days, that most of whatever was in his system is now gone. I saw on the other thread that the berries you found look similar to the common nightshade, so I would be very careful feeding the hay, and would let the hay seller know what happened, so others don't suffer what you've been through. I'm hoping he's still grazing and that the two of you are bolstering each other with love.

Prayers continuing for you!

 

[albahurst]

I am so sorry for your loss. I hope your other boy soon feels well.

Our vet has us keep activated charcoal on hand in the event of poisoning. You might consider it at some point.

We also use Gastro Gard - grass is sometimes the only thing an ulcered horse will eat. There are places to get it cheaper than over $50 tube. I pay $32. So you might want to shop around a bit.

Hugs to you ~