Potomac Horse Fever ..... Help needed!!

[jacks'thunder]

Well we have an out break here of Potomac Fever and I'd like to hear your stories and advice for getting through this. From the internet research I've done and vets knowledge I'm doing what she says to do to keep this in check. He started his first antibotic treatment yesterday, another scheduled for today and one on Saturday. Were watering legs and feet down every 4 hours. Banimine every 12 hours. And grass 10 minutes every hour or so. Plus monitering water intake. This is exhausting and super scary but I'll do ANYTHING to stop this and keep in under control.

Please..... any advice or expirences with this would be greatly appricated!

Thank you!!!!

I did want to add that we do vacconate(sp?) for this every year because we get a lot of fish flys! That so important but I forgot to mention it because I'm alittle flusterd! LOL!

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Back a long while a friend of mine had this with her ponies. Doc said it has to just run it's course. Extremely contagious so watch your feet and clothing. Sounds like you are doing everything right, sending good light and prayers. I know it's scary.

 

[Pwest2u2]

We had a large horse that lived through it a few years back, pretty ugly stuff. We had to soak pellets in water and make a gruel for her, she went completely off of feed. She lost over 100 lbs. Keeping the fever down is a hard thing to do, but keep up the good work. I don't remember being told the other horses could get it from her. But we did sanitze in bleach water every time we came out, because the first few day's we didn't know what it was.She was spraying direha (?sp) everywhere. I thought she got banamine also, but then again she was a large horse. A few time we thought we were going to loose her, but she had a lot of heart and pulled through. Good luck, and my prayers are coming your way.

Patty

 

[Carolyn R]

I had a beautiful 2.5 year old haflinger last year. One day I noticed she was a little depressed. I called out the vet and she said it was Patomic horse fever. She gave me antibiotics, told me to watch for fever, administer banamine, allow her to eat, and she was most likely going to end up with a bad case of the runs. She drew bloodwork on her but said it had to be sent out and would take a few days for the results.As long as Potmic was caught early, it was very treatable in an initally healthy horse.

I called the vet out the next day. Same practice a different vet. Turns out she had an impaction and the "depression" was her way of colicing. She wasn't a throw herself about colic, but much more of "an I don't feel good, let me lay down and rest" type of colic. She was on fluids and taken to the animal hospital and passed the blockage after about 6 days.

The first vet diagnosed the syptoms that she was presented with at the time. While the horse did initially have gut movement, it was not at the normal motility expected. The instructions to keep her on grain and hay because it would counteract the diareah did not help the impaction at all!!!

The first attending vet assumed it was Potomic because it was very wet in this area last year and she had seen so many cases of it.

The same horse coliced and impacted two months later, we gave her IV fluids for 3.5 days at home around the clock On Christmas day we took her to the animal hospital, after another 7 days she finially passed the impaction. I had owned the mare for 6 months, spent $5000 in vet bills, did everything a good owner should, I even did a vet check to buy before i got her, in all she had been seen by 5 vets from 3 different practices. The verdict was found only after the second impaction. It was WORMS. Apparently her origional owners never wormed her. The worms were resistant to over the counter wormers , and as my vet told me, I could have wormed her until the cows came home, over the counter wormers would have never put a dent in them.

This horse looked VERY HEALTY. Shiny coat, no coughing, had some weight on her, she was usually very active. She was an awesome horse, but unfortunately, parasite damage is irreversable. The vet from the animal hospital has a sister that I GAVE her to. She is going to get any future vet care at a substanially discounted price.

Good luck,

Carolyn

 

[Dream]

Potomac Horse Fever is treated with antibiotics (oxytetracycline) and should not be allowed to just run it's course. The severe diarrhea and laminitis that are part of the disease can be life threatening.

It is NOT contagious from horse to horse. Horses get it by eating flies that are found around natural bodies of water after the organism has gone through a snail vector. If you see multiple cases in a barn it is because they have been exposed to the same living conditions not because they are getting it from each other. Vaccination may not prevent the disease but should lessen the severity and improve the chances of survival.

 

[iluvwalkers]

[SIZE=14pt]great info. Dream...a friends horse had this a few years ago, a tough fight but he won and is healthy again, took a bit for him to put the weight back on but he's fine now. the issue they had was they didn't think the vet was giving enough fluids, he said he was affraid of "drowning" him, so they got their own from a small animal vet and i truely believe he would not have made it with out those extra bags. good luck, thinking of you, Nikki[/SIZE]

 

[jacks'thunder]

Thanks everyone! This is a ruff battle but things are looking upwards. Dream, your right on with what my vet has said! And that is the exact medication he's getting! Today will be the third day of treatment. The only thing I'm worried about is the fact he's not eating much. The vet says it comes with the sickness so walking him once an hour and letting him eat small amounts of grass( in the shade!) is one thing were doing. Also she suggested senior feed watered down to a mush and thats on it's way right now so we can start that.

I appricate all your comments and stories so THANK YOU!

Leya

 

[dali1111]

My horses got it a while back. It was real nasty but they got threw it and didn't seem to have any lasting effects. I beleive it can also be carried by certain slugs.