Very sick mare salmonella suspected

[uwharrie]

We have an extremely sick mare. She was completely normal last night, showed some signs of mild colic this am that resolved itself with banamine. At 12:30 she was back to normal but at 5:00pm she was lethargic and had significant edema. Vet came out and suspects salmonella. We are treating with antibiotics, biosponge, banamine and hopeing for the best. She has rapidly deteriorated in the last three hours, but the vet said it was too soon to give up on her.We are just praying she makes it through the night.

Annie has a three month old foal, that luckly is very bonded with our other mare and her foal. We only hope that since they were all kept together they dont come down with it.

Anyone have any experience with this? Our vet said the prognosis was not good.

Please keep Annie in your thoughts.

 

[minimomNC]

So sorry to hear your mare is sick, saying a prayer for all of you.

 

[eagles ring farm]

Thank goodness no experience- except sending prayers for your mare

 

[Jetiki]

Sending prayers to you and your little mare. I hope she recovers quickly.

Karen

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

i have no experiance with it but i've heard its a nasty virus

sending prayers for your little mare

 

[jegray21]

The weanlings I got last year came with salmonella. One had colic surgery..all made it through, though it was touch and go for several weeks. I am praying for you little girl tonight. we treated all the horses that were exposed to be on the safe side. There is a test they can do to be sure it is salmonella and not something else.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

I'm sorry I don't have any advice, but I'm am praying for you and your mare.

Geez, you need a break I think! Hugs to you.

 

[Mona]

Oh no....I sure do hope and pray your mare will be OK.

 

[Allure Ranch]

I'm terribly sorry and I truly hope that your mare's health improves. My prayers are with you and her....

 

Is your vet absolutely certain that it's salmonella and not a calcium deficiency?

 

[Carolyn R]

I too am sending prayers your way.

 

[Matt73]

Oh gosh...I am so very very sorry. Sending good thoughts for you and your mare.

 

[JaiteraMiniatures]

My friend's horse got salmonella from sweet feed about two years ago. He was taken to Louisiana State Uni. and he DID make it! It was awful, but he did make it. We also believe he had ulcers on top of the salmonella, so that of course did not make things any better. He lost a lot of weight, and he's always had some colic issues since the ordeal, but he's living a completely normal life...they just have to watch him closely.

I'll be praying for you're mare...and if you happen to live near LSU I'd adivise you to contact them. My horse (riding horse) had a genetic defect that caused colic, and they colic surgery they performed saved his life

Hopeing and praying for the best!

 

[Marty]

I'm so sorry! I hope she will be ok very soon. I have no experience to offer but this is the reason I am very concerned with all the barn swallows that are nesting right now in the barn. They are pooping all over the place. Dan is constantly removing the nests and placing them elsewhere but the swallows keep on coming building more and more nests every day. I keep scrubbing off all the bird poop they are doing on my stalls to no avail.

I found this link:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art47137.asp

 

[AnnaC]

Sending prayers for your little mare and hugs for you - hoping for some better news today.

Anna

 

[uwharrie]

At this point we are not absolutly sure what it is. She drew blood last night but that will not be run till today and stool samples are on thier way to the state lab.

I will mention calcium deficiency as well as colitis when I talk with her this am.

We should know by tomorrow if we are dealing with Salmonella or not.

The good news is she is markedly improved over last night. Frankly at 8:00 I doubted she would make it to midnight, but by midnight the fever was gone and she was breathing better. This morning still no fever and the edema is down. But she is no where out of the woods yet.

I'm terribly sorry and I truly hope that your mare's health improves. My prayers are with you and her....

 

Is your vet absolutely certain that it's salmonella and not a calcium deficiency?

 

[sfmini]

We had a case of it and he survived but he spent a week in ICU isolation at Ohio State. No problems since. Salmonella usually has a distinct smell to it.

I hate to burst your bubble on the test but you can't be sure you are salmonella free until you have had at least 3 negative tests (per OSU)as you can get false negatives.

Our horse was on IV fluids the entire time he was there and wasn't really into eating for a while. Not sure how a mare can support a foal while going through something like this.

Good luck!

You will need to be very careful for yourself and the other animals. Feed and care for her last and take clothes off outside if possible so you don't track it into the house. If you can isolate the mare that would be the safest. Having a complete set of shoes and clothes that are ONLY worn for caring for this horse is best. Also, REALLY disinfect yourself and be aware that you could get it or you could pass it to family members.

 

[targetsmom]

So sorry.. hoping your mare improves, whatever it turns out to be. Glad to hear she is better this morning!

 

[maggiemae]

I'm so sorry to hear about Annie - I hope she continues to improve. We'll be thinking about you and praying for her.

 

[uwharrie]

Oh I know that there are false negatives. At this point we just don't know.

Actually any horse can carry the bacteria in its gut. If it is Salmonella it is possible she has had it all the time but some stressor ( like late lactation) could have made it reach a toxic level.

She is isolated, and her foal is not with her. Her foal as well as her pasture mate and her foal are now in a seperate pasture, that is also seperated from the other horses.

We are taking precautions on preventing cross contamination.

We had a case of it and he survived but he spent a week in ICU isolation at Ohio State. No problems since. Salmonella usually has a distinct smell to it.

I hate to burst your bubble on the test but you can't be sure you are salmonella free until you have had at least 3 negative tests (per OSU)as you can get false negatives.

Our horse was on IV fluids the entire time he was there and wasn't really into eating for a while. Not sure how a mare can support a foal while going through something like this.

Good luck!

You will need to be very careful for yourself and the other animals. Feed and care for her last and take clothes off outside if possible so you don't track it into the house. If you can isolate the mare that would be the safest. Having a complete set of shoes and clothes that are ONLY worn for caring for this horse is best. Also, REALLY disinfect yourself and be aware that you could get it or you could pass it to family members.

 

[Mominis]

Sorry to hear you are going through this. I have dealt with it before. It was a yearling colt and that poor little guy was s-i-c-k!!!

We had to put a bleachwater pan out in front of his stall and dip our feet in it whenever we went into the stall. We also had to use rubber gloves when handling him and we were not to wear the same jacket into his stall as others.

Hope your horse gets better!