PasoVicki
09-28-2006, 03:41 PM
Sorry this is rather a long story, and I'm probably going to ramble because I'm still tired and stressed out.
Some of you might recall that I was concerned about Danesa a couple of weeks ago, thinking she had mastitis. However, after watching her closely for a couple of days, I was sure she didn't. Her udder wasn't swollen or hot or tender, and she *was* letting Capri nurse -- just not as much as he wanted. Since her udder only functions on one side, and he's quite big at just over 4 months, I think he was continuing to try to nurse after she was empty, and both were a little annoyed: he was pushing at her trying to get more, and she was pushing him away. They've been getting along fine, though, and I haven't seen any serious kicking or anything.
Okay, so everything was normal yesterday morning. Capri was bright eyed, running and playing. I checked briefly around mid day, and he was fine. I went down to feed last night about 5:30 -- and he was obviously NOT okay. His eyes were dull, and he kept stumbling around in circles. After a few circles, he would stagger to a halt and his back legs would shake and he'd look like he was about to fall -- then he'd pull himself together and just stand there.
I called the vet immediately, and stood there and watched until she got there. (This was the 'on-call' vet at the clinic, one of the new vets there, someone I had never met.) She got there in about 30 minutes. I spent the entire time thinking he was going to fall over dead any second.
So she got there and stood and watched him. He didn't seem quite as weak by then, but still dull eyed, circling every few minutes (Not always the same direction -- one way and then the other). Between episodes of circling, he was nibbling at the hay.
She told me her first impression, when I called, was that he had a head injury. But she said, because there wasn't a mark on him anywhere or any indication of injury, she didn't think that was the problem. She also said she didn't think he was in pain, just "confused." No diarrhea, no nose running, no blood, no marks where he might havebeen kicked. No fever that we could tell -- but she didn't even suggest taking his temperature. Nothing. Then she said she "would bet" he had West Nile virus, because West Nile causes neurological symptoms and they had had two cases in the practice in the past week. (This led to us talking in circles for several minutes about vaccinations -- I told her I had asked our regular vet three times about giving him vaccines and had been told that they don't vaccinate until six months -- and she kept saying that 4 to 6 months was a dangerous age for getting these viruses but then saying that the practice standard in not to vaccinate until 6 months because current research says earlier vaccines aren't as effective as later ones . . . ) Anyway, we got no where with the discussion except to scare me even more than I was already -- and to make me more than a little ticked off that the vet hadn't done the vaccines when I asked.
Okay, so she watches him for a while and says he needs "supportive care" -- IVs, etc, that she can't give him at our place, and she needs to make a referral to a vet hospital about an hour away. She called and made the referral, arranged for a medical hauler to pick him up, and left. She didn't do anything for him. Barely even touched him.
The medical hauler got here about 9pm. By then, I could tell he wasn't stumbling around as much, but he still wasn't normal. He had been nibbling at his hay the entire time, and he had taken water from the automatic waterer. He had also pooped normally.
The hauler took him and Danesa. He had to jump up really high into the trailer, but he followed Danesa in. (He has never been trailered before.) The on-call vet (before she left) had told us she had called the hospital, they were expecting him, and they would call us when he got there to discuss treatment, etc..
So we sit here until about 11 o'clock, and finally the vet hospital called. The vet sounded very nice, and she's obviously very experienced -- but the "on-call" vet hadn't told her ANYTHING other than that she was referring a colt with a severe neurological problem. And the hospital vet says she sees NOTHING wrong with him, other than being rather nervous about his first ride in a trailer, at night, with the highway lights and noises . . . . He's bright eyed, he's prancing around, he hasn't circled or stumbled once. So she says they're just going to watch him and see what happens.
I called this morning at six am -- and the tech who is watching him says the same. Bright eyed, running around, eating and nursing. No sign of anything wrong with him. The hospital vet is supposed to call me at 9:30 to discuss what to do. Any ideas??????? I have no clue at all.
I've never experienced anything like this before -- and Capri is my first ever foal -- but what happened sounds to me like what a person would experience when coming out of a seizure -- weak, unstable and disoriented at first, but gradually coming out of it. But what could cause a seizure -- or what else could this be???? Any help would be appreciated!!!!!!!!1
Another apology. Just realized I'm doing this in the wrong forum, but I don't have the energy to retype it.
Some of you might recall that I was concerned about Danesa a couple of weeks ago, thinking she had mastitis. However, after watching her closely for a couple of days, I was sure she didn't. Her udder wasn't swollen or hot or tender, and she *was* letting Capri nurse -- just not as much as he wanted. Since her udder only functions on one side, and he's quite big at just over 4 months, I think he was continuing to try to nurse after she was empty, and both were a little annoyed: he was pushing at her trying to get more, and she was pushing him away. They've been getting along fine, though, and I haven't seen any serious kicking or anything.
Okay, so everything was normal yesterday morning. Capri was bright eyed, running and playing. I checked briefly around mid day, and he was fine. I went down to feed last night about 5:30 -- and he was obviously NOT okay. His eyes were dull, and he kept stumbling around in circles. After a few circles, he would stagger to a halt and his back legs would shake and he'd look like he was about to fall -- then he'd pull himself together and just stand there.
I called the vet immediately, and stood there and watched until she got there. (This was the 'on-call' vet at the clinic, one of the new vets there, someone I had never met.) She got there in about 30 minutes. I spent the entire time thinking he was going to fall over dead any second.
So she got there and stood and watched him. He didn't seem quite as weak by then, but still dull eyed, circling every few minutes (Not always the same direction -- one way and then the other). Between episodes of circling, he was nibbling at the hay.
She told me her first impression, when I called, was that he had a head injury. But she said, because there wasn't a mark on him anywhere or any indication of injury, she didn't think that was the problem. She also said she didn't think he was in pain, just "confused." No diarrhea, no nose running, no blood, no marks where he might havebeen kicked. No fever that we could tell -- but she didn't even suggest taking his temperature. Nothing. Then she said she "would bet" he had West Nile virus, because West Nile causes neurological symptoms and they had had two cases in the practice in the past week. (This led to us talking in circles for several minutes about vaccinations -- I told her I had asked our regular vet three times about giving him vaccines and had been told that they don't vaccinate until six months -- and she kept saying that 4 to 6 months was a dangerous age for getting these viruses but then saying that the practice standard in not to vaccinate until 6 months because current research says earlier vaccines aren't as effective as later ones . . . ) Anyway, we got no where with the discussion except to scare me even more than I was already -- and to make me more than a little ticked off that the vet hadn't done the vaccines when I asked.
Okay, so she watches him for a while and says he needs "supportive care" -- IVs, etc, that she can't give him at our place, and she needs to make a referral to a vet hospital about an hour away. She called and made the referral, arranged for a medical hauler to pick him up, and left. She didn't do anything for him. Barely even touched him.
The medical hauler got here about 9pm. By then, I could tell he wasn't stumbling around as much, but he still wasn't normal. He had been nibbling at his hay the entire time, and he had taken water from the automatic waterer. He had also pooped normally.
The hauler took him and Danesa. He had to jump up really high into the trailer, but he followed Danesa in. (He has never been trailered before.) The on-call vet (before she left) had told us she had called the hospital, they were expecting him, and they would call us when he got there to discuss treatment, etc..
So we sit here until about 11 o'clock, and finally the vet hospital called. The vet sounded very nice, and she's obviously very experienced -- but the "on-call" vet hadn't told her ANYTHING other than that she was referring a colt with a severe neurological problem. And the hospital vet says she sees NOTHING wrong with him, other than being rather nervous about his first ride in a trailer, at night, with the highway lights and noises . . . . He's bright eyed, he's prancing around, he hasn't circled or stumbled once. So she says they're just going to watch him and see what happens.
I called this morning at six am -- and the tech who is watching him says the same. Bright eyed, running around, eating and nursing. No sign of anything wrong with him. The hospital vet is supposed to call me at 9:30 to discuss what to do. Any ideas??????? I have no clue at all.
I've never experienced anything like this before -- and Capri is my first ever foal -- but what happened sounds to me like what a person would experience when coming out of a seizure -- weak, unstable and disoriented at first, but gradually coming out of it. But what could cause a seizure -- or what else could this be???? Any help would be appreciated!!!!!!!!1
Another apology. Just realized I'm doing this in the wrong forum, but I don't have the energy to retype it.