need help with old horse, please....

[RockyToggRanch]

Quote:
Bute can also slow down the metabolism and make colic worse. Never ever use bute for colic. And only use any other pain reliever under the advice of a vet. They can mask symptoms that the vet may need to see to properly treat the horse.

Funny that my vet gave both horses bute for colic. I questioned it, but was told it would relax them. (We had a bout with bad hay last yr that caused colic)

I don't like to take drugs myself that mask symptoms, so I don't treat my animals for symptoms either.

Sorry if I strayed from the topic.. Glad he's feeling better!

 

[Heather08]

Bute is not for colic and not the choice for colic at all, Bute is like asprin for humans. Colic alot of time is a blockage and a relaxer like Banamine is used old school was Dyprone. Banamine should be adminstered oral or IV only.

 

[joshplus10]

I'm so glad the old guy made it!

When my two yyear old died from colic a few months back, the sweet old man who came for her body told me that he has saved horses with mineral oil enemas.

Anyone else heard of that?

 

[hippichick]

The mineral oil thing sounds all too familiar. I had a horse get into the feed bin years ago, and I thought she was collicking. She was biting at her side, so I panicked. I called the vet, and he made me give her like a gallon of mineral oil by mouth. I had to use a large syringe and feed this stuff to her one syringe at a time--not fun at all, for her or for me. I hadn't thought of that in a while. That brought back memories. Probably wasn't necessary, but I really didn't know better, as I was pretty new to horses. Anyway, that was about 10 years ago, and I still have her and still love her. I just keep the feed locked up a little tighter.

Paula

 

[RockyToggRanch]

I have heard of giving mineral oil for colic, but thought it was orally. I suppose it could work either way. Don't have experience with that.

 

[buck-wild-chick]

Yea I saw, some people save a really neglected skinny gelding from colic, by giving him Metamucil and water enemas. They didn't even bother to call the vet. It really p^&^ me off. But the horse
made it.

Glad your guy is doing better !

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Quote:
My Bad

I was thinking Banamine and typed Bute. It has been a long week. I guess I was thinking about the time I saw people shoot the banamine intramuscular instead of giving it orally in the paste and watching the horse go to hell.

Apparently the bananmine promotes a certian bacterial growth in the injection site. I never give the horses we have medication, this is always done by the wife. We also found out that Bute is toxic to the miniature horse.

Here is a excerpt from a forum I use for horses.

"Banamine

(flunixin meglumine) is considerably more expensive than bute, so it is usually reserved to treat colic pain on a short term basis. It does not stay in the horse's bloodstream as long as bute, so it is less likely to cause toxicity. But high doses, especially in foals or dehydrated horses, can still cause kidney and digestive tract toxicity. Banamine

is available as oral granules and as an injectable formulation. The injectable product is labelled for intramuscular or intravenous use. I highly recommend that Banamine

only be administered by intravenous injection. The Banamine

formulation causes significant muscle damage when injected, which may result in a "flesh eating" infection by clostridial bacteria. These bacteria only grow in an environment without oxygen. The muscle damage from the Banamine

formulation provides this perfect environment. Clostridial infections in the muscles are life-threatening. Finding a swollen, painful area that is cool to the touch and has the crackling feeling of gas bubbles under the skin is an indication of this very serious infection. "

I do have a question to those equine people here. I have a 9 month old filly mini that is susceptible to diahrea. She is a tiny mini and sorta frail. We are wondering if one can give Corrid for Cocci to mini horses. We suspect she may have a touch of Cocci. She is eating, drinking and now has just a cow pie poo. We have her in the barn with abundent hay and small amounts of grain and plenty of water. It has been very cold here lately and we are also thiniking it may be a stress related thing.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
I would get the vet's opinion, not take advice off an internet forum on this on. Reasons being: minis are often more sensitive to drugs (takes less to overdose them), you need to find out whether it's coccidia BEFORE dosing her with anything, and if it isn't, you'll want to figure out what the problem *is*.

To find out whether her problem is really coccidiosis all you have to do is take a fresh clean fecal sample to the vet and have them do a float (tell them you suspect cocci, but this will also give you some idea what her worm status is, as well).

Coccidiosis is not a common cause of diarrhea and soft poo in horses, though. My money would be more on other causes. What has her worming regime been? What is she eating? How is she kept? How was she weaned?

They don't always help but I've known horses with similar problems who seemed to be greatly helped by adding probiotics to their feed, which if you're looking for something to do until you can get a vet to look at her (and her poo) is something basically harmless that you could try on your own.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[horsejody]

We have found that giving a horse electrolytes when suffering from colic is very helpful. It doesn't mask symptoms and gives their system a bit of a boost.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Quote:
I would get the vet's opinion, not take advice off an internet forum on this on. Reasons being: minis are often more sensitive to drugs (takes less to overdose them), you need to find out whether it's coccidia BEFORE dosing her with anything, and if it isn't, you'll want to figure out what the problem *is*.

To find out whether her problem is really coccidiosis all you have to do is take a fresh clean fecal sample to the vet and have them do a float (tell them you suspect cocci, but this will also give you some idea what her worm status is, as well).

Coccidiosis is not a common cause of diarrhea and soft poo in horses, though. My money would be more on other causes. What has her worming regime been? What is she eating? How is she kept? How was she weaned?

They don't always help but I've known horses with similar problems who seemed to be greatly helped by adding probiotics to their feed, which if you're looking for something to do until you can get a vet to look at her (and her poo) is something basically harmless that you could try on your own.
Good luck,
Pat

Thanks for the reply. The baby is weaned, 7 weeks worth. She was returned to the pasture with the rest of the minis and did just fine until we put the big horse back in. Then she got diahrea and we took her and the big horse out. The big mare went to a different pasture with a buddy someone gave us. The little one went back in with the moms. She was given a weeks worth of probiotics before whe was returned to the pasture. This last week the weather went really cold. We put in straw in a leanto and every one was great. Then the filly started again with the diahrea.

We have done a fecal examination on our own. We have the microscope and the slides and the chemicals to do it. Cocci is a different animal since it is a protozoa. No worms though. Again, we suspect stress has a good part of this problem.

Her worming schedule is in line with the other babies. MOST OF THE VETS around here know VERY LITTLE about miniature horses.
We ask others about thier experience with thier minis and some have horrid vet stories. We as a group tend to know more about minis than most vets. Forums are extremly helpful in your need for knowledge. As you know, a bad idea is quickly put into perspective by other postings. I do not take anyones advise to heart and go out and do whatever they say to do, it is simply a part of the puzzle that someone on some site may have knowledge or experience about.

This forum is a wonderful example. There are many experienced people here. But advise on a forum is worth what it cost. A few pennies of electric and the time it takes to type and search.

You are right, mini horses are in a league of thier own. We are just learning and the wife has had horses for most of her life. I am basically a newbie to the horse world, about 6 years worht. The learning curve is quite steep.