Yalla! looks no better- no worse with her pigeon fever. She still has a good appetite and is walking better than the first couple of days with more neck flexibility.She has a large, hard pocket on the lower part of her neck and a flabby pocket between her forelegs. The button won't depress. It may have drained a little on the underside because there is some matted material in her hair. It could also be from laying down in the muddy paddock. We had a couple of inches of snow yesterday morning and a heavy frost this morning. The horses enjoy rolling in the muck, much to my displeasure. Sorry, no pictures. My camera is kaputs.
Scout also seems to have a touch of it. He has a six inch long edema on the underside of his belly. He had that last year too (or was it the year before??) and I took him to the vet. She put him on low grade antibiotics and it took about three weeks for it to clear up. I believe I'll keep to my holding pattern for now as far as calling the vet. I have tons of work and personal business in town so this is a really bad time for me to be staying at home, nursing a horse.
I have heard that horses don't get it more than once. Not in my household. This would be Scout's second episode and Annie has had it twice too, big pockets both times, in past years, not consecutive years either. I've also read that this is the wrong time of year for it. Well, in my last three episodes, it occured in October, after the first frosts. Go figure, the flies have dwindled but the bacteria remains.
I really do appreciate everyone's comments on this ailment. It is a rather controversial topic and anybody's personal experiences are helpful for me to decidewhat course of action to follow. If I don't follow any particular advice, it's probably because I'm usually a "wait and see" type of person. I know many Native people who rarely treat their animals with medications and believe it is in the hands of the Great Spirit to be cured. So let's all fold our hands together and say a healing prayer...
Live in a Fever, Raging Inside of Me: song: Fascination, artist: David Bowie, album: Young Americans
Follow my journey into the future. I promise it will be full of random rants, travel and other photos, musical musings, especially BOWIE, general chaos, and all my animal family: four horses, three alpacas, three dogs, and three and a half cats.
6 comments:
Hope things resolve for them all soon
Amen to that.
So many problems do resolve themselves, I feverantly pray that's the case here.
I have never heard of Pigeon Fever and it sounds like you know more about it than you would probably like. I hope your horses are on the mend soon. Sounds like nasty stuff.
Thank you for commenting on my blog. I am intrigued by your David Bowie references and style. I am certainly not very knowledgeable about Bowie and his music, but I loved him as Tesla in The Prestige, although I hardly recognized him. Bowie is quite the magician himself.
Have you thought of perhaps ordering a natural immune booster to feed everyone?
I think the fall is tough on a horse's system. Warm days and cool nights make it difficult on them and their systems get a bit run down.
Hmm, weird that people say they don't usually get it more than once, but yours have. That sucks. I wish it was like chicken pox so you wouldn't ever have to worry about it again lol. Since she seems more comfortable I don't see a problem with waiting and seeing a bit longer. :)
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