still had a fever of 103 degrees. Dr Gillespie said it might
take a while for the antibiotic to work. We took her home.MYA’S STORY
I was so excited to finally get Mya home. It had taken me 3 years to get a foal by Karen Wales’s stallion (Westwind BTU Crown Prince) colts and I fell in love with them. It seemed that luck or something was against me for making my dream come true. If it wasn’t one thing it was another.
Mya was such a good little traveler on the way home. She never gave us any trouble. She didn’t worry or act excited to be alone. She slept and eats like a horse ought to. When we got Mya home, we put her in with Tiny Acres Echo Starlite Dream. Mya run and played and had fun with her new friend.
Two week later she quit eating. We took her to the Dr Rex Gillespie. He examined her and found that she had a fever of 103 degrees. He prescribed and antibiotic for her. He thought that she had a minor infection. He told us that she would improve with treatment.
Two days later she still did not show a great improvement. We took her back to
the clinic. She
still had a fever of 103 degrees. Dr Gillespie said it might
take a while for the antibiotic to work. We took her home.
The next morning I went out to treat Mya and she was standing up but she had a cold mouth. I know that her condition was serious. I told Leo the get her to Dr Gillespie as soon as possible. He took her right in to Dr Gillespie. He did blood work immediately. And the test showed that she had a high white cell count and a low red cell count and she was losing protein somewhere. She also had a high fever. He did a chest x-ay it showed that she did not have any fluid in or around her lungs.
He put her on IV to stabilize her. He still was unsure where she was losing protein. He check her urine to see if that was where she was losing protein. He then decided she was losing it in her gastric. He conferred with other veterinarians in our area and other regions to make sure he was on the right track with her. I ask him what her chances if getting better was. He said that her condition was guarded. He said that he would continue her treatments for treating the fever with an antibiotic plus he put her on medications for stomach ulcers. Dr Gillespie thought she had got the stomach ulcers when we were treating her for the infection.
The next morning I dreaded calling him because I was so scared that he would tell me I had a dead horse. A lot of my friends were praying for her to get better so knew that she was in the Lord’s hands. I did call him when he opened to see how she was doing. He told me she made it through the night. I was so thankful that with his care and the Lord’s care she would make it. He continued with the treatment and kept her on IV for another day.
On day two she was continuing to improve. She was drinking water and trying to eat.
On the third day she was doing a lot better. The staff took her off of the IV and took her outside for a 30 minutes. When I got there they told me that she had really enjoyed being outside. They said that I could take her outside for a little while. It was a warm day and she enjoyed eating the grass. She was very weak and couldn’t walk very far.
Dr Gillespie said that I could take her home the next day. He thought she would do a lot better at home then in the kennel they were keeping her in. He told me to keep on with her treatments, which I did. Mya did graze a little after I got her home
The next day she quit eating and all she wanted to do was lay down. I know that I was in trouble with her if I didn’t find some way to get her to eat. I ask the Lord to show me how to get her to eat. Well He did. There was another filly in with her. She went over and tried to nurse her. I thought that the Lord had showed me the way that I need to go to get her to eat. I was showed to put her on a bottle. I went to the vet and got Foal Lac for her and I mixed it up with a couple of tablespoons of corn syrup. I went out and fed her this. The first time I fed her she only ate a little bit. Each time I fed her she ate a little more. I fed her every 4 hours. Even during the night. I had my daughter-in-law (Andrea Drake) feed her when I was at work. By day two, she would not eat anymore from the bottle. She was starting to eat her grain and hay.
We kept on with her treatments for another two weeks. I know if I had not put her on the bottle I would have lost her. She just didn’t have any reserve to keep her going in the cold weather.
Dr. Gillespie told me if I was bringing foals from a low altitude to a high altitude or different climate, you should put them on GASTROGARD two weeks before you plan on moving them; followed by two to three weeks after you get them home.
