The case of Dee's Scratches #1
July 26, 2009 - This is the day I returned from the David Ellis Clinic to find my filly was walking so strangely. Struggling to get enough momentum for the first step, she would swing her head, then pickup a front foot before swinging the back feet around. Then once she got going the movement was more sideways then straight on. Because it was Sunday, I was unable to contact a vet, so had to wait until Monday evening for the local vet to come out and draw blood. His first impression didn't reveal much, but we discussed what I had found online about Wobblers, EPM and West Niles (yes, she was up to date on her vacinations). He felt it was a good idea to run a standard blood panel to see if anything showed. There was no fever, and she seemed alert. A physical exam showed no signs of swelling, nor were there any visible wounds. Before he left he gave her a shot of Banamine, and left me with two more for the following two days.
On Tuesday, he called to say the blood panel showed nothing unusual. I then called another vet who had been working with my Arab mare (another story!) to see if I could bring the filly with me on that coming Friday, when I brought the Arab. They adjusted my appointment to allow for more time and a plan was in place. By Thursday, however, I had decided that it was too risky to take her for the 1hr, 45 minute trailer ride. I really didn't think she would be able to balance in the trailer because she had gotten quite erratic...and I was concerned that not only would she go down, she would take the Arab with her if she panicked. So...I spoke to the local vet again and asked if he would send off for the West Niles/EPM tests - he agreed and sold me some Bute. My plan was to run the situation by the other guy to see what his first impression was.
As sometimes happens, the original vet was out of town on business and a different vet was standing in. This vet had not ever seen any of my horses, and was trying to fill in the blanks on the Arab and guess about what may be happening with the filly. She was adamant about the EPM tests because she had recently seen a case. (EPM is not common in our area as we have few critters that carry it) This vet was pretty much gloom and doom for both horses and I left feeling a bit discouraged by the whole experience. (Even though x-rays showed an improvement with the Arab!) At least I was able to arrange for the vet I had been working with to stop by my place when he visited the area the in a couple weeks to check on both the Arab and the filly.
Somewhere between July 26 and Aug 12, 2009 - At some point during the last week and a half, after speaking to nearby neighbors with lots of horsey experience and pretty much living online searching for ANYTHING that made sense, my friend and neighbor noticed some very small bumps above the heal bulbs on the filly. The bumps were under the hair and very tightly attached to the skin. You could not see them clearly, but could feel them if you ran your fingers across the area. She called me at work to share her discovery, wondering if I thought it might be connected to the issue at hand. I doubted it, seeing as they were such small bumps, but something triggered a memory and I agreed to do some research. By the time I got home, I was looking for something called, "Scratches". I confirmed the bumps were there, and I could even see the outline of them now that I knew where they were...it was sort of like looking at the patch work of a small quilt..where the bumps were, the hair laid across them in little square patterns. Not knowing what action to take, but thinking I may be on to something with the scratches theory, I went back to my computer for more research. Overnight, the bumps got bigger and come morning, I could see where one of them was coming loose...I scratched at it a little and could see that there was some soreness there, and just a little appearance of a wound underneath. Before coming home from work, I stopped by to pickup some Neosporin and some athlete foot cream - which I figured would help, since scratches is a bacterial infection that can sometimes pick up a fungal infection as well. I started treating twice per day with this mixture (not a new mixture to me, as this is what I do if we start seeing any sign of thrush).
August 12, 2009 - Finally, a visit from the out of town vet. Even though I knew he would think I lost my mind, I let him know that I suspected scratches, although I did not understand (and still don't) how she could have picked up this infection. From what I could find, it is common in wet areas, or in horses that live in a dirty environment. My pens are kept very clean, and we rarely get rain. We also had results from the West Niles tests, negative. Good news! After taking a closer look at the filly, and asking her to do some things that would help rule out Wobblers and EPM (when turning in a tight circle, a horse with spinal nerve or head injury will not cross the left hind in front of the right and under the body when turning to the left, but instead will move the right hind OUT and the left will follow) She passed those tests okay, and he took a look at her sores on the fetlock, which by this time had become visible on all four legs. (I had shaved the hair as short as I could because it is suggested on many websites) he then agreed that I was right about the scratches and he mixed up a concoction of antibacterial, antifungal and steroidal treatment for me to put on the sores. He also suggested that I use a betadine scrub twice per day before treating with the cream. He mentioned that if for some reason that didn't work, I could call and he would give me something a bit stronger. When he left, I was feeling much better about things. Knowing the problem wasn't neurological made me feel so much better about the whole situation. I finally had a diagnosis I could deal with. At this point, I had not taken any pictures... those will follow as the story grows.
On Tuesday, he called to say the blood panel showed nothing unusual. I then called another vet who had been working with my Arab mare (another story!) to see if I could bring the filly with me on that coming Friday, when I brought the Arab. They adjusted my appointment to allow for more time and a plan was in place. By Thursday, however, I had decided that it was too risky to take her for the 1hr, 45 minute trailer ride. I really didn't think she would be able to balance in the trailer because she had gotten quite erratic...and I was concerned that not only would she go down, she would take the Arab with her if she panicked. So...I spoke to the local vet again and asked if he would send off for the West Niles/EPM tests - he agreed and sold me some Bute. My plan was to run the situation by the other guy to see what his first impression was.
As sometimes happens, the original vet was out of town on business and a different vet was standing in. This vet had not ever seen any of my horses, and was trying to fill in the blanks on the Arab and guess about what may be happening with the filly. She was adamant about the EPM tests because she had recently seen a case. (EPM is not common in our area as we have few critters that carry it) This vet was pretty much gloom and doom for both horses and I left feeling a bit discouraged by the whole experience. (Even though x-rays showed an improvement with the Arab!) At least I was able to arrange for the vet I had been working with to stop by my place when he visited the area the in a couple weeks to check on both the Arab and the filly.
Somewhere between July 26 and Aug 12, 2009 - At some point during the last week and a half, after speaking to nearby neighbors with lots of horsey experience and pretty much living online searching for ANYTHING that made sense, my friend and neighbor noticed some very small bumps above the heal bulbs on the filly. The bumps were under the hair and very tightly attached to the skin. You could not see them clearly, but could feel them if you ran your fingers across the area. She called me at work to share her discovery, wondering if I thought it might be connected to the issue at hand. I doubted it, seeing as they were such small bumps, but something triggered a memory and I agreed to do some research. By the time I got home, I was looking for something called, "Scratches". I confirmed the bumps were there, and I could even see the outline of them now that I knew where they were...it was sort of like looking at the patch work of a small quilt..where the bumps were, the hair laid across them in little square patterns. Not knowing what action to take, but thinking I may be on to something with the scratches theory, I went back to my computer for more research. Overnight, the bumps got bigger and come morning, I could see where one of them was coming loose...I scratched at it a little and could see that there was some soreness there, and just a little appearance of a wound underneath. Before coming home from work, I stopped by to pickup some Neosporin and some athlete foot cream - which I figured would help, since scratches is a bacterial infection that can sometimes pick up a fungal infection as well. I started treating twice per day with this mixture (not a new mixture to me, as this is what I do if we start seeing any sign of thrush).
August 12, 2009 - Finally, a visit from the out of town vet. Even though I knew he would think I lost my mind, I let him know that I suspected scratches, although I did not understand (and still don't) how she could have picked up this infection. From what I could find, it is common in wet areas, or in horses that live in a dirty environment. My pens are kept very clean, and we rarely get rain. We also had results from the West Niles tests, negative. Good news! After taking a closer look at the filly, and asking her to do some things that would help rule out Wobblers and EPM (when turning in a tight circle, a horse with spinal nerve or head injury will not cross the left hind in front of the right and under the body when turning to the left, but instead will move the right hind OUT and the left will follow) She passed those tests okay, and he took a look at her sores on the fetlock, which by this time had become visible on all four legs. (I had shaved the hair as short as I could because it is suggested on many websites) he then agreed that I was right about the scratches and he mixed up a concoction of antibacterial, antifungal and steroidal treatment for me to put on the sores. He also suggested that I use a betadine scrub twice per day before treating with the cream. He mentioned that if for some reason that didn't work, I could call and he would give me something a bit stronger. When he left, I was feeling much better about things. Knowing the problem wasn't neurological made me feel so much better about the whole situation. I finally had a diagnosis I could deal with. At this point, I had not taken any pictures... those will follow as the story grows.
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