[mroades]

my ottb mare had surgery for a sand impaction on Oct 17th.
She initially did very well, until they tried to give her some hay, she did ok again, until they tried hay again, so new plan...no hay for weeks.

Then a fever, bloodwork normal. Now a fever again, still no elevated white count but a positive belly tap (again, no white cells)

She is getting to the end of her insurance money, and as I am severely underemployed at the moment there will be no more expensive care after it runs out.

She has now been at UGA for 17 days....when do I give up?

[tasia]

Soooooo sorry. I hope she takes a turn for the better.

[dalpal]

First of all....jingles and hugs.


Have the vets given her a prognosis report? Did she lose any intestine in the surgery?

[mroades]

because she is mine (and if you know me....lol) she hasnt been following any of the prognoses yet. They did not resection any intestine, they are thinking she may have an abcess at the point where they entered it though.

[WarHorse]

Oh, man, you're two hours straight south of me. And I wish there was something I could do, but a fever without a white count is really bad news IME.

I hope I'm wrong - OTTBs are awesome. It could be a hind gut ulcer or something simple like that.

Hang in there another day and see what the vet says.

[mroades]

yep, part of this situtation's difficulty is that I am long distance horse owner to start with, I have to travel for work, so its not like I can just pop in and check on her

[PSD]

Oh, jeez, Missy, so sorry to hear this. Had a mare there over 2 years ago who seemed to do okay after surgery (no resection, just manipulation of a coastal Bermuda hay impaction), but was still painful, they had to go back in, still no resection, just manipulation) pain resolved. But then developed ileus and had to be parenterally fed for quite awhile, never a fever, finally got stable enough to come home after 2-1/2 weeks and ~$20,000 later. She could have no hay, had the run of the 18 acres here and would still develop small colics several times a year. She went back twice but I refused to let them do surgery again if she couldn't be resolved medically. Each time she bounced back quickly and I thought I would beat the odds. My luck finally ran out with her after 2 years this past Sept. We couldn't pull her out medically after about 48 hours, so had her put down. The hardest decision I ever had to make, but I had a long time to think about things. And, this just happened to you.

My thoughts are with you.

[WarHorse]

yep, part of this situtation's difficulty is that I am long distance horse owner to start with, I have to travel for work, so its not like I can just pop in and check on her

Where exactly is the horse in question?

PM if you prefer.

[mroades]

it is still at UGA

[cute_lil_fancy_pants_pony]

Look into Care Credit. 0% interest for 6-12 months. Wells Fargo also has a program like that I believe.

[mroades]

yeah, ummm, we won't go into my credit situation.......CC only approved me for one tenth of the bill

[Duckz]

I'm so sorry No good advice, just lots of jingles.

[Lucassb]

yep, part of this situtation's difficulty is that I am long distance horse owner to start with, I have to travel for work, so its not like I can just pop in and check on her

Awww, Missy, I am so sorry to hear about this. If you can't get there, maybe Jill M. could go for you and give you an update? It's not *that* far for her and she is good at assessing situations like that.

Hugs.

[shawneeAcres]

Sorry to her this Missy! I hope she turns around fast. I have certain limits I have to set, when one owns as many horses as I do. For most, if it cannot be resolved at the farm it isn't resolved. Harsh, but reality I am afraid. Now for my stallion, I would make an exception I am sure. But I feel I would hate to spend several thousand and end up having to make that decision anyways. I cannot advise you, just do what your heart says is right for YOU and YOUR horse.

[reefy!]

I will add my jingles for you and your horse.

My tale is of my 1st heart horse and the day he colicked. He needed surgery and I had insurance but colic was excluded thanks to the year before when he ended up with peritonitis w/secondary colic (but thankfully it did pay for that hospitalization, no surgery). This colic, and surgery, was not covered. But what could I do? He was such a gift, I gave consent. He was only just 13. He made it 5 days post surgery but his hindgut never really started up again. No resection, no anything on autopsy to tell me why. His mortality coverage paid off the surgery and ICU care.

I'm so sorry you are going through this. I hope your horse will let you know when it's time....mind did.

[dalpal]

I agree that there is nothing wrong with setting limits. I paid for ONE colic surgery and it was fairly cheap at 2900.00 in 2004. Luckily it was a flipped intestine and that was it.

However, if the same horse ever had to have surgery again...I would not do it....if it couldn't be treated medically I would put the horse down. No matter how much I love the horse...not going to do a second surgery on the same horse.

I have made that promise to myself and I intend to keep it.

[dwblover]

Oh Missy I'm sorry to hear what a tough time you are going through. You have already done so much for this girl, it is perfectly acceptable to set limits now for what further intervention you can live with. As much as we love these horses we can't put our own financial security at risk for them, even if we want to. You were responsible, got insurance, did the colic surgery. Now if the insurance money runs out you will have to get a very clear and specific answer from UGA about 1) Cost of further sugeries/care and 2) Chances of recovery for a useful and happy life. Tell them you need a straight answer and not to sugar-coat it for you. Wishing you all the best and many jingles!!!!!!!!!!

[Addison]

Many jingles and HUGS to you both. I am very sorry you are having to deal with this.

[Bogey2]

She has now been at UGA for 17 days....when do I give up?

you are not "giving up". You are making a decision based on your lifes situation and hers. If you have to put her down, no one will think you gave up.
Hugs for you and horsie

[Rockfish]

HUGS AND JINGLES!