Horse being poisioned

[Bob & Amber Roberts <mlaboure@flash.net>]

It just occurred to me that maybe someone on this list may have an
answer to a problem a friend has recently had with her gelding.  She has
3 horses and they have been in the same pastures for a year.  Only one
horse is affected.  About a month ago, she thought he was having a bad
colic.  She took the horse to a local vet who misdiagnosed the problem
and sent the horse home.  Horse went down in its stall an hour after
returning home and the owner called me.  I called an equine specialist
vet who is about 1 1/2 hours from us (on a Sunday afternoon yet) and she
and I rushed this horse to him in the driving rain.  The horse almost
died.  He had an impaction and liver and kidney damage.  He had to stay
at the vet's for several days.  They ran 10 IV bags through him, plus
antibiotics, etc.  Blood tests showed levels twice and three times
normal and one was off the charts and the machine couldn't read it.
(Sorry I don't know the details.)  He recovered and returned home.

About three weeks or so later, he came down with the same problem.
Heart rate 84, respiration 60, temp. 102.  I rushed him to vet again
(owner was out of state at the time).  This time vet said something on
owner's land was actually poisoning the horse!  I had our County Ag
agent go to her property (no. central Texas) to investigate.  He
couldn't identify anything that might be poisoning this one horse.
Horse was given 50/50 chance to survive - but he did!  He is now home
and owner will never put horse in that same pasture - the one with lots
of shade and trees.  He will remain in upper pasture near her home and
have to be fed hay rather than being able to graze.

Does anyone have any ideas?  Thanks.

Amber


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