Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
After a busy workday, I saw Speedy G at Bakersfield Vet Hospital on Friday. Sorry, no photos. When I arrived, Dr. B and I went to his stall and watched him acting like his regular, goofy self. Even though he looked great, Dr. B wanted to continue the injectable antibiotics and even administered another IM dose of Banamine. Her concern is that his "bug" might reappear given the every-other-day nature of his illness. I agreed.
Dr. B reported that when she arrived at the hospital on Friday morning, she was quite surprised to see how perky he was and that he had finished his dinner. She was even more baffled when all of his blood work came back in the normal range. Every parameter was normal: his white blood cell count was dead on with nothing even slightly elevated, his pulse and respiration were back to normal, and his fever was gone. In fact his temperature had dropped below 100, a very good sign. His nose looked really clean and he hadn't coughed. For a horse who had presented such obvious symptoms of disease the night before, he looked as though nothing had been amiss. So what does he have? She doesn't exactly know. She's calling it an upper respiratory infection for now. Since his blood work was clean, it wasn't clear whether it is/was viral or bacterial. Just to be safe, he'll get another dose of antibiotics injected via IM on Saturday morning. And since he's there, we're going to go ahead and do his fall fecal count. I had wanted to wait until mid-November, but I might as well save myself a trip. I'll bring in a Sydney sample later in the day when I am there. So the plan is that Speedy G gets to come home on Saturday afternoon. He'll continue with oral antibiotics for 7 - 10 days. I certainly hope he looks good for Dr. B this morning when she sees him. I'll let you know if he makes it home today. Speedy G says thanks for the many well wishes - they must have worked!
Judy
10/22/2011 01:33:23 am
Karen, Just curious, can a horse have allergic reactions causing similar symptoms? I know our dog can be low energy, coughing, runny nose at certain times. His symptoms usually clear up in a day or two and seem to be during the time of year that the Tan Oak pollen is high (he spends a fair amount of time running through the brush and of course breathing the pollens)but he definitely appears to have cold or flu symptoms when he has these reactions. He always "gets well" before I decide to take him in, but our Vet (per symptoms and time of year)felt the pollens were the likely cause. 10/22/2011 01:38:20 am
Hi Judy! Yes, horses definitely have allergies! Believe it or not, they can be allergic to hay and grass. Definitely a difficult allergy to manage. That didn't appear to be the case for Speedy. With such a high fever combined with flu like symptoms, an infection is the most likely culprit. I forgot to add that one of JL's horses has the same symptoms as well. Cha Ching's mare also colicked and had the flu a week or so ago.
Judy
10/22/2011 02:22:57 am
I had forgotten that he had a fever as well! I'm so glad he's doing better!
Val
10/22/2011 08:13:34 am
Good to hear. 10/22/2011 08:31:59 am
He's home and just as dorky as ever. I am quite a bit broker of course, but I am thankful my boy feels better. :0) Oh Speedy! I'm glad he's okay - I was worried when I read about him going to the vet but didn't have time to comment. He is a delicate wee thing - maybe he just likes the attention?? (I'm thinking of the last time was sick was when you 'abandoned' him, too, haha). I would have expected *Sydney* to be the china tea cup, based on the other TBs I have known, but hey. Fingers crossed the bug doesn't jump the aisle :) Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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