Ever seen bloody drool in 6 month old colts?

[redneckcowgirlmn]

Howdy all, just got back from a 10 day vacation south of Cancun, and went down to the barn to go see my "Kids". To my shock, my 2 weanlings both had bloody drool coming out of their poor little scabbed up lips! Upon examining their mouths, both have very sore receding gums, with soggy scabs. The horse colt looks like he's dropped some weight, hips and spine are prominent, he's kinda sucked up, a LITTLE dehydrated. I IMMEDIATELY pulled them into a stall, took temps,(98.2 & 98.4) then went in to call the vet.
Dr. Joel came out, said since the 4 older horses are fine, it's NOT Blister beetles in the hay, probably something viral...no temp, and they DID drink out of the warm H2O bucket I brought them from the house...just put them on pellets, put some ointment on their lips, (The visual my fiance got of me putting Chapstick on 2 foals STILL has him cackling! ) Dr. Joel says NOT to panic, it's a viral thing, just feed them a softer food 'till they start getting better, and if either one spikes a temp, or no improvement in 10 days, call him back, here's your bill for $150.00.

Now, I used to be a lg animal vet tech Pre-kids, and have NEVER seen or heard of anything like this, and was just wondering if any of y'all have. Is this a common Upper midwest thing in babies? The vet and the b/f were both acting like I was an overprotective momma hen, and I feel a little wierd about the whole thing. Or are they right, and I need some sleep?
(BTW, the b/f is a certified Journeyman farrier, and works with this vet on lame cases all the time, so they both are pretty knowledgeable... I THOUGHT I was, too though!) :shock:
So, I guess they're gonna live, just wondered if anyone has heard of this, while I surf the web looking for an answer, before it's time to go reapply the chapstick.
Thanks.

 

[holly heifer]

:x I had something similiar, it was from foxtail in the hay that
caused cuts and sores on the lips and gums. It was nasty! :shock:

 

[redneckcowgirlmn]

Talked to Mr Feed store Guy, and bought some pellets, he said something about that too. Except we have some sharp little burr-looking things in this hay. (Note to self, find different hay guy next year). Also, another friend said something about bad hay causing ulcers on the gums...haven't talked to the kid yet, but I wonder if he fed a couple of the moldy bales? Has anyone heard of that causing ulcerated gums?
Thanks

 

[MillIronQH]

Moldy hay is more likely to cause colic. I wouldn't even try to guess the cause but I'd be looking at the hay and anything else youngun a likely to get their mouth around.Z

 

[redneckcowgirlmn]

Yep, got 'em in quarantine. Wonder why it's just the 2 weanlings, and not the 2 yearlings as well. It's just wierd.

 

[redneckcowgirlmn]

Ok, now that I've settled down a little, and inspected everyone a little better, while doing mouth rinsing and "chapstick applications", the others Do have the same thing, the 2 older horses are the least affected. It IS the hay, every ulcer has some sort of burr or foxtail-looking thing in it. So, after 5 hours of debriding mouths, I have to find a new source of hay, and go but a bunch of pellets 'till I find some, which should be just a FUN thing to do in MN in January! And figure out what to do with 250+ bales of sticker hay.
Knowing nothing about the hay in this part of the world has taught me a good lesson... I grew up feeding alfalfa to all my horses in AZ and CA, the stuff people around here reserve for the High Dollar Dairy cattle. People made me feel like I didn't know a thing, when I went in search of the same type of stuff here, so I went against my gut feelings, and bought 400 bales of "MN Horse Hay". Supposed to be meadow grass and timothy. Bought 3 wagonloads of it. The first wagon looked okay, green, lots of timothy heads in it, nice and grassy. the 2nd and 3rd wagons were delivered and stacked while I was at work, and I actually thanked the guy and paid him extra, thinking it was the same quality. When I pulled the horses off the pasture this fall and started feeding hay, I noticed the little splinters in my fingers as I threw out the flakes, but the horses were eating it, and cleaning it up well, so I figured it was okay. So I have been basically torturing my poor horses for the last 3 months, and didn't even know! I feel like such an idiot. So what do I do with the rest? Have a big bonfire this spring? while I pass out pellets? Things that make you say bad words. Anyone know where I can get some GOOD roundbales in MN north of the cities?
Thanks for reading my little rant.
~m~

 

[Alan]

Well, it sounds like all will be fine, I would chalk it up to live and learn. You could take a sample to the extension agent to determine what is in the hay. Then I would call the guy you bought the hay from and tell him about the Vet bill and extension agent. See if he wants to stand behind his product (refund some money) or live with your word of mouth. I wouldn't burn the hay, you may be able to recoop some lose to other livestock not so affected by whatever is in the hay.

Out here hay is very hard to find and I'm paying about $160 a ton for it. You may stand to make a little money.

Alan

 

[redneckcowgirlmn]

Called the hay guy, no answer, left a message, no reply. Now the little red weanling I have is going downhill really fast, won't eat the pellets, stopped drinking yesterday, stays laying down unless I'm in the stall with him, tried washing out his mouth,(it smells like he already died!)and the vet's not called back yet, just came in the house for a potty break. Going back out with him... wish us luck.
Thanks.

 

[Alan]

Sounds like your doing all you can, good luck to you and the little red weanling. Have you got the horse on any drugs from the vet?

Alan

 

[redneckcowgirlmn]

Baby's doing better today! Dr. Joel's got him on Banamine, Pennicillin, and a pro-biotic paste, and he's starting to nibble at his feed. (I have 3 buckets and a hay net in with him, lol, 1 of the pellets dry, one of pellets, sweet feed, molasses, carrots, apples, and whatever else I could find that I know he likes when he feels good,(only about 2 cups total) and 1 of "Hot Pellet Mush". He's still not eating enough to worry about him OD'ing on all this stuff, and I DID find some GOOD hay yesterday, 13 bales of 1000# of alfalfa/REAL timothyX each, shipped in from SD, by some Thoroughbred breeder, that had extra. I never in my LIFE saw horses eat hay by picking it up with their TEETH, and not using their lips, LOL! Looked like a human kid being forced to eat peas! POOR Babies, I still feel pretty bad! But, the big ones are doing better as well, all of last night's supper was cleaned up and they were playing at sunup (if you can still call it that here, at the end of a snowstorm!) in the new snow, running and bucking and having a good ol' time. Big sigh... still no answer from original Hay guy.
Thanks for putting up with me, now, if I can remember to get new batteries for the camera, and how to post pics on here, I'll keep you all up to date on little guy's progress.

 

[redneckcowgirlmn]

/www.pbase.com/soenda/image/64725150

THIS is the stuff my bad hay is FULL of, as is my main horse pasture, and, well, the other 100 acres of our farm. Now what???

Do I plow up the whole darn thing, or is this something that's not a problem when it's "on the stem" and not baled? Did a "Google" on it, and can't find anything where it's a problem, but 2 sites said it's actually a "Valuable Source" of horse and cattle feed.

Not if it causes 1 inch ulcers in their mouths, in My Opinion! And yet, neither of my calves are the least bit affected. BUT, both dogs had ulcers in their mouths, with these pulled out. (Found them by accident, brought them in to work for a bath, no grooming clients today.)

 

[redneckcowgirlmn]

Just an update, Blaze is doing better, finally, and is putting on weight! According to the weight tape, he's put on about 30# in the last 2 weeks. Here's a face to go with the name.

Sorry, just learned how to post pics, y'all are gonna get sick of me, LOL!