*** Strangles

I've been gone a while from the wreck and I've missed the whole happy
disfunctional family. Everybody still kicking? Missed you, Aunt Nasty.
How you doin' Jorene? Kambic and Tamara still holding forth in TN?
Stovall and Terry still keeping everybody honest?

My coming four year old QH filly (Miss Kittys Nu Start) is recovering
from a near fatal bout with *** strangles. She is home from a two-
week stint in the horse hospital at Charlottesville and is recovering.
She had great difficulty breathing and was nearly gone by the time I
drove her two hours to the Blue Ridge Clinic. Tests were not in
agreement on the cause. One pointed to lymphoma and one to an
infection. The treatment for lymphoma would involve large doses of
steroids which would be a Very Bad Thing if she had an infection
instead. Rads and ultrasound were not helpful. So, it was decided to
go in and try to get a biopsy of what they thought was a tumor
pressing on the trachea and flattening it. When they got to it and cut
a bit for the biopsy, it opened up and pus came flowing out. Oh Joy.
Seriously. Sometimes the best part of your day is when you see pus.
So, now she is on Chloramphenicol, Rifampen, ('prolly not spelling
that right) Bute and Ulcer Guard. My barn resembles a hazmat
operation. I had to put Lexan over the bars on the tops of the stall
dividers. She is in a double foaling stall with her dam keeping her
company at night on the other side of the lexan. There is a large
incision on the right-center of her chest with a hole from the large
bore drain in the middle of it. The drain is out and I'm cleaning the
highly infectious exudate. She will be on the antibiotics for at least
two months, maybe three. I'm soooo glad it isn't fly season yet. Her
trach is more than 50% back to its normal configuration.

We're not sure where she got it. At this time last year she was at a
trainer's barn for a couple of months getting started under saddle-
just the basics of walk-trot-whoa. When she came home, he told me that
she had been sick, but he "doctored on her" and she was all right. He
never called me, or a Vet for that matter. He told me that she had the
snots, a fever and a cough. He gave her "some pills that were left
over from another horse that had been sick" and she was better after
about three days. Lordy. He's a good trainer, but sheesh...call me.

Other than that, her younger Appendix QH brother, Shotgun Ceremony, is
doing well and will hit some shows this spring and summer. Last year
he was second at Warrenton and the Loudoun Benefit show at Morven Park
and we'll try to add Upperville this year. He's 19 months old and over
15 hands already. Big strapping boy. Gonna be a jumper for sure. The
donkey is running the show and the broodmare is open and likely to
stay that way even though she is a magic cross to Colonels Smoking Gun
(Gunner). This is such a sucky market. You don't have to breed every
mare that will stand still long enough to get covered.

So, what's new????

Gretchen in VA
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