Pedigree Query

My parents have a neighbor thats horse has some wierd symptoms. Vet doesn't seem too concerned but I do. Temp is 104. He has neurological problems. He is NOT wobbly or unbalanced like you would expect in epm or enchephamyelitis. But he is in obvious back pain and keeps his thing half way dropped. Depressed but eating. The horse was just brought in a stall from a pasture so they aren't sure he's drinking. He is on benamine. Do you think it could be herpes or encephamylitis? Obviously its a possibility and I told her she needs another vet to come out and test. She does water out of her pond so PHF could be a possibility also. I have never had any experiences with these sicknesses. Any help is appreciated greatly. Also posted in General discussion.

He could be just so dehydrated from just barely sucking a bit of fluids from a pond (Yuck and Double Yuck) that he has some ataxia. High temp can also be dehydration. Lots of very fresh water and some electrolytes and see what happens. The Banamine will just falsely suppress the temperature.

Thanks for your reply. He came in a stall last night and is drinking. What I mean when they water out of their pond is that they have a pump that pulls the water from the pond into the barn spicket. Still yucky but he was drinking normal. He broke out in hives last night but they went away after the banemine. His gums do not look good-they are all red around the teeth. A different vet will be out to do a blood test next week.

Poor guy, this sounds like a pretty sick horse to me. I hope he is feeling feeling better by now.

Considering your impression that he is experiencing "back pain" and is exuding his penis abnormally, perhaps these are symptoms of a urinary tract problem involving the bladdy and/or kidneys.

Just a possible differencial to consider, obviously a follow-up visit from the vet is indicated here.

Sorry I didn't update more recently. He was diagnosed with Potomac Horse fever, but his hind end is still off. The vet says it could from the phf.