Pedigree Query

Anyone have any experience with this? Our friend's barn may be contaminated... one gelding colic'd last week and was touch & go (but pulled through), now her mare colic'd last night. The vet thinks it could be salmonella (her mare had diarrhea, unlike her gelding) but they won't know for sure until about a week from now... (I don't know why it'll take that long...)

All I've read is how highly contagious it is. How serious a situation is this for her horses to recover from, if they're all infected...??

We had a client mare at OSU come down with Salmonella the day after she got in (she probably had it when she came in). Protocol with her was to clean her stall last and rinse tools and your feet in a disinfectant filled tub. It seemed like she had the diarrhea for about three or four days and they kept her quarantined for two weeks, but my memory is foggy I just remember the walls of her stall were uh decorated. The stall was thoroughly stripped and everything was disinfected once she was no longer contagious. Obviously as with any diarrhea causing illness, the big thing is making sure they don't get dehydrated. Given the two colics, I wonder if it isn't Salmonella and may be something she fed or they got into.

sounds more like e coli.

That's what I've been trying to figure out—what it might be—and if it's related, or a string of bad luck.

They have sheep, so I don't know if they affect horses in any way...? Never heard anything negative that I remember, but a few of the lambs were sick with pneumonia recently. I had wondered at first if that's what her gelding caught—something from the sheep. My husband said the clinic concluded "viral". Very puzzling... of course, they haven't concluded it's definitely salmonella... but it's still puzzling...

She keeps her feed well, so I don't think it's contamination. I just hope her guys are OK... it's been pretty rough for them these last few weeks...

Guess you beat my post, Madelyn... I'll check into that for her... thanks!

If the horse tests positive for salmonella, you might have them check with their hay man and see if the hay has been fertilized with chicken litter. I don't know if that's an issue where you're at, but it is in Oklahoma.

Stress can trigger salmonella (shipping, surgery, illness etc). Neonates, old and immunosupressed people and horses are at the highest risk.
We have a salmonella outbreak at the farm I work at right now! We have already lost 3 foals...
Healthy adult horses are at a low risk. It is extremly important that the stalls are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected! Footbath before exiting and entering stalls etc. PM me if you have any questions.

Pin Oak has had major problems with salmonella the past few years. Myself and the rest of the broodmare crew all came down sick as well. You may get rid of it for a season, but it can pop back up again year after year.

Lindros wrote:It is extremly important that the stalls are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected! Footbath before exiting and entering stalls etc.

That's what I found within 30 seconds of looking online... an entire protocol that sounded like toxic waste cleanup. Scary. My husband was going down there to help with her horses (we share farrier appts.) and the vet stopped them in the driveway. After what I read, I called just to make sure he didn't step in any manure. When I left this morning, as an afterthought I left him a message not to touch our guys when he got back, in case it was a virus... I thought I was being paranoid, but apparently not, after my husband called to tell me...

Guess I'll know in a week if it is or isn't... I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her... thanks for the input!

if i'm not mistaken, that's what closed down new bolton equine hospital last year. they were shut down for quite a while to disinfect the entire facility.

Rood and Riddle and Hagyards had severe cases of it in 2004 at their facilities.

skeenan, you have to be very careful! There's a salmonella outbreak at the farm I work at. One of the other girls got it. She was really sick for a few days.

We've avoided going down there after what I've read. Thankfully, though, her mare is improving!

Scary stuff...