Flora has nasty aggressive Lymphangitis

Stella2

Stella2

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Aug 5, 2001
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Flora had a very swollen leg this morning, by the time the vet arrived at 12.30, she had severe swelling from her foot right up into her quarters and severe swelling of her teats and belly on the left side. She has a high temperature, is blowing a bit and is clearly in pain. The vet said that she has a very aggressive Lymphangitis. He gave her injections of antibiotics and anti-inflamatory pain killer. She has to be walked for an hour every other hour (and she really doesn't want to move). A vet will be out with further injections tomorrow and Sunday and if she is responding to treatment at that stage, he may leave injections to be administered after that! He said he didn't want to alarm me, but it could get worse and if it doesn't respond well and quickly to treatment, she could be vulnerable to it in the future.

:( :( :(
 
the poor girl, how does this start? is there an infection from an injury that gets out of control?

Are you available to do the handwalking all day? most folks have work or school!

I hope she feels better soon.
 
Oh no, poor Flora!

My YO's daughter had a horse go down with this not very long ago, it looked awful but she did recover relatively quickly.

If Flora is better off being moved, is turning her out in a small paddock an option? Might be easier than forcing her to move if she really doesn't want to.

Fingers crossed for a quick recovery!
 
Oh, poor Flora! :(

(and poor you, you must be out of your mind with worry!)

All my good vibes heading your way that she'll make a quick and complete recovery. Let us know how you get on, we'll be thinking of you...
 
My donkey Big Ears used to get something similar - though it started as non lactating mastitis - she had several bouts of that, and sometimes it would travel down her legs. Our vet has never known a donkey to get this before.

Then she got a ventral oedema following mastitis - that took ages to clear up.

We never got to the bottom of what caused it - but she died from colic and I am sure it was a tumour which shifted suddenly.

I hope your horse feels better and that you get it under control.
 
Oh poor you and poor Flora. Lots of hugs form both me, Rhi and Kito. Keep us informed how she is. Fingers crossed
 
Well, she is pretty much the same this evening except that she is eating her hay - she wasn't even doing that earlier, so I'm guessing the pain killers have helped her to feel more comfortable. I can do some of the walking myself and I am blessed by being on such a good full livery yard that the staff will do it regularly when I'm not there!!!

I asked the vet about turning her out and he said no for two reasons. Firstly, because "she would just stand in a corner and do nothing, so it wouldn't help her move" and secondly (and more worrying) because "she has a temperature and will be feeling quite ill so is better in her box".

I'm taking a practical approach, but I can't help but worry. She should be okay because there was no delay in getting her treatment, but, well .... we'll see :(
 
Oh no Stella - so sorry to hear that Flora is so poorly. Must confess that I have never heard of the condition - how do they get it? Glad that she seems to be getting some relief from the painkillers though. Hugs to you both and let us know how she is tomorrow!
 
Apparantly, they can get it from infection in a small cut to the skin in the leg, from a touch of mud fever or even from "a little knock" such as they can get just getting up in the box!! There are no cuts, no mud fever, so the Vet and I are assuming it must be from a knock. Mild Lymphangitis can be seen in swelling of the lower parts of the leg sometimes caused by standing too long in the box, but this is a whole other level of scary looking Lymphangitis!
 
Oh poor Flora and poor you, you must have been really worried about her - hope she's better soon:)
 
hope she is feelign a bit better. eventually our vet used diuretic tablets on Big ears and that took the swelling away - we thought it was originally caused by an insect bite but never got to the bottom of it.

she wasn't unwell with it, but then donks tend to have a very high pain threshold, which is not in their favour when something serious, like colic, strikes. they put up with things that would have a horse climbing the walls.

hope she feels better in a few days. th ings like this are always a shock and so sudden.
 
Quick Update!

She seemed a little improved this morning. The swelling over the cannon bone seemed to have gone down slightly (though still the same everywhere else), she was more alert -ears pricked on her walk and the walk wasn't so reluctant! I think thats all very positve - more antibiotic injections today by the vet later.
 
She is brighter and moving more freely but I guess that could just be down to the anti-inflammatory pain killers. Anyway, the vet warned that we are not out of the woods by any means and has doubled the antibiotics!

I've walked my legs off with her today and will have to do it all again tomorrow, but she is worth it. Thank god for the powers of a hot bath!
 
Yay :) She is much better today. The swelling has reduced considerably :) We have walked and walked until we both nearly died of boredom, but it (together with the rufty tufty antibiotics) seems to be doing the trick. The vet is back to see her in the morning.
 
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