Lucy is a miniature horse that has Big Head Disease – also known as nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism, which is caused by long term calcium deficiency. When this happens horses pull so much calcium and phosphorus from their bones that their bones become weak and fibrous. Facial bones become fibrous and swell – this happens most commonly in young horses whose facial bones haven’t fully hardened and formed. Lucy is only 3 years old. Affected horses tend to lose weight even if they get enough feed. Swelling that happens in the bones causes the upper airways to become obstructed. It is also possible for teeth to fall out. Once treatment to correct this disease successfully begins, it can take up to a year for remineralisation of bone to take place.
Before Lucy came to us, she was at Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary where Kari Bagnall had taken Lucy in and committed to helping her. Lucy had arrived there in the back of a utility trailer.
Lucy was having trouble breathing and was losing weight. She was taken to UF where a tracheotomy was done which helped her to breathe better. Kari called me and asked if we could take Lucy into our program – she’d asked other rescues but nobody stepped up. The last rescue Kari had contacted told her they would give Lucy a good burial! Of course we would take Lucy! Kari met with us at the farm and we planned on Lucy arriving the next day. But when I called Kari the next day she was in tears. She had been advised that it would be in Lucy’s best interest to put her down – Lucy had pneumonia and a new issue was diagnosed with her liver (with high values over 700). Her tongue was limp and her jaws were not working – she couldn’t eat or drink. She spiked a daily fever and her HR maintained between 70 – 80 bpm. I asked Kari to wait – I wanted to meet Lucy. Kari met me at the hospital and when I got there I saw a little mare that was having tremors, drooling, and that was obviously depressed.
I watched Lucy for a bit and asked questions of the doctors. I felt Lucy needed time and I had hope. I asked Kari if we could give Lucy some time at the rescue and she was more than happy to agree. I thought that perhaps by continuing IV fluids here where she would get 24/7 hands on care, and have the company of other horses, it would give her an opportunity to perk up mentally and also give her body time to adapt to changes in how she would need to eat and drink. Sometimes the body does have ways of adapting in order to survive. Then I went home and prayed and prepared for Lucy’s arrival the next day. The next day started out good with the news that Lucy’s liver values had gone down (50ish) substantially! I asked Kari to send Well-Gel home with Lucy that we could give her orally for nutrition and IV fluids would be continued, not only to make sure she stayed hydrated and to get her meds into her, but also to give her time to learn to start using her tongue and jaws again. I think we all felt relief when Lucy got here.
Lucy gets lots of attention and everyone loves her. Her ability to use her jaws has improved daily. She no longer drools.
Things were going good but the day after Lucy arrived, the vein where the IV catheter was collapsed. The vein on the other side of her neck had already collapsed. But the next day Dr. Natalie and Dr. Ann spent almost 3 hours successfully inserting a catheter into Lucy’s leg.
Yesterday the unthinkable happened. When trying to give IV fluids there was a leakage through the bandage. Praying for a small mechanical failure that could be fixed, I unwrapped the leg and checked all the connections and tried to unclog any blockage, but nothing. The vein in her little leg had collapsed.
Our only alternative was to switch to oral antibiotics, and administer some meds IM, which we are doing. But will Lucy be able to drink enough? Well, this morning Lucy’s temperature and respiration were normal and her heart rate is 60. She has taken 33 sips of water this morning and she is eating! She does not like getting meds IM and I feel bad that I have to poke her. Here is Lucy resting in her stall today.
Lucy is far from being out of the woods and there may be more obstacles, but for today, Lucy is happy and improving. We pray that she overcomes the pneumonia and that she continues to improve in her abilities to eat and drink. Lucy’s attitude is bright and positive – she loves life. She is out grazing around the barn today and she is happy. Please keep her in your prayers – she needs a miracle and I believe….
Sincerely,
Theresa
Beauty’s Haven Farm & Equine Rescue, Inc.
A 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization
Website: www.bhfer.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bhfer.tb
