Re: RC: Distemper in Arizona

[Bette Lamore <woa@stormnet.com>]

Hi Bonnie
This is an annual occurrence in CA. Don't worry--- it does go away with
rarely any aftereffects. Avoid giving antibiotics; we've found that just
makes it last longer. Clean out the abscess area with betadine--- don't
be afraid to scrub to debris-- and then smear SWAT everywhere--- As it
is transmitted by flies (the little ones usually grouping around
bellies) and is in the soil, it is NOT contagious between horses (unless
a fly happens to bite the infected one and then another--- it is more
likely, though that the fly get it from the soil as that is where the
disease is harbored and may lay dormant for years. Isolating the horses
does little-- as flies know no boundaries. Some years I get lucky; some
years, not. Right now the vet says he's seeing a new one every day
around here. Save your money-- no vet needed unless it gets into the
sheath--- then it can get serious.
Bette

GrgGmiller@aol.com wrote:
> 
>      My horse had an open wound the size of a quarter on her belly where the
> hairline swirls.....wouldn't heal after repeated ointments. This morning I
> see that she is acting quiet, dull eyed and tight in the hindquarters, so I
> check her wound and see that it is now abscessing. She is also running a
> slight fever.
>      Long story short:  She was diagnosed with "dryland distemper"......1 in
> 3 horses now has it in northern Arizona.  It is transmitted through flies and
> is very contageous.
> In the case of my mare, we caught it at the very begining.  Most horses
> coming in to the vet's have the abscess'  spread all along the belly up
> through the chest and sometimes up the shoulders.  It also affects cattle,
> sheep, lamas.
>     Be careful if you are traveling into Arizona....until it snows here in
> Flagstaff, the problem will continue.
> 
> Bonnie Miller
> grggmiller@aol.com
> 
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-- 
Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians, Home of 16.2hh TLA Halynov
(yes, REALLY!)
http://www.arabiansporthorse.com