Well, I won't know for sure for a few days, but I believe Lexy has
this pigeon fever, also known as dryland strangles. She has a swelling about the
size of a paper plate on her abdomen, right behind where her cinch would go,
with a smaller swelling, about the size of my fist, extending up on the right
side of it. She's also mopey and Abby is hovering over her like a mother hen.
Spoke with the vet this afternoon and she said that is one place the abscess can
occur, though it is less frequent than the pectoral swelling. She has no other
explanation for such a swelling, which wasn't there yesterday. So we're
proceeding as if it is. Give her a gram of bute twice a day to keep her more
comfortable and see if the swelling "ripens" and develops a soft spot. Hopefully
a "head" can be determined before it ruptures, so a vet can come and lance it
and the abscess liquid can be caught and disposed of. If not, I will try to
determine where she was when it drained and sterilize the ground (keeping her in
one corral). No point in separating the girls - some get it, some don't. Abby's
been just as exposed (presumably by flies) as Lexy, so she'll either get it or
she won't. If she does have it, the belly is the best place as it drains better
than the chest. The internal abscesses are the dangerous ones and usually the
horse dies, but they aren't known to get them externally and internally at the
same time, so should just be a pain for a few days. Sigh.....
