05/27/2026
Now that Birgit is home and resting, I can relay the full story of how we got here.
Last Friday, she presented with a very really swollen eye. A couple of days after we began treatment for her swollen eye, she developed a fever of 103.8° F. She went off of her feed completely, which is HIGHLY unusual as this mare will eat through a wall to get to another horse's food. She was very lethargic as well.
We suspected anaplasmosis, a tick-borne illness, & started treating her with an antibiotic. Her fever resolved, but then this morning she started presenting signs of colic. Laying down and getting up and laying down and wanting to roll and kicking at her belly and pawing. Her eyes were jaundice as well. She didn't respond to Banamine, so we made the decision to haul her into the vet.
Her condition worsened as we were there. As we were walking her, she laid down on the driveway. We were able to get her up, but she was walking stiffly & was dragging one of her hind hooves as she walked.
She was eventually diagnosed with anaplasmosis & Lyme's. Her white blood cell count was the highest the vet had ever seen.
The vet palpated her to determine the cause of her abdominal distress. Her entire system was empty - no impaction!
Birgit received 2 bags of fluid in an IV drip, an antispasmodic medication, & a heavy-duty IV antibiotic to jump start things. We will have to give 2 more doses of the antibiotic once a day over the next 2 days in a catheter while trying to encourage hydration.
Birgit perked up at the vet & wanted food. We gave her hay and she started kicking at her belly while eating. We are thinking she is experiencing an ulcer from being off of her feed & being given antibiotics & pain medication at the same time. So, enter the ulcer medication on top of everything else!
Being as healthy as a horse is NOT what we think it means!
Once she got home, she went right to lay down in the shade of her shelter. At dinner time, she ate 1 # of feed, soaked. Her temperature was normal, but we gave her a cool sponge bath anyway! She licked the salt lick we put out to encourage hydration, and then drank water. We put out two tubs of water - one with apple-flavored electrolytes & one without. She received lots of love & treats by the resident 6-year-old as well.
We aren't out of the woods, but we are hopeful, which is more than we could say this morning.
Thanks to everyone who has donated to help cover the costs of her medical intervention. We haven't received the tab yet, but when we do, we will be transparent & humbly request more help.
Donations can be made online via
🌺 www.abidingsunday.org/donate
🌺 PayPal - PayPal.me/AbidingSunday
🌺 Venmo - (last four 7670)
For other options, reach out to us as [email protected].
All donations are tax deductible as Abiding Sunday is a federally recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
We cannot do this alone, nor do we want to!
If you can help, we will help!
