Eieren Oppfordrer Andre Til å Snakke Om Kvelninger I Hester

2023 Forfatter: George Kingsman | [email protected]. Sist endret: 2023-05-21 05:33

Når den nasjonale Strangles Awareness Week (3.-9. Mai) nærmer seg slutten av 2021, håper en eier som nesten mistet miniatyr-Shetland til strangles, å øke bevisstheten om sykdommen og oppmuntre andre til å si fra.

Falkirk-baserte Sandy Trimmer, som driver Unicorn Experience og tilbyr fotograferingsøkter for barn med ponnier for å øke tilliten, kjøpte den fem måneder gamle Teddy i oktober 2020, og han ble uvel dagen etter at han kom.

Sandy, som holdt Teddy med Pumpkin, en av hennes andre ponnier, hjemme hos henne, sa at han lå mye og la hodet i fanget.

"Han hadde blitt ormet og mikrochipet før han forlot oppdretteren sin dagen før, og først trodde jeg at han kanskje hadde vondt i magen, men jeg skjønte at han slet med å stå opp og gå, så jeg fikk veterinæren," sa hun til H&H.

"Temperaturen hans var utenfor skalaen, og han slipte kjeve side til side og siklet."

Teddy ble diagnostisert med kvelninger og fikk smertestillende.

"Under halsen var hovent, og veterinæren rådet til å holde varme håndklær rundt halsen tre ganger om dagen," sa hun.

“Omtrent tre til fire dager senere utviklet han en hevelse i ballstørrelse på nakken. Veterinæren kom tilbake og sa at immunforsvaret slet og stedet for mikrochipet hans hadde blitt smittet. Hun kuttet nakken for å tømme pusen, og mikrobrikken hans kom ut.”

Teddys helseproblemer fortsatte, og han fikk en hevelse under øyet.

“his eye was filling with pus, and i noticed a lump on his head between his eye and his ear. i was told by the vet to massage it and eventually pus came out from the abscess under his eye so it was tracking down,” said sandy.

“the abscesses under his throat had burst and he had no skin left on the area. they looked disgusting, it was awful but throughout everything he somehow managed to keep on eating.”

sandy said eventually the abscesses healed. in february both ponies were scoped for strangles and received the all-clear.

“we had to wait a while for teddy to grow to be scoped as he was so little, the vet said he was the smallest they had ever scoped,” she said.

“it was such a relief for him to be given the all-clear; three times we thought we were going to lose him and so many times i was on the phone to the vets in tears. at the time i was concentrating on getting him through it but when i look back i see how tiny he was. three different vets at clyde vet group treated him throughout the time he was ill, they were absolutely amazing.”

sandy, whose other ponies never came into contact with teddy and were kept at a different location, said she spoke openly to “everyone” about teddy having strangles and hopes to raise awareness of the disease.

“i didn’t want friends who have horses coming to visit and i made sure if i had to go to the feed shop i did this first thing before dealing with teddy. i was constantly using disinfectant,” she said.

“people still don’t know enough about strangles and are scared to speak out. i’ve been on yards in the past where it’s been advised not to tell people about strangles as people think they will be blamed, but you have to be open about it and i wish people wouldn’t hide it.”

strangles awareness week is a collaborative effort between the british horse society, intervacc, keeping britain’s horses healthy, redwings horse sanctuary, scotland’s rural college’s premium assured strangles scheme (pass), surveillance of equine strangles (ses), the (dick) royal school of veterinary studies and world horse welfare. the annual initiative aims to provide horse owners, yard managers, vets and equine professionals with a platform to share their own stories and promote support for those affected by the disease.

this year’s campaign features a series of podcasts with people from across the equestrian industry sharing their experiences of the disease. there is also free resources and support available for those who may be tackling outbreaks.