HomeNatural Horse CarePigeon Fever In Horses – Mystery Swelling On Horse Identified

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Pigeon Fever In Horses – Mystery Swelling On Horse Identified — 14 Comments

  1. I have had two horses come down with this. Had to have the vet burst the abycess, drain it and give the horse antibiotics. These horses havent been off the ranch in a long time.
    Stuff is going around though, my vet has seen a lot of cases too!
    Thanks for sharing!
    Wonderful blog!
    MarVeena

  2. Pingback:Treating Abscess In Horse | Wound Treatment | Horse Health | Heavenly Gaits Equine Massage

  3. I have read your post and it was very helpful. You broke your days down and told your story great. Sorry about your horse.

    • Thank you! She’s doing great now, you can’t even tell she had that big nasty abscess. She had to be confined for about 3 weeks until everything finished draining and was closing up and then she was off galloping in the pasture with the other horses. She was quite funny to watch the first day, she had sooooo much energy:)

      • Lisa, your article was so good, you described my situation exactly! right down to each day, the only difference is my vet had to lance it because it was never going to burst on its own, it was way too deep still at day 14. I am dealing with the drainage now. not fun! thank you so much for your information. can they get multiple abcesses in other areas?
        cheryl

        • Hi Cheryl. I’m so sorry your horse is having such a horrible time! And yes, they can have multiple abscesses crop up, but I don’t believe that is common. You’ll just want to make sure that you keep the abscess flushed well and don’t let it close up when there is still a big pocket. This can allow bacteria and debris to become trapped and the abscess to reform. Good luck and keep us informed on your progress. Thanks so much for sharing.

  4. Lisa, this article was very informative and most helpful as my QH mare April, was just diagnosed as contracting it. Our vet lanced it, and the hydrotherapy has helped so much. Thanks for writing this ii such a wonderfully easy to read format! Glad your mare, and April are doing better! Thanks!

    • Thanks so much Terry. I glad you found it helpful. The pigeon fever epidemic was quite the mess last year! It seems there’s been a resurgence in cases this spring as well. Take care:)

  5. I don't have horses, but I love reading your articles about them. This article will help a lot of people. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us and so sorry about your horse!

  6. Pingback:Treating Abscess In Horses | Wound Treatment | Horse Health

  7. Five years ago when I lived in Central Oregon a friend of mine rescued this sweet little mare from a neighboring property.  My friend hired me to massage the mare because she was acting very depressed and lathargic.  She also noticed what appeared to be abcesses on her chest and shoulder and called the vet out.  As soon as the vet took one look she said that she suspected Pigeon Fever, which is not prone to be in Oregon, yet that year she had seen two other cases.
    The abcesses were lanced and flushed and I continued to do massage every other couple days wearing protective gloves.  We also had a pan of bleach water to step in when coming out of the stall.  I thoroughly washed my hands with anticeptic soap and changed clothing right after treatment on this mare.  
    Thank you again Lisa for reposting this article because I now live in the Southwest and therefore may come into contact again with this bacterium.

    • Your so welcome Patti! Thank YOU for sharing your experiences with this nasty bacterium. It is very important that we do whatever we can to help reduce the spread of it. Even now that the drought has subsided I still hear reports from around the country of isolated pockets of flare up.

  8. Thanks for sharing this!  During fly season, especially.  My horse just recovered from an abscess caused by a splinter, but at first, it was suspected Pigeon Fever.  Since I board, we put him in quarantine until the vet got there.  She confirmed it wasn't PF and explained that quarantine doesn't prevent other horses from getting it.  The puss is the problem.  The flies carry PF  from one horse to another, whether they're in the same pasture or not.  It's not a fun thing to deal with and I hope no one else ever has to!
    God bless.

    • Thanks for sharing your experience here Tami! You are so correct, flies are a huge problem and can carry the bacteria from adjacent properties. We had no horses nearby ours at all and they never go anywhere. So we are a prime example of the contagion spreading without physical contact with infected horses.

      Lisa

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