6 Month Old Filly- Hernia

Hey guys&gals,

I was given a 6 month old filly. She is still about as small as she was the day she was born. She's in pretty bad shape and she has a Hernia on her stomache in front of her right hind leg. She hasn't got hardly any strength at this point. I am going to get the vet out asap to look at her and see what I need to do. I am going to get the surgery done to take care of the Hernia as soon as she's strong enough to survive it. She's hardly got a chance and she may die anyways but I'm too darn soft-hearted to just let her die without trying. The only reason I took her was because the owners are ropers and they don't have the time or money to put into her the way she needs. They were just going to have her put down and I just can't let that happen. She got Easy Jet bloodlines. I had her Grandmother on the dam side and she was a good horse. I just can't bring myself to let her just die without giving her a fair chance. I know it's going to be expensive, and I know there's still a chance she won't make it. But I have to try to be able to sleep at night. It's a longshot but it's something I have to do. She's pretty alert for as weak as she is. She trots up to me and her eyes are bright. She's just in bad shape. Any suggestions on how to get her strength back up and get her healthy again? Anything would be appriciated!!

Hey Turn&burn,

If this were my filly, I would give her all the good quality grass hay she could eat. I might add a very small amount of alfalfa to her hay depending on the quality of of the hay. I would also give her some soaked beet pulp - probably a cup to start with - because the beet pulp will help her to convert the grass to gain, it will provide fiber, it will provide extra nutrition, and it will increase her water intake. I would absolutely NOT give her sweet feed of any kind, shape or form!! Instead, I would look into feeds designed for her situation - something along the lines of Equiis feeds, Nutrena, Omelene, anything but Purina. That last bit is my own dislike of Purina because they tend to put way to much salt into everything they make, and I'll be damned if I'm paying their prices for salt. If you have a mill nearby, check with them and see if they have something that would fit the bill. Look for digestability, protein content, and energy - in that order. If possible, I would choose a feed that does not contain molasses, or very little molasses, because there have been too many articles about molasses causing problems with young horses, and I have seen it cause problems in too many horses. I would also talk to my vet about whether or not vitamins would benefit her. Don't forget to provide mineral and salt. Bless your heart for taking her on, and I wish you and your new filly the very best!

I got the Hernia taken care of and she's healed up from that wonderfully! We only had to give her Bute for a couple days. We gave her Penicillin for 10 days and the first day we brought her home the vet gave us some antibiotics to give her that night, just as a precaution. She's really growing now! I've only had her for three months and you can't even recognize her from what she looked like the day I got her! The vet says that she is good to go for any discipline. She has been doing so good. She's eating good fertalized Bermuda grass hay that we cut off our own farm. The vet told me that a mix between 12% pellets and corn chops would be the best thing. I also asked about minerals and she told me what to get. It's a loose mineral I mix a handful of in with her feed. It's got a good combo of salt and other good stuff in it. I can't remember it all, lol. I also gave her some RedCell during her weakness to bring up her activity level and appetite. She's now running and bucking like a big horse! Thanks for all the advice! I'll add pics of her soon! Thanks again!