Tillotson Equine                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

              Internal Medicine Mobile  Services

Mon Cheval Beni

Cheval drawn by his owner Leigh Holeman.

Mon Cheval Beni, better known as Cheval, is a 3 1/2 yr old Friesian gelding that had developed a fever and diarrhea and had been unwilling to eat for several days.  After his initial work-up, it was determined that his kidneys and intestines had been damaged.  He was initially treated with aggressive supportive care. 

Cheval soon became a favorite patient.  For a young horse, he had excellent barn manners.  Even the best behaved horses usually do not tolerate having a tube passed up their nose, and after they know its coming, they will do everything they can to avoid it.  After several days of passing the tube twice a day, Cheval seemed to understand that the tube made him feel better, and he quietly allowed the tube to be passed even without a handler to help.  Soon, Cheval began to feel better, and his kidney function improved, but he would not eat and continued to have pipe-stream diarrhea. 

One of the main concerns with a horse that has a fever and diarrhea is an infectious agent such as Salmonella that can be dangerous to all those exposed, including people.  For this reason, Cheval was kept in isolation and anyone going in the stall had to wear protective clothing.  Before leaving the isolation area, all personnel had to remove clothing, step though a disinfectant water bath and wash their hands.   

As with people that don’t feel well, often there are only certain things that are appealing to eat.  For Cheval, it seemed that the only thing he wanted to eat was fresh picked grass.  He was not allowed to go out and graze because he was in isolation and finding grass to pick in the middle of February was easier said than done.  Despite the cold temperatures and isolation restrictions, his owner came every day to spend time with him and keep his spirits up.  She would hand pick grass from neighboring pastures and hand feed it to him.  This type of tender loving care and devotion played an important role in Cheval’s recovery.  

Finally, after 12 days of hospitalization, Cheval had made a remarkable recovery and was allowed to go home with close supervision.  Although he was not completely back to normal, he had been cleared from isolation with 5 negative fecal cultures for Salmonella.  His kidney function was stabilized without the help of fluid therapy and his fecal consistency was now cow patty instead of pipe stream diarrhea. 

Three months later, Cheval is enjoying his days in green pastures and his appetite is back to normal.  Although his intestinal function has not fully returned to normal, he will live a happy life and be able to perform at whatever level he chooses.     

Last modified: 12/30/09