Any ideas what might be wrong with my horse??? help!

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Inchy

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We're heading for 6 weeks of not being 'quite right'

pony is:
-Very sensitive to touch around stomach / sheath area (Squeals and double barrels)
-stomach looks quite distended.
-Sheath smells, and there is lots of black smegma - down insides of legs too - never had this before
-Very quiet, is usually very cheeky and into everything
- Not eating all his hay/feed at times
-sleeping lots more than usual.
- very letharic have had to stop riding him as its so bad. Has even gone off jumping which he loves.
-has random episodes of breathing very heavily (even if not worked) as if in pain?
- moving very flat, no energy - just drags himself around.

Vets have checked:
temp - fine
Respiratory rate -fine
Heart rate - fine
Stomach sounds - fine
Blood test for kidney and liver function -fine
Lamness workup - sound as a pound
Prodded stomach - vet nearly lost his head
Worm count - clear
examination of penis under sedation - fine (apart from smegma)

Vets really unsure of what may be wrong so put on broad specrtum antibiotics and danilon (NSAIDS) for a week. Whilst on this he was back to his usual silly self but as soon as we stopped the danilon he went off colour again - so definatly in pain..

The weird thing is he:
-is in amazing condition, coat very glossy, eyes shiney, hooves fine and was quite fit
-Droppings are fine
- Isn't drinking alot although he doesn't usually
- i check paddock religiously so can't see that he would have eaten something nasty
- pony is never poorly, and is quite a tough cookie so worried that he is reacting like this.

Vets are still stumped...back to vets next week to have a bit of a brainstorm.

...any ideas????

Thanks for getting this far!
 
Blimey it sounds a bit strange, no lumps or bumps in sheath area like maybe he's been bitten or got a thorn in his belly that might be causing a local infection and making him feel rubbish?
 
If your vet has run out of ideas might be worth asking for referral to a specialist for further investigation.

Has your vet examined him rectally or done an abdominal tap? Abdominal ultrasound might yield some answers.
 
A friend of mines little cob had a mildish case of peritonitis which the vet thought was caused by 5 day panacur and a case of encysted red worm (she hadn't had the mare long) which left the gut 'leaky' as they died. She had similar symptoms. She had a course of anaerobic antibiotics specific to gut problems and picked up pretty quickly and hasn't had a problem since. May be worth a thought?

Hope you figure it out!
 
Echo Greedyguts - something is clearly wrong if your ned perks up on painkillers but relapses as soon as they finish. If he was a person, he'd be in hospital having extensive tests (or at least on a waiting list lol). I'd ask for a referral to a specialist centre and get a full work up. Love to know how he does.
 
See if they can ultra-sound his bladder and kidneys.
It may be a good time to refer him to a specialist.
 
Did it come on quickly? My mare had v similar symptoms, with in days lost a ton of weight and looked like a hat rack. All tests clear, the only thing vet ever could come up with was grass sickness, but her on bute and antibiotics, improved, took her off, back down hill, back on and then came right as rain again just as quickly as she had gone down hill.
Vets totally stumped, sorry not much help. I hope he is better soon.
 
Just been flicking back through old posts and realised i never updated anyone of the out come of this pony! thank you all for your posts!

Turns out he had grade IV Gastric Ulcers - not what the vets were expecting in a native pony that lives out 24/7 and is a very laid back character!!

We had him scoped and hey presto....a stomach full of ulcers! a very expensive course of gastroguard and three months later when rescanned apart from scarring he was all clear of ulcers!

His lifestyle and diet is well managed and we had a check up scope this year and he's still all clear :)

The vets think he probably has had them a while as since they've cleared up he's been lovely (previously was always a bit of a grumpy b#gger!), we think maybe since he was brought in off the new forest, as i can imagine that was a pretty stressful time!
 
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