At a lose

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LadyRascasse

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With my lad, just a bit of back ground before I go into symptoms, he is a 24yr old TBX gelding. He has ad lib haylage, and 3.5kg of veteran vitality (dry weight) along with 2 scoops of pink powder and 3 scoops of superflex. He is turned out from about 8-5.30 daily and in at night.

Ok so the problem, about 1 week about he stopped eating and drinking, couldn't wee and his poo's were tiny (usually does what we call dinosaur poos) the vet came out and catheterised him and took a urine sample as well as blood. The urine came back with small amounts of blood, protein and white cells in it and the blood test came back on the low side of good, so the vet diagnosed possible kidney infection. He had a 5 day course of antibiotics. He slowly began to eat and drink again. But after the 5th day of antibiotics his poo's went very sloppy (like cow pats) but he was eating and drinking so as my vet was away for 4 days I left it and monitored him. The poo's firmed up be stayed very small.

Last night I caught his wee and it was dark brown and quite sticky, which is obviously not right so I rang the vet this morning and we collected 3 urine sample tonight, which I would say looked normal. However I am still awaiting the results of these so we will see. Tonight he is very grumpy and agitated, ears back and threatening to kick when changing his rugs etc which is totally out of character for him. I took his temperature (after much protest) at 37.5 which is normal believe.

Can anyone see something I have missed with him or any suggestion as to what is wrong with my lad? I appreciate this might not make much sense so feel free to ask me to explain anything. Thank you for taking the time to read my woes.
 
Your poor horse and poor you. I'd say the grumpy attitude def sounds like he is in pain. Are the symtoms worse at night? Is he still out in the field? Any chance he is getting poisoned by something out in the field? I dunno - just a thought. Hope you get to the bottom of it soon. If you aren't getting anywhere with your vet don't be afraid to ask for a referal.
 
thank you for your reply, i don't think this is the case as he has been in 2 different field in this 2 week period. his symptoms aren't worse at one point of the day (to my knowledge) he just seems to have good periods and bad periods. for example last night he was galloping around his field you wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong with him, he was happy alert and generally well, this morning he seemed a bit grumpy and tonight he was really bad. i could go back in the morning and he could be happy as larry or really bad.

I trust my vet, but due to the horses vetphobia we try and limit contact (if that makes sense) and if we can't sort this problem at home i wouldn't put him through any traumatic procedures he is just to old to be poked and prodded about.
 
Mike007 said:
Sudden warm weather and grass growth ,bound to throw any horses digestive system out of kilter. Panic not.
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I'd disagree - though I'm not suggesting the OP panics!!

The history to me would suggest a horse at some risk of impaction colic - first an infection with consequnt drop in food and water intake, small hard droppings - then 'grumbly' behaviour!

I'd be keeping a close eye on both input and output. Unless the haylage is quite damp (and a lot of last year's was very dry) I'd be dunking his nets in water (don't soak - just wet them down) and feeding him damp feeds.

I'd also be keeping him a LITTLE warmer than usual - and checking to see if he's lying down more than normal - particularly in the field where the ground is a bit cold and damp. I had to bring a 2 year old in tonight (as a precaution) with similar very low-grade colic symptoms - no rolling or kicking, but lying down more than normal, not too fussed about eating, and a bit miserable (I think he just wanted a night in the warm on a dry bed!)

You know your horse, OP - if he's not happy, there's a reason!
 
My 16 year old horse had some sort of digestive upset 10 days ago. He stopped eating and had really horrible diarrhea. He was bright in himself but it was awful to see him uninterested in his food as he is normally such a greedy horse. Had the vet out. All vital signs normal so she left some probiotic paste for him and said it would probably resolve itself. 5 days later he was on the mend. Then my 24 year old horse went down with the same thing except that he wasnt quite as bad. Dont know what caused it but both horses have recovered and are eating well and pooing normally now. I was worried about the older horse as he has Cushings so probably wouldnt cope as well as any other horse.
I dont know if the weather caused some upset but it certainly did get warmer all of a sudden. There was absolutely no change in feed or routine so I have to assume it was something to do with what they were eating in the field.
 
I too would expect a pain issue and from the symptoms, if he was mine, I'd suspect a low grade colic. This could be from anything but as he's a veteran, there might be more to it than normal. Poor lad - hope he's ok x
 
Box_Of_Frogs said:
I too would expect a pain issue and from the symptoms, if he was mine, I'd suspect a low grade colic.
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You wouldn't BELIEVE it but the day after posting on this thread I had a 2 year old (in the field) not quite 'right'. I brought him in and suspected the start of an impaction colic - he just had that miserable look - without any severe symptoms. He didn't get worse overnight so got the vet in the morning (so I could tack some flu vaccinations and Raj's CEM swab in on the visit!

He'd done one dropping overnight - small and hard. Drunk hardly anything and picked at a bit of haylage with no enthusiasm! But when vet arrived he had a temp of 39.8, and no real evidence of impaction (yet!) Diagnosis was a non-specific infection - which had caused him to stop drinking and reduced his appetite considerably - so in another couple of days he would probably HAVE had an impaction colic!

As it is - with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, he's improving.
 
aww hope your lad is getting better, as it stand Joe hasn't improved much (he is eating and drinking but still clearly uncomfortable) and the vet doesn't think there is much wrong with him, so next week i am going to get a different vet from a different practice out for a 2nd opinion. I have also ordered some NAF B.L.K to see if that helps him.
 
Two things , you are in sussex and in the last week or so it has been relatively warm,grass growth picked up. This will have had an effect on your horse,secondly ,your horse has just had a course of antibiotics. Both these factors will disturb his digestion to a significant degree. It will take a while to settle down.
 
2 things, he has had problems for nearly 3 weeks and second he finished his course of antibiotics over a week again. i am not stupid, and having had my horse so long i think i can tell the difference between an upset stomach and real pain.
 
I will keep my fingers crossed that you get to the bottom of this, and he begins to feel more comfortable! You know your horse best - so I think you are doing the right thing getting a second opinion. Keep us posted! xx
 
Such a worry, I too would be concerned that his discomfort has been going on for a while and the vet doesn't seem to know what the problem is either. IMO he is trying to tell you that he is not happy (with the face pulling and threats to kick). You are doing the right thing by seeking a second opinion (do you have an equine clinic locally?).

Pain, fear and excitement all have an affect on the gut and if he was my horse I would put him on Coligone straight away to settle his stomach and neutralise any acidosis. Coligone acts immediately and is full of good stuff including pro-biotics (not advertising here, I use it on any of my neds who need it with fantastic results). This will hopefully help while you await a veterinary diagnosis.

Hope you get to the bottom of this and have a positive outcome. Do update us !
 
LadyRascasse said:
2 things, he has had problems for nearly 3 weeks and second he finished his course of antibiotics over a week again. i am not stupid, and having had my horse so long i think i can tell the difference between an upset stomach and real pain.
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I was of the same opinion as Mike, and I think you're being rather rude in responding to him like that. His post was simply pointing out a couple of things that may not have occured to you.


My own thoughts are that the kidney infection is still present - and should be treated as needing urgent attention.

Good luck - I hope he pulls through.
 
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