bella0987
Active Member
is there such thing as energy suplements for lethargic horses
energy suplements for lethargic horses
- Thread starter bella0987
- Start date
Lois Lame
Well-Known Member
More proper feed, less oil. I'll get shot for that, but oh well.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
bella0987
Active Member
unfortunately my boy has to have 2 cups of oil a day to make sure he keeps his weight onMore proper feed, less oil. I'll get shot for that, but oh well.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
tallyho!
Following a strict mediterranean diet...
My lethargic horse turned out to have PSSM… sometimes a horse is trying to say something other than “feed me more”..
AmyMay
Situation normal
If he’s generally looking in good health, it may be worth blood testing.
Winters100
Well-Known Member
Is the horse of correct weight and fit? That would be my first thought. If a fit horse suddenly became lethargic I would be consulting the vet. If it were just a bit less fizz than normal I would up the feed, but to me lethargy is a sign of something more serious.
bella0987
Active Member
he has had ulcers he has had a month off just to get his health ect and im now bringing back into work so he is perfectly healthy
teapot
Well-Known Member
Has his feed been adjusted to match the increased workload?
bella0987
Active Member
yep!
ycbm
Einstein would be proud of my Insanity...
Did you manage to find out why he got ulcers? They are often a result of pain.
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Sossigpoker
Well-Known Member
Ulcers are usually secondary to pain somewhere else in the body so I'd really encourage your vet to look for that cause. Lameness and kissing spine seem to be very common reasons for Ulcers and the lack of energy may very well be caused by that
PurBee
Well-Known Member
I’d be investigating the cause of why he isnt keeping weight on/cause of ulcers - oil is calorific heavy and useful for increasing weight but it’s fermentation of fibres/carbs that is ideal and usually/should give a healthy horse energy, whilst maintaining weight.
A fair portion of oil daily is asking a horse to also use that for fuel via a different metabolic pathway, they dont have gallbladders, like most mammals, to dump loads of bile into a fatty meal so likely the weight gain is due to the body shunting the undigested fat onto the body for storage. So rather than growing muscle they are growing fatty muscle.…but either way are ‘filling out’.
If the individual horse could avail of the ketone pathway for energy adequately, it would be burning the oil and have energy, not lethargy.
If the lack of weight (with a horse fed its ideal calories) was due to the ulcers, which are possibly due to pain *somewhere* as mentioned already - pinpointing the pain issue, treating that would fix the ulcers and weight loss.
Weight loss can be caused by lots of other things too, but as you mention ulcers - its likely a side-symptom of them.
Pain causes discomfort = stress, which causes adrenaline release which burns fuel off the body to cope with the ‘stress response’.
Without a preliminary pain issue, a stressed horse due to new yard, bullying paddock horse etc…can also cause ulcers and weight loss.
A horse being fed its whole ration of hay once a day, bolting it down in 8 hours and being left 16hrs without anything to eat, will be stressed=adrenaline(weight loss)=Excess acidity into 16hr empty stomach = ulcers = pain = stress = adrenaline etc etc.
It logically would seem a stressed adrenaline ulcery horse would respond like a bullet and be flighty/agitated, not lethargic, (thats when owners know somethings wrong and find the ulcers) but weeks of the persistent stress/adrenaline/ experience (whatever the cause) can paradoxically end up causing an exhausted horse, as the cellular receptors stop being so sensitive to adrenaline.
The whole hypothalamus/pituitary/adrenal stress hormone signalling glands alter their signalling to cope with this excess stress cause (whatever it is).
It’s a protection mechanism of the body to reduce cachexia/wasting away, due to excessive stress hormone secretion.
Short duration adrenaline release is a energy-giving experience, but experiencing it over and over due to persistent stress/pain leads to exhaustion and the endocrine glands all work together to reduce the destructive impact on the whole body via the neuro-endocrine system.
Down-graded signalling will result in lethargy, but with very slow build-up of exercise , the neuro-endocrine system will over time, alter the receptors and hormone signalling, *providing* the cause for the initial stress/weight loss has been discovered and cured.
Sleipnir
Well-Known Member
Nothing to add, but just wanted to thank you for this superbly educational post! This was very useful!
CanteringCarrot
Well-Known Member
Lots of good advice so far. With the history of ulcers, it's also possible he's anemic. I'd he pulling blood and looking for possible pain issues. I'd be having a vet out to help get to the bottom of things.
ILuvCowparsely
Well-Known Member
From experience - I would get a blood test before pumping a horse full of protein. Also a vet check to rule anything else out.
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ycbm
Einstein would be proud of my Insanity...
Vitamin E, especially in the second half of the winter when they aren't getting enough from grass or hay/lage.
I agree with others to check for anaemia and a virus.
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I agree with others to check for anaemia and a virus.
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Exploding Chestnuts
Well-Known Member
A horse gets ulcers because of his management, you do know that?
Esmae
Well-Known Member
Blood test. My old horse went lethargic at one point and bloods showed low sodium levels. Teaspoon of salt in his feed twice a day fixed it.
bella0987
Active Member
he had ulcers before we got him
bella0987
Active Member
he does not have kissing spine we x rayed his back when we bought him
bella0987
Active Member
Thank yo
he already had ulcers before we owned him and i suspect the reason for that is he is a very anxious stressy horse due to his past
Mrs. Jingle
Well-Known Member
https://www.triequestrian.ie/ironxc...6GTXPuxEcqmkVPTGJbDNu5x_9E9s79choCo9kQAvD_BwE
I have my retired mare on this for 3 years now since she had Lymes. On vets advice as a bit of a booster for her as her bloods still aren't always great. On her good days it is like rocket fuel and I am secretly relieved we retired her watching her pulling some very fast and fancy shapes out in the field. I know I certainly couldn't sit them anymore!
Might be worth a try as a bit of a pick me up when you have ruled anything obvious out.
I have my retired mare on this for 3 years now since she had Lymes. On vets advice as a bit of a booster for her as her bloods still aren't always great. On her good days it is like rocket fuel and I am secretly relieved we retired her watching her pulling some very fast and fancy shapes out in the field. I know I certainly couldn't sit them anymore!
Might be worth a try as a bit of a pick me up when you have ruled anything obvious out.
Mero
Well-Known Member
I’d definitely be running bloods before supplementing anything. E.g. if you add iron or oil supplements to a horse that is lethargic due to liver issues you can cause more harm than good.
Mrs. Jingle
Well-Known Member
@Mero I suggested the xcell based on several posters before your comment, already suggesting that bloods are checked, which I am pretty sure will be the first and most obvious thing to do with a lethargic horse.
If bloods do show an issue then I again fully recommend the above. But it is very common here to feed at half dose anyway if a horse is just a bit dull and out of sorts, fortunately very often it means little or nothing more than you and I feeling a bit below par from time to time. I wouldn't worry too much yet @bella0987
@PurBee thank you so much for an extremely informative reply, I shall now read it again to fully digest all that info.
If bloods do show an issue then I again fully recommend the above. But it is very common here to feed at half dose anyway if a horse is just a bit dull and out of sorts, fortunately very often it means little or nothing more than you and I feeling a bit below par from time to time. I wouldn't worry too much yet @bella0987
@PurBee thank you so much for an extremely informative reply, I shall now read it again to fully digest all that info.
Sossigpoker
Well-Known Member
Kissing spine is a common cause of ulcers but not the only cause. Mine had stifle OCD and also 'wobblers'.
Being a stressy horse is quite possibly also due to pain somewhere in the body.
Before supplementing with anything , please discuss with your vet and at the very least have a blood panel.done.
Haha123
Active Member
Maybe I have said this wrong by lethargic I mean lazy when he is doing doing something he does not enjoy such as flatwork I was just looking for a supplement to rev him up a bit I promise you out cross country and hunting ect he is in no way lazy
bella0987
Active Member
Maybe I have said this wrong by lethargic I mean lazy when he is doing doing something he does not enjoy such as flatwork I was just looking for a supplement to rev him up a bit I promise you out cross country and hunting ect he is in no way lazy
rabatsa
Confuddled
I have a lethargic horse staying here. His problem is lack of REM sleep. He seems to have a basic slow state and a hyper worked up state, which takes a while to come down from. Only by watching him 24/7 by camera were we able to work out what was happening. His ulcers have been treated, lameness work up done but we are no nearer working out the cause of his reluctance to lie down.
Is your horse getting enough sleep?
Is your horse getting enough sleep?
Jellymoon
Well-Known Member
sorry if you posted this already and I missed it, but what do you feed him now?
Sleipnir
Well-Known Member
You might have posted from your other profile and, if I'm not mistaken, having several is not allowed