excessive urination

[morvenbull]

After two years of perseverance my welsh mountain pony is still soaking all of his bedding every day. Do you think he is just being messy or could there be something more sinister? He had never been stabled previously and had been very ill-treated. He's excessively nervous especially around men and has taken two years to gain his confidence. If his shavings are left in a poo bucket throughout the day the base is red in colour when emptied, although his urine looks clear. How serious is this if at all????? (Have been thinking of Kidney or Diabetes)

 

[Happy Horse]

It is unlikely there is anything wrong if it has been like this for two years and nothing has changed. Dark urine can be a sign of dehydration - are you able to monitor how much he drinks? Certain types of shavings do go very dark when wet it is not necessarily anythingin the pee that causes it.

It may be worth getting a pee sample (pot on a pole!) and getting a urine dipstick test if you are worried.

 

[Molineux]

I had a pony like this - but I watched him in his box for quite a while to see what he was doing, and he was going to wee every half hour.

So in the end I called my vet and they tested his wee and he had got an Infection.

Just keep an eye on it - if you see him trying to wee and only little amounts comes out then I would call the vet.

 

[morvenbull]

Thanks for input, eased my mind about discoloured shavings but as you suggest would be worth taking a sample. (thanks for the pole idea, had awful thoughts of pee over my hands). Not really able to moniter his water intake when turned out as self filling trough. but usually drinks at least 1 bucket in his stable each night.

 

[morvenbull]

We have watched him and he wee's for ages in the field, can only presume he does the same in the stable. He used to share a stable with one of the other horses, one in in the day and one in through the night. He would never wee in my other horses stable but save it up till I took him to relieve himself before his feed. He also used to wee on his hay in the field and then eat it. Quite an odd fella. Think a urine check is probably going to put my mind at rest. Thanks for your advice

 

[oliviacharley]

my quarter horse does exactly the same thing...I have never known a horse drink so much. I ask my vet friend to have a look at him and do some test and worked out he was fine.
He seems to wee the whole time in his stable, in the field and all over his hay too...
I actually soak my hay now as the smell seem to discourage him from weeing on it and I also split it so he has his own selection and my mare has her own - seems to have stopped..unless he does it once I leave..!

I went on a riding holiday at the start of the year and a horse I rode there weed all the time too...dont know if it is just something male horses seem to do or whether it is trying to impress the ladies...??

 

[RachelB]

My mare pees about five or six times a day in the stable (12 hours), god knows how many times in the field, and each time she does about a third of a tubtrug full (I can catch it if I'm quick!). She drinks about four buckets of water a day, more if she's fed more as she drinks after eating. She always does this no matter if I soak her hay and feed or not. I asked my vet and she said it's fine as long as it doesn't change colour or anything.
The only thing I've noticed with geldings is the usually overwhelming stench of ammonia! All the horses I've known before Maiden have been 'normal', I've never known anyone pee so much!

 

[Salcey]

The wee test seems a good idea to me. My mare is sooooo wet, she drinks half a black dustbin a night and shes on soaked hay and dampened feed. I also asked the vet re Kidney or Diabetes but they also said as long as its nice and clear theres nothing to worry about, some just wee more than others.