Help-horse not eating enough

[On the Hoof]

Just a few quick facts first:
Horse is under care of the vet who is due back out on Friday
Horse is a cob and a good doer who does not normally have anything but hay and grass. She is 16 years old and at beginning of May started coughing. Has been scoped and treated for IAD. Meds were stared on 14 May..Ventapulmin, after scope was put on antibiotics and sputolosin . Once results back from scope put on predislone . Has been on Pedislone now for 16 days at high dosage. she gradually lost appetite and weight until day 9 on steroids when saw big improvement in coughing and appetite. However she has not improved further and she slowed downeating again on Monday which coincides with the warmer weather. Today however I cannot get meds in her as wouldn't eat anything, she is pretty much out 24/7 but with the heat we have been bringing her in in the afternoons. She hasn't touched her haylage. Turned her out and watched while she stood in same place in field for 40 minutes without putting head down. Went back up at 9 and gave her haylage and she has eaten a bit of this.
She seems very depressed!
So two questions :-
1) anything I can try to improve her appetite (will be ringing vet for advice tmrw)
And
2) what feed can I get her to help put on weight and give her some much needed energy..I really know very little about feeds as haven't had to think about this before

Oh and a third question..she is drinking and doesn't seem dehydrated but would electrolytes help her at all?
Sorry for long post and very grateful for any suggestions...this mare is breaking my heart at the moment

 

[be positive]

Starting with question 3, as long as she is drinking then offering her some electrolytes, either in a separate water bucket or, if she will eat, added to a feed will do no harm and may perk her up a bit but make sure she always has plain water as well.

2 I would be very careful about trying to get weight on while she is on steroids as there is an increased risk of laminitis so I would not be too concerned if she drops a little it should come back on once she feels better generally.

1 I would give the meds by hand if you can, cut a hole in a piece of apple, carrot or anything she will take to ensure they go in, alternatively grind them into a powder and mix up with some apple sauce so you can syringe them down, that way you know she is definitely getting them and her feed will not be tainted by something unpleasant.

Do you know what the problem is caused by?
Following the antibiotics she may have an unbalanced/ upset gut so it would be worth using something like Protexin, they do a quick fix which really helped one of mine that was depressed and had been on a lot of drugs, they were very helpful with advice when I phoned and delivery was extremely quick.

http://www.protexin.com/products/starter-pack/6162

Otherwise I would do as you are getting her in out of the worst of the heat, feed her very tiny regular feeds, as often as you like, just a handful every couple of hours would be better than one or two big feeds that overface her, something simple like soaked grassnuts may go down well, try and avoid molassed mixes unless that is all she will eat and if her throat is sore then chaff is possibly best avoided as it may be difficult for her to swallow.

 

[On the Hoof]

thanks be positive! We dont know what caused it although the vet has said that she has had a lot of cases of this this spring - more than usual. I have cut down the amount in the two feeds drastically to get her to eat it, but like the idea of syringing , although I might ask the vet about injections rather than oral meds tomorrow. The protexin looks good so will order this morning.
many thanks x

 

[_HP_]

At her age I would be considering a Cushing's test. Weight loss, depression and infections can all be clinical signs

 

[wench]

I'd def be giving some protexin quick fix.

Their small animal version literally saved the life of one of my rabbits who would just not eat at all; the digestion system of the two animals are similar.

Would she eat a couple of tasty treats. To be honest she's probably feeling poorly and sorry for herself; we know ourselves when we are ill we really don't want to eat anything!

 

[On the Hoof]

At her age I would be considering a Cushing's test. Weight loss, depression and infections can all be clinical signs

thankyou, it has already occurred to me , especially as she hasnt still lost her 'saddle pad' (she is normally fully clipped out) and this winter had a lot of very long white hairs on her tummy and chest which I had to clip off in the end as they didnt come out as her coat changed. I have already grabbed myself a voucher for free lab testing, but thought needed to wait a bit until she has at least stopped coughing etc before asking the vet to take the bloods. I read that Aug/Sept is a good time to do the test ?

 

[On the Hoof]

I'd def be giving some protexin quick fix.

Their small animal version literally saved the life of one of my rabbits who would just not eat at all; the digestion system of the two animals are similar.

Would she eat a couple of tasty treats. To be honest she's probably feeling poorly and sorry for herself; we know ourselves when we are ill we really don't want to eat anything!

thanks that is good to know that it works well. I fed her mint flavoured treats last night in the hope it would then stimulate her to graze or eat haylage, it worked a little bit, so need to go and buy some more I think. Long shopping list developing here...

 

[wench]

I'd def be giving some protexin quick fix.

Their small animal version literally saved the life of one of my rabbits who would just not eat at all; the digestion system of the two animals are similar.

Would she eat a couple of tasty treats. To be honest she's probably feeling poorly and sorry for herself; we know ourselves when we are ill we really don't want to eat anything!