Help - Is this normal? Panic Stricken....

grandmaweloveyou

grandmaweloveyou

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I put my boy into a new lush field last night 730pm. Went down this morning and could not get him up, I mean, he was flat out, I tried everything for over 30mins, clapping, pulling tail, coaxing, you name it. He would sit up, groan then lay back down, breathing quite heavy. I took photos and then decided to move him, after running off to get food (as if he was going to be interested after all that grass!) came back to find hiim stood up. Next battle was getting him to put one foot in front of the other. He is now in his stable and being checked every hour, so far so good. SO am I worrying too much? Is it just a case of "too much of a good thing" i.e. grass and what to do next with him? Cant believe how everything else flew out of the window, i.e. gettin to work on time (if at all) etc etc etc....Thanks for reading.
 
doesn't sound ideal...might just be packed full of grass but I would be VERY aware of the possibility it could be laminitis. Are his feet hot, is he uncomfortable on his feet, etc?
 
Bless him, sounds like hes totally pigged out.
First i thought it could possibly be colic but im sure you would have known if he had that.
Think your doing the right thing in keeping a close eye on him, if your still concerened, just give the vet a call and ask for some advice, it just might put your mid at rest.
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hope hes ok
Debs x
 
I would have called a vet straight away when I coudn't get him up. If you haven't done so please call on as an emergency!
 
Against the grain...

I would give him a few hours and see what state he is in then - however if hooves are hot or there is a digital pulse present, call the vet immediately. If he has not passed any droppings or wee, call the vet now.

And hopefully your lesson has been learnt - chucking a horse out, overnight, on new fresh grass is not a good idea!
 
Sounds to me like he has gorged on this new lush grass.. sometimes they just dont know when to stop..

Definitely get the vet out just to make sure he will be ok...

I would be tempted to offer him a nice bran mash to help him to pass out some of the grass he might be holding on to..
 
he has been checked in the last 30mins and is happy enough in his stable and i am going back down again in an hour or so. he is one laid back dude i know that for sure but even still. will keep you posted. appreciate the comment about not chucking a horse out on new grass overnight, but bear in mind he is with others and i have monitored his grass intake seriously (and obsessively) over 4 weeks and went along with this decision last night alongside the YO and other liveries ideals. i feel like the neurotic one down there and am trying to relax more, and this happens! thanks so much, will update shortly, i feel sick.
 
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Against the grain...

I would give him a few hours and see what state he is in then - however if hooves are hot or there is a digital pulse present, call the vet immediately. If he has not passed any droppings or wee, call the vet now.

And hopefully your lesson has been learnt - chucking a horse out, overnight, on new fresh grass is not a good idea!

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I agree that I personally might deal with it differently, or investigate the possibilities myself, but to anybody else who doesn't appear to know how to do this, or have experience of equine ailments, my advice would always be to call the vet - this case sounds potentially serious.
 
I would get the vet, my friends horse had to be PTS sleep last night, after battling lami for 5 months, also has he been to the toilet?

My other friends horse (god we are having bad luck at the mo) had a very very bad colic attack last week after moving to a new field and gorging, Im actually surprised you didnt get the vet when he wouldnt walk!!

If it is the cobby type in your siggy I would be paticularly worried about lami, have you checked for a digital pulse?
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It might be me, but I find it rather strange that you are worried about your horse and have not got the vet but are rather on a PC asking for advice
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Would have got the vet when he was down groning nd breathing heavy


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Actually they often do that when they are on the ground. So that wouldn't undully concern me.

Think your wise to keep an eye on him - and if it's the horse in your siggy would be inclined to turn him out on poorer grazing anyway.
 
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Would have got the vet when he was down groning nd breathing heavy


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Actually they often do that when they are on the ground. So that wouldn't undully concern me.

Think your wise to keep an eye on him - and if it's the horse in your siggy would be inclined to turn him out on poorer grazing anyway.

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It doesn't unduly concern me either but the fact that he was sitting up then going back down and it took half an hour to get up, would
 
in response to zigzags reply, thanks for that helpful comment but there are 5 of us involved in this and i have people there on site with my horse at present telling me to calm down (i am a new mum) that know alot more than me and im asking for some advice from a general consensus here which i am keen to listen to. i also had advice this morning from fellow horseowners that were actually there with me that again told me not to worry so much BUT i am but being as he walked back to the stable ok i am trying not to get a name as a neurotic with my new vet and will call her at lunch if no poo etc. i was told he watched a horse having a lesson last week whilst sitting down grazing, its just that its the first time ive actually witnessed this myself and i panicked. thanks for all the advice on here. now off to see my horse, lose my job and hang my head in shame.
 
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in response to zigzags reply, thanks for that helpful comment but there are 5 of us involved in this and i have people there on site with my horse at present telling me to calm down (i am a new mum) that know alot more than me and im asking for some advice from a general consensus here which i am keen to listen to. i also had advice this morning from fellow horseowners that were actually there with me that again told me not to worry so much BUT i am but being as he walked back to the stable ok i am trying not to get a name as a neurotic with my new vet and will call her at lunch if no poo etc. i was told he watched a horse having a lesson last week whilst sitting down grazing, its just that its the first time ive actually witnessed this myself and i panicked. thanks for all the advice on here. now off to see my horse, lose my job and hang my head in shame.

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Apology if it came across as rather harsh, but I have seen to many horses with the symptoms you described then being seriously ill, with well meaning people saying he be fine etc don't panic , I'd rather be thought neurotic and be safe than sorry... it is far easier to treat colic in the early stages than hours later and same with laminitis
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bear in mind that there are no better 'experts' as to what you should and should not do with your horse than other people on your livery yard ;-))

your YO should be the experienced person and should - if they are running a yard - know when to call and not to call a vet in

all we can do here is go on what you are telling us and there are two potentially fatal illnesses that immediately spring to mind from your descriptiong - that is why a lot of us are saying - call the vet

in the case of both colic and laminitis - time can be crucial

and please don't put this horse out again tonight in that field......
 
I'd have to agree - you need to get the vet if you couldn't get him up after 30 mins, and he had trouble walking to his box.
And perhaps buying an electric fencing kit might stop the same happening again...
Good luck with him
S
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PS My friends told me my girl was 'fine' and I was neurotic....£4k and 12 weeks of post op colic surgery later, I think they may have been wrong!
 
Please do not rely on other "so called experts" at your yard. A gypsy cob, such as your lovely chap, has been bred to exist on poor grazing, quite often being tethered on grass verges. They are not designed to be in lush fields! If he had been my horse, I would have called the vet immediately - sometimes "waiting and seeing" can have disasterous consequences. Please do not turn him out on this pasture again - I also have a gypsy cob, she is an incredibly good doer and would be in serious trouble on good grazing. Good luck and please let us know how you get on.
 
I had a cob who lived a my yard who was very similar, she would graze sitting down and if she was having a doze nothing would induce her to get up (apart from food), scared the life out of me first time it happened, however ditto all the colic and lami worries. prompt treatment can save time, pain, money and ultimately the horses life - I do hope its just a case of her feeling sleepy after a heavy night munching.
 
I would get the vet as last year we bought an old horse(been out at grass several months). e went straight out an lay down, thought nothing of it. Was lying down the next morning but looked up when heard us, wasn't bringing him in so went out. That evening couldn't get him up, called teh vet as he had pressure sore, obv. never got up. Did get him up in the end but hard to convince him to move and he kept wanting to lie down. Had to be PTS as severe colic.
But if he is better now probably don't need one, is he lying down or up?
 
Gypsy cobs love lush grass and will pig out to bursting point. I have had Cairo (clydesdale) lie down and refuse to get up in the stable on several occaions - nothing wrong - just was very comfortable, hot day and he wanted a kip. Pushing and pulling did not work and in the end I had to wait for him. Being a big heavy lad he too has heavy breathing and snores for England when flat out.

Chancer my young GC too when he is comfortable can take some persuading to get up - they are very laid back and nothing bothers them.

Yours sounds as though he is ok, but I would monitor him very carefully and not put out on grass today. Do keep a check on the feet etc and any signs of something not right get the vet out with no delay.

Mine are kept on very short grazing that they have to work at - this way they can stay out 24 x 7 and keep the weight off. Every now and then I will take them for a few mouths of lush grass as a treat - but it is a treat and not the norm.

These hairy types are not designed to have much rich feed, mine are feed lots of very low cal fibre products so they eat all the time but don't gain much weight. Avoid feeding mix, hayledge or good grazing to gypsy horses - they don't need it.

Yours looks to be a lovely chap - just keep him off long rich grass for his own good.
 
I hope he is now improved. I would at least phone your vet and ask their opinion. I frequently apologise to my vet cos I think I am being neurotic but they always say they would rather I spoke to them about my concerns rather than have a serious condition left untreated.
 
he sounds very laid back which is probably part of the problem in diagnosing the fact that more than likely he has gorged himself silly, got a touch of tummy ache and cant be arsed to move!

However, the worries posted by others are genuine and real possibilities so it is useful to bear them in mind.

Laminitis is an tricky one, but can come on very suddenly like that, any warmth in those hooves then I'd be ringing the vet.

If he doesnt "appear" in pain it doesnt mean he isnt - as far as the colic, some have higher pain thresholds.

If mine would keep an eye and get the vet out maybe tonight to give him a relaxant jab if no poo as yet....and get vet to do other vital checks also.

Very tricky but once you get to know him and his ways then life should become less worrying!
 
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