help please mare cant eat !

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saskiahorsey

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So mare had routine float done from then on she couldn't eat kept quidding maybe half of her net... phoned vet and he came out had a look said all looked fine maybe give her a few days see if it settles down and to give her danilon for 5 days incase she was just a bit sensitive after the float... mare still no better and getting worse...now quidding chaff grass and haylage ! so get vet back out has another look in the mouth again cant find any reason from teeth etc so another week of danilon and sloppy feed, mare now is hardly touching the net and the tiny bit shes trying to eat is on the floor in lumps so another vet visit this time he suspects it maybe the jaw so recommended we inject the jaw joint with steroids which he did there and then, for 2 days she was eating normally, ate all her nets etc anyway yesterday I noticed she had eaten most of the net but some was on the floor, today I went up and the net I put in last night was hardly touched and lots of spat out bits over door, iv tried different types of haylage and even bought a nice bale of lovely meadow hay which made no difference, her water intake has also gone down over the last few days but I am feeding sloppy grass nuts and speedibeat with hifi senior. The mare is rising 6. Any ideas on what could be causing it as vets seem baffled and next step would be a scan of her skull but vet said that may come back inconclusive and very expensive !
 
amandap said:
I would get a second opinion on the teeth/mouth especially if the same vet floated them in the first place.
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^^^^ This, I was told mine was ok, yet when another Dentist came out there were obvious problems. Get a second opinion
 
daisysp8 said:
^^^^ This, I was told mine was ok, yet when another Dentist came out there were obvious problems. Get a second opinion
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Different vets came out but from the same practise, it was a dentist who did original float, vet came and checked when quidding started and different vet checked her mouth the second time and agreed nothing showing up abnormal in her mouth or cheeks etc
 
How qualified was the dentist and how teeth focused are the vets? Lots of vets don't know much about teeth and I could do a three day course and call myself a dentist!! You wand someone qualified in the British Equine Veterinary Association / British Veterinary Dental Association examination and a member of the British Association of Equine Dental Technicians.
Have a look on these web site and I'd personally get a second opinion from a specialist dentist.

How is she grazing, the feed and to ride/ with the bit - if it was jaw then I'd imaging grass and the bit would be just as painful as hay and she'd be pretty poor looking by now.
You can keep her going nicely on grass nut soup and speedibeet so don't panic, if she drops condition you can up this by loads until you get to the cause of the problem.
 
Is she drinking? Have heard of wrong teeth (those with nerve endings that should never be rasped) being rasped and exposing nerve endings making it painful for horse to eat/drink. Check too that horse can raise and lower neck/head OK to check hasn't pulled something and is generally uncomfortable
 
Polos Mum said:
How qualified was the dentist and how teeth focused are the vets? Lots of vets don't know much about teeth and I could do a three day course and call myself a dentist!! You wand someone qualified in the British Equine Veterinary Association / British Veterinary Dental Association examination and a member of the British Association of Equine Dental Technicians.
Have a look on these web site and I'd personally get a second opinion from a specialist dentist.

How is she grazing, the feed and to ride/ with the bit - if it was jaw then I'd imaging grass and the bit would be just as painful as hay and she'd be pretty poor looking by now.
You can keep her going nicely on grass nut soup and speedibeet so don't panic, if she drops condition you can up this by loads until you get to the cause of the problem.
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Hi yes dentist is qualified and I have no reason to doubt the vets (always been good in the past) and they do teeth quite regularly aswell, although im at pulling my hair out stage so will book an appointment with a different dentist, she still spits out grass altho the grass at ours is very short now, she spits out some of the chaff but manages fine with speedibeat and soaked feed etc, shes normal to ride and with bit etc. Luckily she was carrying a little extra weight so she could afford to lose a little i just obviously want to get this sorted now so she doesn't end up poor. The vet thought the gag may have stretched the jaw or maybe shed had a kick which is why he suggested steroid injection and she was eating better for a couple of days but then back to nothing but watery feed !
 
I would get an ACPAT registered physio to examine Pdq it could be torn masseter muscles than an make them very sore .
Best check out before spending a fortune on a scan etc .
I would be being pretty firm with the vets this not a normal consequence of a dental I would be expecting them to pay for any treatment unless they can explain to you well why they should not.
 
meesha said:
Is she drinking? Have heard of wrong teeth (those with nerve endings that should never be rasped) being rasped and exposing nerve endings making it painful for horse to eat/drink. Check too that horse can raise and lower neck/head OK to check hasn't pulled something and is generally uncomfortable
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Shes not drinking as much as she usually does but then shes had teeth rasped for years with no problems.... would this have showed up before? Vet checked her thoroughly the last time he was out spending an hour checking kneck back and head etc... she seems normal apart from the quidding....shes quite energic when turned out etc and her usual happy self, everything suggests teeth on the internet but as no-one seems to be able to find anything i just wondered what other reasons may cause it... so thanks for that will certainly mention to vet
 
Goldenstar said:
I would get an ACPAT registered physio to examine Pdq it could be torn masseter muscles than an make them very sore .
Best check out before spending a fortune on a scan etc .
I would be being pretty firm with the vets this not a normal consequence of a dental I would be expecting them to pay for any treatment unless they can explain to you well why they should not.
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Is that the muscle in the jaw which enables the chew movement.... just she had steroid injections into the joint just beside the eye which meats the jaw im pretty sure that's what it was called... so if it was that would the injections not have eased the pain ? or at least it did for 2 days then back to quidding !
 
Goldenstar said:
I would get an ACPAT registered physio to examine Pdq it could be torn masseter muscles than an make them very sore .
Best check out before spending a fortune on a scan etc .
I would be being pretty firm with the vets this not a normal consequence of a dental I would be expecting them to pay for any treatment unless they can explain to you well why they should not.
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I think this is a good suggestion as well as a good BAEDT opinion. The floating appears to have triggered this problem, though of course coincidences do happen, it points towards the floating unbalancing the teeth/jaw for the horse or causing/irritating another problem in teeth or jaw.
 
Have you spoken to the dentist, what does he think? Sounds to me as if he's been a bit too keen with the rasp. I'd keep offering her very soft hay or haylage but not worry too much if she doesn't eat it all, just keep on with plenty of grass nuts/sugar beet slop (add a touch of hot water to take the chill off the slop) for another few days before spending lots of £ on scans. Maybe get another dentist to take a look?
Have you tried warming her drinking water? If her teeth are sensitive, cold water will be causing pain, so she'll be reluctant to drink.
 
Buddy'sMum said:
Have you spoken to the dentist, what does he think? Sounds to me as if he's been a bit too keen with the rasp. I'd keep offering her very soft hay or haylage but not worry too much if she doesn't eat it all, just keep on with plenty of grass nuts/sugar beet slop (add a touch of hot water to take the chill off the slop) for another few days before spending lots of £ on scans. Maybe get another dentist to take a look?
Have you tried warming her drinking water? If her teeth are sensitive, cold water will be causing pain, so she'll be reluctant to drink.
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Hi I probably should have stated this has been going on for a month now....well next week will be five weeks..i didn't get dentist back out as I got the vet and the vets have been dealing with her since...altho I did ask them if anything the dentist had done in the float could have caused this but neither vet that has seen her can see any wrong doing or anything wrong with the teeth or mouth etc, I do plan on getting another dentist to come out before any scans and shall cross my fingers something may be visible to him, but if its not and its not the jaw... then im baffled as to what it may be! Im managing her on lots of meals throughout the day and im leaving tub trugs full of hifi around the stable with the usual net, she is drinking just not as much as is normal for her but she is getting more fluid from the feed as its like watery slop. Its just so frustrating not knowing what it is ! And shes fine when bridled etc...I haven't ridden her much in the last month but we did have a 10 min tootle out a few days before she had the injections just to see if she was okay with the bit when ridden and all was normal !
 
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