Horse drinking more- when to worry?

[madabouthehorse]

Looking for some outside opinions on this please as I'm currently struggling with my own judgement on this.

For some background;

Roo is a 14hh 19 year old New Forest Pony, I've owned him for 12 years and bar a mild bout of laminitis two years ago has never been sick or sorry. Just before christmas he colicked and had surgery, no intestine removed. (No judgement on this for his age please, I always thought I would never do colic surgery but when in the moment and with him aside of the colic being fit and well I could not bare the alternative). He has recovered amazingly, he was up and biting the breeze blocks in his equine hospital ECU stable within 12 hours of surgery!

Anyway, since then he has been recovering really well, we have been introducing turnout/ handwalking etc. However, in the past couple of weeks I have noticed his water intakes have increased quite a bit and his bed is wetter. He has a 20l hanging bucket in his stable and he's gone from drinking around half a bucket every 12 hours to a full bucket every 12hours. I did morning stables at 6am and a livery text me saying he had drunk all of the water at 10am, she has topped it up.

It has got warmer, and he isn't good at drinking in the cold so maybe he's now just drinking what he should be? Part of me thinks I'm paranoid as I have been so precious about him since the colic, monitoring food intake/water intake/number of poos/ how much he lays down etc, but the other part of me thinks its not right and I should get bloods (Mainly after following Michen's post on Bogs liver results) ? He's fine in himself apart from this, and I will of course phone the vet for a chat. But just wanted a bit of reassurance/ guidance from you lovely lot really!

 

[Gloi]

I think a Cushing's test is the first step.
It was the first sign with mine.

 

[meleeka]

I agree, it wouldn’t hurt to get a cushings test anyway, given his age. Is he eating the same amount of forage? Has that changed? I don’t think that’s an excessive amount of water, but as you say, it’s not normal for him. You’ve already spent out for colic surgery so another couple of hundred is probably worth it for peace of mind

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Definitely at his age with a laminitis history, I would want a Cushings test. If ACTH comes back within normal range, I would then want the TRH-Stim test, or a Prascend trial.

 

[madabouthehorse]

Thank-you guys, he had a cushings test when he had the mild laminitis and it came back clear, but I do forget that it was around two years ago and he isn't getting any younger so bloods probably are the right way forward.

Meleeka- (sorry can't quote or reply today it seems!) he is having the same amount of forage whilst in the box but it would actually co-inside with when we started raising the turnout to 1hour in a small space, so maybe this is a factor?

 

[Widgeon]

My horse was weeing more when he had elevated insulin. Once I started managing him to bring the insulin down, the constant peeing seemed to ease off. He doesn't have cushings and in fact had a negative cushings test last year. He also has no symptoms of laminitis or anything like that - we only blood tested for insulin because I just *could* not shift weight off him. Maybe worth a thought?