Horse not drinking

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FinkleyAlex

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For the last 3 days my horse has not been drinking properly. He has two full buckets and in the morning most of it is still there, before he was nearly downing two buckets a night. We have recently changed from the yards hay back onto my own hay which he used to love, but he is not eating much of it, although is happy to eat other horses haynets (diff hay) and grass. He is also happy eating his feed, which consists of Alfa A Lite, 1/2 copra meal (soaked), 1/2 speedibeet, topspec and cortaflex, he was changed onto this on Saturday over a period of 5 days, whereas before he was on 1/2 cool mix, 1 alfa a, topspec and cortaflex. He is very bright in himself and seems cheerful and has been fine to ride, however is a little tucked up. He is also only passing once a day, although not sure if this is down to him not eating as much hay as usual.He was wormed with a double dose for tapeworm last week and it is since then that he has had these symptoms. He does not seem dehydrated when I pinch his neck but I am very worried about him - spoke to the vet on the phone who thinks it is just the result of the wormer (he had a high tapeworm infestion according to a recent blood test) is it worth getting the vet to come down tomorrow?
 
I'm a worry wart, but I can't imagine I'd even consider riding a horse with the symptoms you describe.

Passing manure once a day, not drinking and picking at their feed doesn't sound right at all in my book. I'd have been on to the vet by now I think for a visit. Is his respiration rate and temperature normal?

Good luck. Hope your horse rallies soon.
 
He was not ridden today, last night or the night before but went into the field as usual. Just to clear things up he was being ridden when he wasn't eating much hay, as he was still drinking a fair bit. Vet and YM do not seem to think it is anything major, but I think I will go and check him tonight to see if hes not better.
 
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I'm a worry wart, but I can't imagine I'd even consider riding a horse with the symptoms you describe.

Passing manure once a day, not drinking and picking at their feed doesn't sound right at all in my book. I'd have been on to the vet by now I think for a visit. Is his respiration rate and temperature normal?

Good luck. Hope your horse rallies soon.

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I have read that you are not riding!!!However do agree with above!!1 motion a day for a horse really is way abnormal,they supposed to do between 8 and 10 poos a night when stabled for over 12 hours,admittedly they not all the same and will do less but 1???I would be concerned and do some further investigation especially as said neddy is not drinking or eating proprerly!!!
Please let us know how your neddy gets on!!
 
The soaked feed, and the wet grass could well be providing your horse with enough water. The cooler weather will mean it is not sweating off moisture, so all in all, is probably fine. If there are no signs of dehydration, don't worry.

As for the poo, I woudl worry. If the horse is eating normaly and only going once a day. Vet, right away!
 
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He is very bright in himself and seems cheerful and has been fine to ride, however is a little tucked up.

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Eeeek. Sorry. No matter how many times I read this line, it reads to me as though the OP implies they'd been riding him whilst he was displaying his symptoms.

I do apologise.
 
I remembered your previous post about this pony and out of curiosity (because I can't sleep) went back and looked at your previous posts over the year. Correct me if I have got this wrong but to summarise, your pony had strangles about a year ago (and was ill and tucked up/dehydrated then), recovered but then had a leg problem that led to laminitis, requiring some time off work - the horse was then failing to maintain condition as you were enquiring about suitable feeds to improve this. Then you posted that you were working the pony 5 days a week, but were looking for a sharer because you wanted it to be worked 7 days a week. Subsequently the horse has picked up a tapeworm burden - presumably the blood test that revealed this was done because of the ongoing condition problems? And now you appear to have an adverse reaction to the worming dose.

Forgive me if I seem a little critical but it seems to me that this pony has had a very hard year, it may only be 13 but is responding more like an equine of 23 or older.

Yes you need to address the current problem, but then, in my opinion, you need to consider giving this pony a very long holiday to give it any chance of actually recovering properly from whatever the underlying problems might be.
 
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I remembered your previous post about this pony and out of curiosity (because I can't sleep) went back and looked at your previous posts over the year. Correct me if I have got this wrong but to summarise, your pony had strangles about a year ago (and was ill and tucked up/dehydrated then), recovered but then had a leg problem that led to laminitis, requiring some time off work - the horse was then failing to maintain condition as you were enquiring about suitable feeds to improve this. Then you posted that you were working the pony 5 days a week, but were looking for a sharer because you wanted it to be worked 7 days a week. Subsequently the horse has picked up a tapeworm burden - presumably the blood test that revealed this was done because of the ongoing condition problems? And now you appear to have an adverse reaction to the worming dose.

Forgive me if I seem a little critical but it seems to me that this pony has had a very hard year, it may only be 13 but is responding more like an equine of 23 or older.

Yes you need to address the current problem, but then, in my opinion, you need to consider giving this pony a very long holiday to give it any chance of actually recovering properly from whatever the underlying problems might be.

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Yes the pony has had a very hard two years. He was kicked in the field two years ago by a welsh cob. He was off work for 3 months and gently eased back into normal work over a period of about 5 months, all following the advice of the vet. At the end of the same year the yard held a show, and one of the competitors brought strangles along with them. My horses stable is the nearest to the outdoor arena and he and 3 other ponies (also closest to the arena) caught it. Again unavoidable, he was given the recommended time off. The next year he was kicked again in the opposite leg which went right through his knee joint and required another few months box rest. There can be noone to blame for these because horses will be horses, and I did not want to wrap him up in cotton wool after the first time. He is now on individual turnout as his legs are no longer insured. The kick resulted on him putting a lot of weight on his non-insured leg, neither the vet nor I picked up on this as he was not doing it obviously. The result was laminitus - a result of stress, not bad stable management. He was given a very long holiday after this but he loves being ridden so we brought him back into work, after a long think about retiring him. He had obviously lost a lot of weight and condition after dieting him following the diagnosis. He has put the weight back on, but not the condition, as he was moved onto part livery whilst I had exams and they would only feed him a set meal - cool mix and alfa a. He is an arab X and is not a good doer. The vet was called out to do a routine teeth check, I asked about his weight and the vet said that he is ok for now but when I move back onto DIY livery (last saturday) told me to find a more conditioning feed (hence the copra) and also took a blood test to see if there was anything underlying. This was a month ago and the RVC only came back with the lab results yesterday, showing high tapeworm infestation, despite having been regularly wormed on the yards routine. As it happened the yard gave him a double dose a week ago, when I did not even know about his worm infestation.

I hope I've explained his past well enough for you - yes he is a walking accident (if one horse were to drop dead it would be him) but he has aways been that way, even with past owners. Despite this he remains a happy, most of the time healthy rideable horse. The vet will be up tomorrow, I will keep you all posted.
 
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He is very bright in himself and seems cheerful and has been fine to ride, however is a little tucked up.

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Eeeek. Sorry. No matter how many times I read this line, it reads to me as though the OP implies they'd been riding him whilst he was displaying his symptoms.

I do apologise.

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sorry - the key word is has been, and not is.
 
But even on the 28/11, when your vet was already investigating the possibility of an underlying cause for lost condition, you were considering increasing the pony's workload up to 7 days a week by taking on a sharer. I don't see how you considered that would improve the situation?
 
can I quote a post made by you back in October!

Quite frankly if this was a colic attack as well, it doesn't add up with the following posts made by you over that month as you were riding him.... Colic can take a long time to get over and a horse can be VERY lack lustre for weeks afterwards and should really be given the time off to recover.....

I'm afraid if this situation had been going on with one of mine, I would have demanded that the horse be referred to Newmarket or such like for further investigation.

This is now three months later!!! Dont you think a phone call to the vet today demanding a referral would be a good idea? After all your insurance should cover this as you have stated in previous posts "the insurance wont cover his legs"

Get on the phone and start demanding a few things and if your vet wont do a referral I think a change of practices might be a good idea for your horses health.


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Lung Infection causing Colic... (please read and help)
11/10/2006 19:51 Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply

First post here which is making it quite daunting will give you the scenerio as to how I found my pony (14.2 part bred arab gelding 13 yrs old) this morning.

Got a call saying he wasn't eating, obviously was worried and drove straight to the yard. He was on full livery yesterday as I was at college in the evening, his routine didnt change and he was fine. This morning however he has not touched his feed or his haynet, passed few droppings and hardly touched his water and was very depressed. I immeditately called the vet suspecting colic and then the weird bit came...he coughed like I've never heard a horse cough before, really really throatily - you could tell something was really really wrong.

So the vet came, told me he was very ill, took blood tests and felt up his bum (very dry and quite painful) and immediately stuck a tube up his nose and gave him fluids as he was dehydrated. When vet left, he seemed to perk up a bit and was picking at hay (vet said it was alright for him to eat a bit) and took little drinks. This carried on all day untill the vet rang back with the results of the blood test saying he has a Lung Infection - he could only have got this in 2 ways (apparently) 1- caught off other horses, but no one else on the yard has it. 2- caught a chill - but he is always well rugged and is not clipped yet.

For some reason this lung infection is causing him to not drink which is in turn causing colic. I gave him a bran mash but he only ate a 1/4 before returning to his haylage which I have left him with as there's quite a lot of water in it. He also took a few more little drinks during the day and finally passed some droppings (which honestly made my day)

He's now being given antibiotics twice a day and I'm checking up on him every 4 hours as I'm such a worrier and have owned this pony for 6 years, he truly is my everything and I hate to see him so down.

I'm not entirely sure what the point of my post was, maybe to get it off my shoulders I guess but I'd also like to know if anyone else has heard of anything similar to this? Or other reasons for lung infections? Any help would be much appreciated



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I'd be getting the vet out now a horse not drinking is bad news as their system will begin to pack up and can lead to all sorts of complications including the rightfully feared collic.
 
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can I quote a post made by you back in October!

Quite frankly if this was a colic attack as well, it doesn't add up with the following posts made by you over that month as you were riding him.... Colic can take a long time to get over and a horse can be VERY lack lustre for weeks afterwards and should really be given the time off to recover.....

I'm afraid if this situation had been going on with one of mine, I would have demanded that the horse be referred to Newmarket or such like for further investigation.

This is now three months later!!! Dont you think a phone call to the vet today demanding a referral would be a good idea? After all your insurance should cover this as you have stated in previous posts "the insurance wont cover his legs"

Get on the phone and start demanding a few things and if your vet wont do a referral I think a change of practices might be a good idea for your horses health.


[ QUOTE ]
Lung Infection causing Colic... (please read and help)
11/10/2006 19:51 Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply

First post here which is making it quite daunting will give you the scenerio as to how I found my pony (14.2 part bred arab gelding 13 yrs old) this morning.

Got a call saying he wasn't eating, obviously was worried and drove straight to the yard. He was on full livery yesterday as I was at college in the evening, his routine didnt change and he was fine. This morning however he has not touched his feed or his haynet, passed few droppings and hardly touched his water and was very depressed. I immeditately called the vet suspecting colic and then the weird bit came...he coughed like I've never heard a horse cough before, really really throatily - you could tell something was really really wrong.

So the vet came, told me he was very ill, took blood tests and felt up his bum (very dry and quite painful) and immediately stuck a tube up his nose and gave him fluids as he was dehydrated. When vet left, he seemed to perk up a bit and was picking at hay (vet said it was alright for him to eat a bit) and took little drinks. This carried on all day untill the vet rang back with the results of the blood test saying he has a Lung Infection - he could only have got this in 2 ways (apparently) 1- caught off other horses, but no one else on the yard has it. 2- caught a chill - but he is always well rugged and is not clipped yet.

For some reason this lung infection is causing him to not drink which is in turn causing colic. I gave him a bran mash but he only ate a 1/4 before returning to his haylage which I have left him with as there's quite a lot of water in it. He also took a few more little drinks during the day and finally passed some droppings (which honestly made my day)

He's now being given antibiotics twice a day and I'm checking up on him every 4 hours as I'm such a worrier and have owned this pony for 6 years, he truly is my everything and I hate to see him so down.

I'm not entirely sure what the point of my post was, maybe to get it off my shoulders I guess but I'd also like to know if anyone else has heard of anything similar to this? Or other reasons for lung infections? Any help would be much appreciated



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The "lung infection causing colic" turned out to be strangles. It misdiagnosed by the vet for the first 3 days, and yes was in 2006, thanks whoever pointed that out. Vet came today and said it is simply the dead worms going through his hind gut, told me to exercise him to keep them moving through, give a bran mash and use the yards hay (he has obviously decided he doesnt like my hay). Vet said it was unlikely he would get colic as he seems so bright in himself.
 
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