Horse not drinking

[Smogul]

How long would you leave it before putting down a horse that wasn't drinking properly?
Horse didn't seem to have eaten or drunk overnight at weekend but grazed happily in field and did drink a bit. The following night ate half normal amount of hay and had some water. Following night ate half normal amount of hay and had about third of bucket. Still grazing happily and drinking a little in the field but there can't be much liquid in brown frost-killed grass.
Eating three sloppy feeds a day plus lots of apples and carrot and tomatoes.

I am more worried about dehydration than not eating.

 

[be positive]

I assume this is an older horse as you are talking about pts, that he is deteriorating in general and you feel it might be that time.

I recently had a horse that couldn't drink, long story, he was seriously dehydrated initially and stuck inside on box rest so no grass to help, I got him fully hydrated and kept him hydrated for 9 weeks in total before he started to be able to drink normally.
He had access to soaked sugar beet, full fat as speedibeet was not interesting enough, I gradually increased the water to beet ratio, soaked grass nuts, much the same plenty of water like a thick soup, wet feeds and wet redigrass, he sometimes would take on one and leave another it was a constant struggle but he is young and deserved all I could do and I tried everything suggested on my threads on here.
The other thing that helped was to get him on Protexin which helped balance the gut.
Soaked hay may help but mine would not eat it, even seemingly dry grass will have a fairly high water content and may be enough to keep your horse hydrated enough with the help from soaked feeds.

 

[Smogul]

Yes, old horse with known illness. He won't eat soaked hay or haylage and isn't keen on grass nuts though fast fibre is going down well. Hard to see how to get much more fluid into him.

 

[paulineh]

Have you tried sugar beet water. If he is eating sloppy feeds and drinking some when in the field then he is possibly taking in enough water.

What is his condition like and how old is he.

You can gauge how dehydrated he is by pinching the skin on his shoulder and seeing how long it takes to go flat.

 

[amandap]

Sounds like he is drinking a bit and eating. I don't understand I'm afraid, is he weak or has signs of dehydration (skin pinch test), what does a vet think about his hydration?
Add some salt to his feed.

 

[Smogul]

Sounds like he is drinking a bit and eating. I don't understand I'm afraid, is he weak or has signs of dehydration (skin pinch test), what does a vet think about his hydration?
Add some salt to his feed.

Putting salt in his feed would be crazy as it is a myth that it encourages horses to drink. It would simply add to his problems.

We have discussed his condition with our vet and he will come out as soon as we feel it is necessary. Horse is weak because of underlying illness which is why we are finding it difficult to judge how much problem lack of fluid is causing. Skin pinch test showed only mild dehydration.

I simply wondered if anyone else had any experience of this. YM agrees with us that he is still enjoying life most of the time.

 

[amandap]

Putting salt in his feed would be crazy as it is a myth that it encourages horses to drink. It would simply add to his problems.

Is it a myth? Salt makes me drink more and I don't think horses physiology is much different. Sodium is also frequently deficient in horses diets but of course don't take my word for it. You know your horse best.

http://www.balancedequine.com.au/nutrition/electrolytes.html

I hope he stays happy for a while yet.

 

[be positive]

Salt in the feed certainly did not help my horse, the vet also suggested syringing a solution of salt and lo salt, which is higher in potassium, into him he did not drink more and actually started to dehydrate so that was soon stopped.

 

[amandap]

Potassium is often high in forages especially spring grass so is something you don't want to give unless there is a definite potassium deficiency. The sodium potassium balance is often out in horses in my reading.

It's odd the vet suggested salt though if it's a myth. I followed your story BP and obviously I must stop suggesting feeding salt. I'll keep it to myself in future as it's obviously not helpful.

 

[JillA]

Has the vet not suggested electrolytes of one sort or another - the kind given to performance horses to rehydrate them after exertion? Seems a bit drastic to consider PTS while he is still eating - he could be getting a fair amount of water from the diet and the grass.

 

[be positive]

Potassium is often high in forages especially spring grass so is something you don't want to give unless there is a definite potassium deficiency. The sodium potassium balance is often out in horses in my reading.

It's odd the vet suggested salt though if it's a myth. I followed your story BP and obviously I must stop suggesting feeding salt. I'll keep it to myself in future as it's obviously not helpful.

Now he is drinking, at last, I am feeding salt and it does seem to be helping him drink more, it just did not seem to help when he was not actually wanting to drink, I always give mine salt, it was the vet that wanted the potassium mix.
I came to the conclusion that mine was not drinking because he could not due to damage within the mouth/ throat as once the swelling finally went down he started to drink normally again, he is getting a vet check tomorrow and I may post an update soon, still waiting for some info from the vets involved.

 

[Smogul]

Salt in the feed certainly did not help my horse, the vet also suggested syringing a solution of salt and lo salt, which is higher in potassium, into him he did not drink more and actually started to dehydrate so that was soon stopped.

Sorry, myth is not quite the right word. If a healthy animal is not drinking, salt may make it drink (may not!) but if there is an underlying physiological problem causing the lack of fluid intake, extra salt will only add to the problem. Also, dehydration can of itself repress the desire to drink. Adding salt to feed will increase the dehydration which will further repress the desire to drink....