Horse stopped sweating

[SEL]

will be speaking to the vet first thing, but wondering if anyone has come across this.

My mare CAN sweat - she has poured with it the 2 times she likely tied up - but didn't at all today despite the heat. Every other horse at the yard was dripping.

On Monday she had her guttural pouches washed out (clear of strangles thankfully), it was sweltering and I'm wondering whether this is some kind of stress response.

I don't remember seeing her sweat yesterday either and she was off her food - but put that down to having a breeze through the yard and antibiotics.

Just checked on her and she's a bit dopey - pinch test ok. There's a breeze in the field now and she's cool and ate the nuts I took up.

I'm kicking myself for not joining the dots earlier. Not sweating = not well.

 

[Shay]

Not sweating can be a sign of extreme heat stress - I had a gelding who hated away from home water and actually collapsed twice at PC camp (different years) - both time he had stopped sweating in the hours leading up. We got wise to it and always put apple juice in water and didn't have the problem again.

Otherwise anhydrosis is the technical term for a horse who can't sweat. It can come on over time or be sudden onset. It is a condition which can be managed but may cause a loss of performance as the horse can be prone to overheating. You really need a vet for that one.

 

[SEL]

Thanks - got the vet out first thing when I led her in from the field and she was obviously out of sorts. In fact punch drunk sprung to mind.

She was up for eating a very wet beet feed this morning so she's had a rehydration sachet in that. Bloods taken and IV bute - she has PSSM so really, really worried she will tie up although her muscles are still soft.

Apparently they recommend Guinness in the US for anhydrosis - so if nothing comes back in the bloods then I'm going shopping!

At the moment we have no idea whether not drinking caused the lack of sweat or whether she wasn't sweating and so wasn't thirsty. I'm so relieved its cooler today and I'm still kicking myself for not picking this up earlier on in the week.

 

[MrsNorris]

This happened to mine too after a severe heat shock when he was attacked and chased by another horse in winter whilst rugged. He was literally pouring sweat, shaking etc I had to get the vet as he looked so bad. He recovered fine from that incident but then didn't sweat for over a year. I looked up a supplement called OneAC from the US, couldn't get it here, but it contains L tyrosine and vit C, so I fed both of these, plus iodine in the form of seaweed, plus extra salt and he started sweating again within the month! Could have been a coincidence of course, but the ingredients are easy to get from Bulk Powders or similar, so may be worth trying if it doesn't resolve on its own.
This horse has PSSM too, draught type, has never tied up classically, but has suffered chronic muscle problems for years. When the anhydrosis struck, he was undiagnosed with PSSM, wondering now if there's some sort of connection?

 

[SEL]

This happened to mine too after a severe heat shock when he was attacked and chased by another horse in winter whilst rugged. He was literally pouring sweat, shaking etc I had to get the vet as he looked so bad. He recovered fine from that incident but then didn't sweat for over a year. I looked up a supplement called OneAC from the US, couldn't get it here, but it contains L tyrosine and vit C, so I fed both of these, plus iodine in the form of seaweed, plus extra salt and he started sweating again within the month! Could have been a coincidence of course, but the ingredients are easy to get from Bulk Powders or similar, so may be worth trying if it doesn't resolve on its own.
This horse has PSSM too, draught type, has never tied up classically, but has suffered chronic muscle problems for years. When the anhydrosis struck, he was undiagnosed with PSSM, wondering now if there's some sort of connection?

She's also a draft x - and also doesn't classically tie-up, which is an interesting discussion with the vets. I'll look up those ingredients.

The vets came back this afternoon to give her a steroid jab because her inflammation markers were high on the bloods. She's over weight and a metabolic mess so obviously I'm going to have a few sleepless nights thinking laminitis. They think there is something going on in her stomach, but we still don't know why she stopped sweating or if she'll start again. #sigh#

 

[MrsNorris]

Think I used brewers yeast too, maybe for the chromium? It was a while ago now, can't remember exactly but will see if I can find my notes. Best of luck with her, mine is also suspected EMS, not tested, and has been PPID tested several times, borderline/neg, has done a prascend trial, blood tests etc etc in an effort to find out what was causing his lethargy and exercise intolerance. Now he's finally on PSSM treatment after 10 years of problems, and is making some progress..