Horse unwell today but hard to diagnose?

HollyWoozle

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My mare, Belle, was seen by a vet today but essentially we and the vet are not sure of the problem so I am just looking to gather any thoughts please. Apologies for the length.

17 yr old ISH mare, retired (as was a bit bonkers) and lives out 24/7 in small family herd. Our grass is very poor but they do OK off it and we give a little hay twice a day to ensure sufficient forage. Belle has looked a bit slow of late to me but nothing obvious and I have often thought she is getting stiff - she often rests a hind leg and I did notice when we had the exceptionally hot weather that her hind legs filled somewhat and I assume it's because they weren't moving! She has very rarely been unwell in 10 years of ownership. Does have several melanomas under tail (she's grey). Vet confirmed that she is in good condition - not overweight but not slim either.

I went outside at lunch today and could see she didn't look happy, face looked as though she was uncomfortable. The other horses walked off and she took a few odd, reluctant steps and stopped again. I kept watching and after several minutes she walked off as if to follow and took maybe 10 very bizarre steps, really exaggerating the lifting of her hinds - I have never seen a horse walk like that. Then stopped again and respiratory rate up. I did try leading her and she would then walk more normally but very slowly and didn't really want to budge. I called for the vet who came about an hour and 20 mins or so later, by which time Belle was already looking better, although she was still not keen to move. I stayed with her in between and at times she would be breathing heavily, nostrils flaring, and obviously in pain and then at other times breathing more normally. She would stand and sometimes lift a hind, occasionally look at her belly, then seem frustrated like she wanted to walk but didn't dare. She felt trembly when I touched her neck.

By the time the vet was able to come she said horse was fine clinically with normal heart rate, good gut sounds. She took some bloods which have come back already and are normal. I was away for two weeks recently and my Mum said today that Belle did have an episode a bit like that whilst I was away but then began behaving normally again and was not seen by a vet that time.

This evening she seemed normal, although unsound in front (but the ground is really hard at the moment). She is eating and drinking and has no obvious injuries, marks, lumps or bumps. The only thing I can think is mild colic which cleared itself, although if she had another similar episode recently then it begs the question why it's happening - would that explain the very odd hind-leg action?

Any thoughts gratefully received. Thank you.
 

The Fuzzy Furry

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You haven't got oaks round your bare grazing have you?
Neighbour (new to that yard last week) had vet out this morning, possible colic. Also had filled legs, young vet puzzled till I pointed out acorns as possible irritant.
Acorns are missiles at present and we have a big number of oaks, her horse has been hoovering as quickly as they fall. Hoping it's not the case with yours and you get to the bottom of it.
 

HollyWoozle

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Thanks for your responses. I did also wonder about tying up but have no experience with that myself and she was just mooching around the field beforehand. We have no oaks in the field or close to the boundaries.
 

J&S

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Your description fits exactly how my veteran mare reacts if she has a bout of colic. Usually brought on by just a few extra mouthfuls of longer/wetter/colder grass. Had it rained recently? This summer (touch wood) she has been fine on a large area of short, dry grazing. We have only had a few spells of rain and it drys up quickly afterwards.
 

chaps89

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Id be inclined to agree with the above, mild colic (maybe one to watch for if she has melanomas incase somethings happening internally) or tying up.
A couple of other ideas though.
Also, bit of a long shot. Have you cleaned between her teats recently? Mine gets ever so disgusting up there and I wonder if a build up of gunk with all this hot weather could become a bit infected, lead to not wanting to move etc?
Did you also try neurological tests if she's moving funny behind?
 

Micky

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I would hazard a guess at colic, a horse at the old yard presented like this for quite a few weeks before it was seen by the vet, and it was colic..sadly the old boy was pts
 

Fransurrey

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If she's started to colic and has melanomas under her tail, I'd get an internal examination done sooner rather than later - particularly as you say she's been healthy over the time you've had her, bar melanomas.
 

Goldenstar

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I would think she might have tumours on her bowel or pressing on her bowel .
C presented with all sorts of transient colic type pain and weird walking and in one incident broke a rib .
He had two tumours attached to his bowel .
 

HollyWoozle

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Thank you all for your replies and apologies for the slow answer myself - you've all been so helpful. I'd come to similar conclusions myself unfortunately. @J&S, our grazing is very poor and I don't think it rained recently prior to her 'episodes', but that is definitely something to keep in mind. There are also several gardens backing on to the field and a footpath the other side frequented by dog walkers, so it's not impossible she ate something a bit more exciting!

@chaps89 I did have a prod around her teats and whilst they do get a little bit of 'gunk' there was/is nothing untoward going on there that I can see and she didn't mind me investigating. I did consider something neurological as well but then wondered if it could be that when it was so temporary.

Whilst she does not appear to be in any real pain currently, her tail carriage doesn't seem right to me and I feel like her stance is slightly off... hard to explain but something is definitely different. The melanomas under her tail (at least the ones we can see) are not large enough to be interfering so I assume there is something internally causing her some discomfort somewhere along the line. She is a tricky mare and the vet who came was not a normal vet from our practice and didn't seem comfortable looking under her tail too much, which is fair enough. I've had her 10 years and she has never intentionally kicked, but she is flighty and quite particular (hence why she is not ridden anymore), but perhaps the vets can sedate her and have a proper look.

Thanks again for your help... I don't feel it bodes all that well but will do my best to look after her.
 

Fransurrey

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Thank you all for your replies and apologies for the slow answer myself - you've all been so helpful. I'd come to similar conclusions myself unfortunately. @J&S, our grazing is very poor and I don't think it rained recently prior to her 'episodes', but that is definitely something to keep in mind. There are also several gardens backing on to the field and a footpath the other side frequented by dog walkers, so it's not impossible she ate something a bit more exciting!

@chaps89 I did have a prod around her teats and whilst they do get a little bit of 'gunk' there was/is nothing untoward going on there that I can see and she didn't mind me investigating. I did consider something neurological as well but then wondered if it could be that when it was so temporary.

Whilst she does not appear to be in any real pain currently, her tail carriage doesn't seem right to me and I feel like her stance is slightly off... hard to explain but something is definitely different. The melanomas under her tail (at least the ones we can see) are not large enough to be interfering so I assume there is something internally causing her some discomfort somewhere along the line. She is a tricky mare and the vet who came was not a normal vet from our practice and didn't seem comfortable looking under her tail too much, which is fair enough. I've had her 10 years and she has never intentionally kicked, but she is flighty and quite particular (hence why she is not ridden anymore), but perhaps the vets can sedate her and have a proper look.

Thanks again for your help... I don't feel it bodes all that well but will do my best to look after her.
I hope our thoughts are wrong, HW. My 27 yo had never colicked in his life, but had colitis in January with accompanying ataxia, then later colic. When I had him post-mortemed, he had lipomas and a brain tumour. Trust your instincts with this one, especially the 'something feels different'.
 

HollyWoozle

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I hope our thoughts are wrong, HW. My 27 yo had never colicked in his life, but had colitis in January with accompanying ataxia, then later colic. When I had him post-mortemed, he had lipomas and a brain tumour. Trust your instincts with this one, especially the 'something feels different'.

Thanks so much. I hope we figure it out! I think my family sometimes think I am mad (the horses are kept at our family home) as they don't always notice the things that I do and feel that Belle is fine now, but she is mine and I know something is still bothering her and that there must be an explanation for what has been happening. I'm sorry to hear about your boy but thanks for sharing your experiences.
 

southerncomfort

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Definitely trust your instincts on this one.

My mare wasn't quite right for several weeks but I was the only one who could see it and I couldn't explain it properly to the vet who couldn't see much wrong with her. Eventually she began having full blown seizures. I'd been right about her not being well but it was definitely an instinctive thing rather than symptoms I could describe to anyone.

What might be useful is keeping your phone handy and taking some video when you feel your horse isn't quite right. Having something visual to show the vet does definitely help with a diagnosis.

Really hope you get to the bottom of it very soon.
 

southerncomfort

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Thank you @southerncomfort. Was your mare treatable and OK in the end? Good on you for spotting it and thanks for your kind words. x

Although anti seizure medication can be prescribed for epilepsy, unfortunately my mare's seizures were thought to be due to a brain tumour. She was pretty old so the decision to PTS was made pretty quickly.

I'm sure this isn't at all what is wrong with your horse but I do think sometimes we just know when things aren't right.

X
 

HollyWoozle

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Just an update to this - transpires that my mare has pinworm! I am hoping that is the cause of all her issues. Further investigation of melanomas shows that they don't look as bad as I thought and vet advised testing for pinworm as some waxy residue under tail. She was wormed in the spring and normal worm count came back clear, but I have been stupid and didn't realise that pinworm is a separate test. Test results have shown pinworm eggs and am just waiting for wormer to arrive and will treat her and the rest of the herd.

A good lesson for me and feeling sorry for my poor girl that I had overlooked it.
 

hopscotch bandit

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Just an update to this - transpires that my mare has pinworm! I am hoping that is the cause of all her issues. Further investigation of melanomas shows that they don't look as bad as I thought and vet advised testing for pinworm as some waxy residue under tail. She was wormed in the spring and normal worm count came back clear, but I have been stupid and didn't realise that pinworm is a separate test. Test results have shown pinworm eggs and am just waiting for wormer to arrive and will treat her and the rest of the herd.

A good lesson for me and feeling sorry for my poor girl that I had overlooked it.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Pinworm is not easy to treat at all. It's not life threatening but very annoying to the horse. You might find the horse getting annoyed and stamping around or swishing its tail around dusk time. THis is because the female (looks just like a beansprout) comes out to lay her eggs, you can see a yellowy white substance around the anus which causes incredible itching to the horse (see photo). This is what the eggs are laid in. A livery on our yard had a horse with this, diagnosed by putting selloptape over the anus and folded back on itself and then looked at under the microscope.

She had some stuff to wash on/wash off and then something else to leave on and then whatever the 5 day wormer is called followed by a double dose of another wormer! I think it depends how much immunity is built up as to what wormer you are meant to use.

THe horse had three cycles of the above washes over a two - 3 month period and also had three wormers up the horses bottom. I think that was because the pinworm lives right at the back by the anus and by the time the wormer has gone through the horse the wormer is so weak its next to useless.

I know it ended up costing her a lot of money and people were annoyed that their horse could catch it although no one's horse ever did.

.
 

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FFAQ

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My lot had pinworm in September. As hopscotch bandit says, it's notoriously difficult to get rid of, but so far they seem clear after a course of panacur 5 day and a month of OCD hygiene. I wiped bottoms twice a day and baby oiled to knock off any new eggs, washed haynets after use, and disinfected EVERYTHING from fence posts to grooming kits.
Good luck!
 

Nudibranch

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My vet prescribed a permethrin liquid (I think, though it was a few years ago) which was applied under the tail daily and it did clear up the pinworm. The mare affected had some itching and dry skin afterwards so would continue to scratch as she'd got into the itch-scratch cycle even after the pinworm was cleared. This was treated with hydrocortisone 1% cream and subsequently never another issue.
 

HollyWoozle

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It's odd because my mare doesn't seem itchy at all. She lives out 24/7 and doesn't scratch her bum on anything pretty much ever! She had a little of the waxy residue under her tail so the vet suggested I test for pinworm and I use the sellotape test described above.
 

HollyWoozle

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The substance under her tail is the only obvious symptom, although she does sometimes stand with her tail raised as mentioned in some of my earlier posts. She is never seen to rub, swish her tail, look agitated and has no signs actually on her that she has been rubbing anywhere without us noticing either. Seems like an odd case but the test was positive so Panacur it is!
 
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