horse wont eat :(

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emmilou

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hi all,
need some advice.......
my older pony (21) has always had a good appetite and been well in herself.
about two and a half weeks ago she suddenly stopped eating. no hay, no hard feed, nothing.
the vet did a full MOT and said teeth were good, shes been wormed and no temperature. at first they suggested tempting her with apples, syrups, different feed but nothing worked. bloods were taken and she has very slight raised white blood cells and raised liver enzymes.

vet suck her on antibiotics, haem tonic to cure the slight animea and a tonic to try and stop the weight loss. they said give it 3-4 days and she should start to feel better..........still nothing and now all the hair on her face is falling out in clumps :(

im so worried. the vets coming back out but shes waisting away and looks so depressed.

does anyone have any advice?
 
they said they did a full blood test and said they couldnt see anything wrong bar the raised liver enzymes.

shes not got any other symptoms bar the hair loss and the fact she's nill by mouth. she's not really drinking much either.

shes having to be syringe fed all the meds
 
They would have to send a blood sample away to a lab to test for cushings, but i think horses with cushings do often have raised liver enzymes. I'm sure someone else will be on in a bit who will be able to tell you more about cushings. If shes not eating much then she won't drink as much. Is she eating anything at all?
 
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ok ill double check what they tested for. when she took the blood she did mention cushings but when they got the reults back she said it was all clear.

no shes not eating anything and the amount shes drinking is so minimal :(
 
does she have plenty of turnout? my horse has cushings(is also 21) and i was having problems with her not eating but she was grazing during the day . just had her blood tested again and had to increase her tablets, 4 days after increasing the tablets she has started to eat hay and feed again so i think her not eating was cushings related so may be worth getting bloods done specially for cushings for yours.....hope your horse picks up soon.
 
Thanks guys.
Ill call the vet and double check.
She can have turnout 24/7 but shes in at the moment as she ends up lying down on the wet ground. I worry about her not getting up so its safer to have her in most of the time
 
Hi, I'm so sorry your pony isn't doing too well. I really don't have suggestions as to what it might be ( I'm not a vet :( ) my only input would be from a personal experience.... I had a little stallion that nearly died as he was wasting away with salmonella (I'm not suggesting that this is what your pony has!)......2 vets had advised to PTS but one vet suggested steroids, he was put on Prednisalone, approx 60 a day (not sure how to spell) but its a human steroid, amazing results within 2 days. This probably is no help and I apologize but if he were mine I'd be tempted to maybe run this by your vet as it sounds a bit desperate now? Best of luck xxx
 
Just to say emmylou, I don't have any other suggestions except what's already being done but just want to say I have my fingers crossed for your wee chap, having had a horse stop eating and get sick in the past it is not nice and very worrying and I do feel for you.
 
Thanks everyone for your support.
Ill keep you all updated. Fingers crossed her pals talk some sence into her tonight over the stable door!
 
Sorry to hear your pony is unwell when they stop eating body fat is used and this can effect the liver please ask your vet about HYPERLIPEAMIA you made need to have an other blood test If your pony is not eating or drinking then she may need to be fed by stomach tube or put on a drip I would speak to vet again Please dont struggle on your own loss of appetite is serious I hope this helps
 
I would think after this length of time your vet would be doing more, I would want her on a drip and more tests being done, as two weeks not eating is a long time and a matter of life or death, ring your vet it cant be left I cant believe they have just left you to get on with it, if no joy get someone else to get to the bottom of it, I hope you get some answers but you shouldnt have to cope with this on your own.
 
hi all,
just to let you know Tia was put to sleep this morning :(
she took a turn for the worse and the decision was to let her go. the vets came out again and took more blood but said that still they were not sure what was going on as she was loosing such a large amount of weight.

They have just called to say that after investigation it turns out part of her gut had died which was causing the problem. they have said there was nothing that could have been done.

thankyou everyone for your support x
 
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