Lethargic & elevated breathing?

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megan_marie

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Hi,

Have any of your horses had similar symptoms? Or what do you think it could be?

Gradually over a couple/few weeks I noticed my boy beginning to struggle with exercise/decreased fitness, he would get out of breath quicker than usual, becoming lethargic to ride, not keen, disinterested etc. He would breathe quite heavily (for him) after only light work. Nothing in his exercise or normal routine had changed (hadn't increased or decreased and he has a varied routine to help prevent boredom!) He's eating/drinking normally, no cough or nasal discharge, no lameness etc. I had noticed he began getting a little sad/depressed/not himself in the stable, more quiet, not as inquisitive etc.

Because of this, I decided to get the vet out because I know my horse and this wasn't him. The vet took his temp - normal, did mention he had an elevated breathing rate at rest, but couldn't hear anything unusual, like wheezing etc. Did mention he looked down. Had him lunged & ridden, could see he was lethargic, not very keen. Breathing rate was high for the minimal amount of work he'd done, but again couldn't hear anything abnormal. Heart sounded good. The vet even mentioned how well he looks (body condition & coat wise).

He took blood tests (should get them back Monday), but he is a bit stumped as the symptoms at this point don't point to something specific, they're very vague! It could be a virus/infection but has no fever, cough or discharge, could be a lung problem that can only be diagnosed via endoscope, could be something muscloskeletal, could be mild/onset tying up, ulcers, but again he doesn't have the 'classic' symptoms for these. But he did mention that ya'know not all horses show the same symptoms etc.

If the blood tests come back inconclusive and he doesn't seem to improve then obviously we'll go down the endoscope route etc. but that's very shooting in the dark. Hoping the blood tests come back with something so we know what direction to go in!

Hate seeing him unwell and not himself :(

Anyone had a horse with something similar?

Thanks!
 
Where would you like me to start.

Pair of young horses, did a bit of showing and dressage May June. Early July both off colour, no temp but not right. Two weeks on both pouring green snot followed by hacking cough. Still not right mid October and on 3rd endoscope done this afternoon. Had every drug known to man and remain on drugs. Virus and proving difficult to shift. It has been a trying summer to say the least. Thank god they are insured and thankfully the other horses did not pick it up to the same extend as it has hit the babies.
 
My old mare seems to have a virus too. Blood tests were didn't show anything specific but suggested virus and she was very quiet for a week or so, plus had a poorly tummy. She seems to be on the mend, though she was huffing and puffing a bit when I saw her today, so I'm not sure. She has an iron tonic as blood tests showed she was anaemic. No other meds though.
 
The weather over the last few months has been very challenging to horses. Hot and humid followed by damp and humid etc. Look at today, roasting hot for many places and horses in full winter coats. My old boy was distressed last night because he was too hot. I was trace clipping him at 9pm to make him more comfortable.
 
AdorableAlice said:
The weather over the last few months has been very challenging to horses. Hot and humid followed by damp and humid etc. Look at today, roasting hot for many places and horses in full winter coats. My old boy was distressed last night because he was too hot. I was trace clipping him at 9pm to make him more comfortable.
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I did wonder if that might be why my girl was puffing a bit today. She's been worrying me a lot lately though, it's the first time she's looked her age :(
 
Sounds like a virus of some sort. Perhaps combined with the unseasonably warm weather?

I do have experience of a breathing problem, but my mare has struggled for as long as I've known her (and now we know, likely from birth), it didn't just start out of nowhere.
 
Hi Megan,
I'm a newby to this - Ive been searching the internet to find help with a problem - found your post and would be very interested to hear how you went on? I have a Friesian Stallion who normally goes like a steam train but a month ago he became lethargic and totally disinterested in going for a hack, just didn't want to know, ambled along at a snails pace, he's had blood, urine, cushings test, he's been scoped, nothing has shown up, eating and drinking normal, I am baffled (he's 13)
 
megan_marie said:
Hi,

Have any of your horses had similar symptoms? Or what do you think it could be?

Gradually over a couple/few weeks I noticed my boy beginning to struggle with exercise/decreased fitness, he would get out of breath quicker than usual, becoming lethargic to ride, not keen, disinterested etc. He would breathe quite heavily (for him) after only light work. Nothing in his exercise or normal routine had changed (hadn't increased or decreased and he has a varied routine to help prevent boredom!) He's eating/drinking normally, no cough or nasal discharge, no lameness etc. I had noticed he began getting a little sad/depressed/not himself in the stable, more quiet, not as inquisitive etc.

Because of this, I decided to get the vet out because I know my horse and this wasn't him. The vet took his temp - normal, did mention he had an elevated breathing rate at rest, but couldn't hear anything unusual, like wheezing etc. Did mention he looked down. Had him lunged & ridden, could see he was lethargic, not very keen. Breathing rate was high for the minimal amount of work he'd done, but again couldn't hear anything abnormal. Heart sounded good. The vet even mentioned how well he looks (body condition & coat wise).

He took blood tests (should get them back Monday), but he is a bit stumped as the symptoms at this point don't point to something specific, they're very vague! It could be a virus/infection but has no fever, cough or discharge, could be a lung problem that can only be diagnosed via endoscope, could be something muscloskeletal, could be mild/onset tying up, ulcers, but again he doesn't have the 'classic' symptoms for these. But he did mention that ya'know not all horses show the same symptoms etc.

If the blood tests come back inconclusive and he doesn't seem to improve then obviously we'll go down the endoscope route etc. but that's very shooting in the dark. Hoping the blood tests come back with something so we know what direction to go in!

Hate seeing him unwell and not himself :(

Anyone had a horse with something similar?

Thanks!
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My equine had this symptom and turned out to be a form of colic, I lost her. I suggest you get vet as soon as and get to the bottom of this.
 
Winterland said:
Hi Megan,
I'm a newby to this - Ive been searching the internet to find help with a problem - found your post and would be very interested to hear how you went on? I have a Friesian Stallion who normally goes like a steam train but a month ago he became lethargic and totally disinterested in going for a hack, just didn't want to know, ambled along at a snails pace, he's had blood, urine, cushings test, he's been scoped, nothing has shown up, eating and drinking normal, I am baffled (he's 13)
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Was he tested for EMS? A simple blood test will answer this one. Lethargy can be a sign of Equine Metabolic Syndrome. My horse tested positive for it after months of wondering why he was lethargic. Vet thought he had arthritic hocks despite me asking whether it was EMS.
Finally, he got a bit footy so I called the vet (different vet this time) as wondered if it was laminitis. Immediately, confined to stable with deep bed etc and blood sample taken for EMS. Came back positive! Cushings test done twice but both times came back negative so he was put on a trial of Prascend - result, transformed horse.
 
Thank you very very much for your message Zuzzle, I am waiting for the vet to return my call as to what to do next so I will def ask her to test for EMS.

Thank you again, it would just be nice to actually know what the problem is with my boy!!
 
Going to collect EMS kit tomorrow followed by a vet visit a week later, will let you know, he's the most pampered partner and I can't bear to see him like this!
 
Thank you everyone for all your replies! :)

The blood tests came back with not a lot really, everything within normal range, liver, kidneys good, he had a tiny very minimal low white blood count. But he also had another test that was testing for inflammation but that came back completely fine, which is a bit annoying because that could have indicated a definite virus or infection etc. The vets saying it could still be a virus, but it could not. For now, he's said to wait a week, see if he improves, and if not, it'll be to move on and scope him.

But today, he had a nosebleed. He's only ever had 2 before and those were only a month ago - very strange as in the nearly 3 years we've owned him, he'd never had one. Would an infection cause a nosebleed? I find it to be a bit of a coincidence if it's completely unrelated to his current problems. He is still very lethargic, and one trot around the school on either rein caused him to blow a bit - he's getting very unfit/intolerant

We've texted the vet and hopefully he'll be able to come out next week sometime, and scope him! Fingers crossed it's nothing bad! :(
 
megan_marie said:
Thank you everyone for all your replies! :)

The blood tests came back with not a lot really, everything within normal range, liver, kidneys good, he had a tiny very minimal low white blood count. But he also had another test that was testing for inflammation but that came back completely fine, which is a bit annoying because that could have indicated a definite virus or infection etc. The vets saying it could still be a virus, but it could not. For now, he's said to wait a week, see if he improves, and if not, it'll be to move on and scope him.

But today, he had a nosebleed. He's only ever had 2 before and those were only a month ago - very strange as in the nearly 3 years we've owned him, he'd never had one. Would an infection cause a nosebleed? I find it to be a bit of a coincidence if it's completely unrelated to his current problems. He is still very lethargic, and one trot around the school on either rein caused him to blow a bit - he's getting very unfit/intolerant

We've texted the vet and hopefully he'll be able to come out next week sometime, and scope him! Fingers crossed it's nothing bad! :(
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Nose bleeds can happen after they have done strenuous exercise, my Friends x racehorse did this a couple times so he came out the racing life one of which was quite a serious nose bleed and they struggled to control the flow.

In October last year one of the livery owner's horse had nosebleeds for a couple of weeks, not a lot but trickling, vet was called infection in his nasal passage was found to be the cause and he went onto antibiotics for a few weeks and it did clear up.

We had to bath his nostrils every day sometimes twice so it stopped the flies gathering around and made it worst by his snorting and rubbing his nose on his leg. I would get your vet to look into the virus line of thinking, as he may need medical intervention.

It is good that they have ruled out some of the possible causes, but lethargy is a concern and you need to get to the bottom of it. Are your vets keeping on top of this or are you having to do all the chasing or enquiring with them not replying?

Bleeding could also stem from other causes so really you need to insist they keep on top of the investigation.
 
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Yeah i've heard of that, but he had this nosebleed whilst in the morning in the stable and he hadn't been turned out yet, so it was definitely not exercise induced! Ahh that's interesting, how did the vets diagnose it as a virus? Did it come up in a blood test? What other symptoms did the horse have?

The vets are really good and he definitely wants to get to the bottom of whatever is causing this, but we all thought it was best to wait a few days, just to see if it was an infection that would go away without the need of medical intervention.
He said about the waiting a week, but that was a few days before this nosebleed occurred, so we've texted him about it tonight, to let him know, but as it's the weekend I don't expect an immediate reply and as it's not an emergency right this second.

What other tests can be done to help diagnose viruses? He is quite certain that it's not a virus (but obviously hasn't ruled it out!) But as everything is all a bit vague still, it's quite hard to know where to go next, especially as the blood tests weren't massively helpful. I reckon he'll want him scoped, as that was his next plan if the blood tests didn't indicate a problem - which they didn't, really.

Thankyou for your reply.:)
 
With that development a good look up his nose would seem a sensible start to see if there is anything up there causing the breathing issues and discomfort. (which would explain the behaviour change)
 
Any developments Megan_Marie? I have had simialar issuesfor last 2 months with my 24 y/o mare and she has had 'all clear' from vet for blood tests/respiratory rate/heart rate and he is baffled. We have no idea what to do for her, have had teeth done, back checked just in case but she is still breathing quickly/sometime lethargic...
 
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