Lethargic Horse?

HairyCoblet

HairyCoblet

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I have a 5yr old gelding. The last 3 weeks or so I've been putting a scoop of magnesium in his tea to help with the spooking however the last couple of days he has been very lethargic. Not sure if it's due to the weather going from freezing to 13 degrees because he was a bit sweaty but that's stopped now we are back to cold! He's eating his hay and his feed as normal.... apart from 2 nights when he was brought in by my friend and he didn't eat his hard feed however he has ate it every night since when I have given him it?

Any idea why he is a bit flat and sluggish?
I have got the vet coming out at the beginning of next week to do jabs and when I rang them they didn't think he required an emergency call out unless things change drastically!

Thanks:)
 
Tbh it could be anything from a change in the grass all the way to something like PSSM.

I always say that if it out of character it is worth looking into.
 
Zuzzie said:
Yes, it's a well known calmer. However, if you have the vet coming get a blood test done for a virus.
Click to expand...

It's not a calmer. A horse which calms down on a magnesium supplement had a magnesium deficiency which was causing it to behave fearfully.

OP you need to cut out the mag and see if he goes back to normal then worry about what that means after you've worked that out.
 
Following this with interest as my 7 year old mare has also been very lethargic over the last week and blood testing has come back completely normal so no sign of a virus.
Both myself and vets are stumped as all vital signs are normal but she can't even cope with a gentle hack. It's very out of character for an otherwise fit competition mare on a good diet.
 
HairyCoblet said:
I have a 5yr old gelding. The last 3 weeks or so I've been putting a scoop of magnesium in his tea to help with the spooking however the last couple of days he has been very lethargic. Not sure if it's due to the weather going from freezing to 13 degrees because he was a bit sweaty but that's stopped now we are back to cold! He's eating his hay and his feed as normal.... apart from 2 nights when he was brought in by my friend and he didn't eat his hard feed however he has ate it every night since when I have given him it?

Any idea why he is a bit flat and sluggish?
I have got the vet coming out at the beginning of next week to do jabs and when I rang them they didn't think he required an emergency call out unless things change drastically!

Thanks:)
Click to expand...

My mare is VERY spooky and magnesium did nothing for her neither did magic.

What does work for spooky horses without the lethargy is http://www.horsefirst.net/horse-supplements/relax-me-supplement.html I noticed a difference in 4 days she started to be less spooky

She also was lacking of energy to the point of using too much leg, bloods showed nothing, but D&H said use high fiber cubes to give more energy. I did and she is much improved, give Dodson and Horrel a ring.
 
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