Old boy not himself.

N

navaho

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 April 2009
Messages
1,311
Location
West Wales
Visit site
Just had the vet out to my old chap as hes not himself & although he is eating hes not eating with his usual enthusiasm & his hay net i filled yesterday morning is still over half full. The vet checked all the obvious but cant find anything wrong with him at all. I had his teeth done 2 weeks ago & ive noticed hes started grinding them since then, could it be anything to do with this (he didn't have anything major done, just some sharp edges filled down), i did ask the vet & she had a look in his mouth & couldn't see anything obvious, but she only pulled his tongue to one side & shone a torch up there, so she may have missed something? Im really at a loss as was the vet. Really worried about him but don't know to do, although hes 23 he normally acts like a 4yr old, at the moment it seems like hes more 33 :( Any advice appreciated
 
Could he have some sore spots in his mouth from when his teeth were done? It does sound as if he is uncomfitable in his mouth can you get an equine dentist to have a look? I have had vets in the past that have not really taken the time to fully investigate teeth so perhaps find an EDT or another vet with more experience. Good luck with him, these oldies love to worry us.
 
I agree with getting an EDT to check his mouth, they are more thorough. When my old boy went off his feed, it was due to a gum infection/loose tooth.
 
Some older horses find it hard to pull hay from a net and to chew it, especially if it is course hay. Maybe try her with some hay replacer, Hi-Fi and unmolassed suger beet mix, soaked fibre cubes and fast fibre are all very temting sources of fibre for an older horse. My friends old (wrong side of 35!) boy can't chew hay anymore and lives entirely on hay replacers and looks great.
 
When i had his teeth done 2 weeks ago it was with a EDT, & he was happy with his teeth & just filed down some sharp edges. Hes always been a real foodie & loves eating, its his favourite pastime & has never struggled with his food before, its so unlike him to be like this. Im giving him alfa-a & sugar beet as well, which he is eating, though very slowly, but when he bends down to eat it he sort of does a little dance with his front feet before tucking in, almost as if hes either trying to get comfortable or hes worried its going to hurt. Strange thing is though hes not worried about eating apples or carrots, which he will take straight off me with no hesitation, which then makes me think its not his teeth?
 
My 23 year old mare was like this just after christmas, started to pick at her food and then refused to eat anything, she was grinding her teeth constantly. The vet did blood tests and started her off on antibiotics to be on the safe side, the bloods showed she had raised liver enzymes and low red and white blood cell count. She had no signs of virus infection and no-one else on the yard ill then or since. She was also given multi vitamin injection to stimulate her appetite, she started to eat but stopped again a few days later. She had another 2 vitamin injections 5 days apart, she started to eat again and has gradually improved and the teeth grinding gone. Recent blood tests show that everything back to normal apart from 2 slightly raised liver enzymes but these are going down. Vet still can't put a name to what was wrong with her but she has improved and five weeks on is back in very light work.
 
jinxter said:
My 23 year old mare was like this just after christmas, started to pick at her food and then refused to eat anything, she was grinding her teeth constantly. The vet did blood tests and started her off on antibiotics to be on the safe side, the bloods showed she had raised liver enzymes and low red and white blood cell count. She had no signs of virus infection and no-one else on the yard ill then or since. She was also given multi vitamin injection to stimulate her appetite, she started to eat but stopped again a few days later. She had another 2 vitamin injections 5 days apart, she started to eat again and has gradually improved and the teeth grinding gone. Recent blood tests show that everything back to normal apart from 2 slightly raised liver enzymes but these are going down. Vet still can't put a name to what was wrong with her but she has improved and five weeks on is back in very light work.
Click to expand...

Sounds similar to my boy, will see how he is tomorrow & if hes still not right ill have the vet back out & mention your horse to them, its worth a shot, as the vet is as stumped as me with him.
 
I would suspect a tooth is playing him up, maybe the rasping rattled a nerve.

My pony was not right, went off his feed and then finally lay flat out. Vet came out but we couldn't find anything wrong. Next day, he did eat his feed and was back to himself. I found a rotten tooth in the bucket, complete with fresh rasp marks. His teeth had been done the week before and during the treatment he had done the biggest rear - small wonder, poor boy :eek: He was mid 20s then and it was the start of him losing his teeth :o. He now has no teeth and is much happier :)

Hope your boy picks up soon.
 
Maybe it is the hay as my oldie has sniffed the smell of fresh green Spring grass in the air and has gone well off her hay. However she is as keen as mustard when I take her out to the field to have some grass. (She has also gone off her hard feed). It is a pitty they can't tell us if they have toothache.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top