Pony ill - urgent ideas?

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MagicMelon

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I am awaiting the vet as we speak but I like to have some things to suggest as sometimes vets don't seem to know... Pony is 28yrs old, he has cushings (but controlled very well with prescend for the past 5 years or so now) and although he is footy on hard ground, he is generally bright and perfectly happy. He went off his feed a couple of days ago, although this isn't abnormal as he always does this with hard feed (eats it for about a month, then decides he wants a new feed to try) but he also seemed to be picking only little bits of hay and spending a lot of time just standing about in the field and not grazing as much as usual. I thought perhaps his teeth so was going to call the dentist today. However last night I came home from a show to find him lying down in the middle of the field which is odd for him, I got him up and walked him up to the stable - he seemed very stiff behind on both hind legs but the right one more so - almost picking it up and placing it down purposefully. Put him in the stable, he was happy for me to pick out all his feet so is weight bearing on all. I took him out for a walk down the road as this always cheers him up - he was quite brisk in his walk and almost sound, perked right up and was trying to lunge for grass along the way. So I put him back in the stable for the night where he just stood about but was vaguely picking at hay so I left him to it. This morning, he was lying down in the stable again which he never does. So I've put him out on the grass again to pick at grass (as I'm worried he'll get colic from not eating enough, although I'm worried it could BE colic!), he is picking but keeps lying down and getting up again. With one hind he is vaguely picking up and putting it down oddly but to me it doesn't look like bog standard lameness - he looks sore through his body like his whole hind end is stiff or it is colic (although not kicking at his tummy or looking at it, not sweating but not pooing much...).

Any urgent suggestions would be helpful just to suggest to the vet if she's unsure (I've been reading up on symptoms for atypical myopathy (but I cut down the only tree of that we had months ago), colic and grass sickness. I imagine she'll be taking bloods etc. so it may not be an immediate diagnosis. Sitting here in tears I must admit as he was my very first pony, I've him 23 years and I know I can't put him through much at his age.
 
No ideas i'm afraid but please bear in mind his age and his other health problems before deciding on too much. Its a rubbish situation, good luck.
 
Sounds remarkably like my old girl (also had low level Cushings but wasn't treated for it at the time). She looked very bad as though she had back trouble and it seemed worse in her back legs. She was lying down alot too. The ABCESS blew out of a front hoof. It was the only one she ever had.
 
Any update, there seems nothing you can do at the moment.
It could be any number of things, including liver, the vet will probably treat as for colic and that will at least relieve pain.
Please stay calm.
 
Thanks guys, vets been. Has ruled out acute colic but believes he is colicky due to lack of food. She's advised letting him graze good grass for 15 mins twice today just to get something in him (and hopefully not risk lami attack), veg oil which I'm about to give him once his sedation wears off and I'm going out in a minute to buy him pro/prebiotics (although will have to syringe into him) and chaff of some kind just to get him to eat something. He was picking at grass this morning but obviously not enough. She's taken bloods to check his liver function and if we need to amend his prescend dosage. I'm also getting a denstist out urgently today to rule out his teeth causing an issue, she says he needs done (he was done about 18 months ago, I should had him done sooner than that but he's always hell to rasp and doesn't react very well to sedation) as this could be why he doesn't want to eat as much but quite why suddenly he stops eating a couple of days ago I don't understand, before that he was absolutely fine. Will see how he gets on next 24 hours I guess.
 
Well, he seemed to be eating well for a while, I guess the pain killer helped but he's now back to lying down again and refusing to eat anything despite me giving him 2 big buckets full of two different types of nice chaff to tempt him, have also tried soaked nuts to no avail. He's actually out in my (big) back garden at the moment to try to encourage him to eat some lush grass even. Have syringed probiotics into him a minute ago. Vet suggested veg oil but he wont touch it. Cant even get his prescend pill into him hidden in an apple. Don't know what else to try guys :( :( :( He's drinking fine. I can't get hold of ANY dentist right now despite leaving frantic voicemails and texts, about to call my vet back and see if she knows of any other vets who possibly know how to rasp...
 
At the age of 28 you horse probably has very short clinical crowns on her teeth so I would be very surprised if rasping teeth is to be advised as all you will do is remove more tooth substance and make it more difficult for your horse to chew it's feed. At that age most horses can no longer chew hard feed properly so you may be better off giving well soaked feed. Best of luck.
 
Oh dear, no ideas other than AM, colic or lami. I'm afraid. Can your vet not rasp? Try syringing the veggie oil into his mouth. Are his gums a healthy pink colour?
 
OWLIE185 said:
At the age of 28 you horse probably has very short clinical crowns on her teeth so I would be very surprised if rasping teeth is to be advised as all you will do is remove more tooth substance and make it more difficult for your horse to chew it's feed. At that age most horses can no longer chew hard feed properly so you may be better off giving well soaked feed. Best of luck.
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This too. Our 36 yr can no longer chew much food, especially hard food, so has it all soaked in a mushy consistency.
 
I am shocked that the vet did not do a basic rasp while he was sedated even if it was only to take off any sharp points it would have been easy enough and done no harm.
I would get the vet back anyway, you cannot force feed him, he may well need a bit more pain relief, they should have the basic blood results by now so something may show up that requires action, otherwise the fact he is drinking is very positive, keep offering him tasty things or keep him out on the nice grass and hope that he picks up, sadly it may be that he has something going on inside due to his age and you may have to start preparing yourself to make a decision before he really goes downhill, fingers crossed you can get him through this, will be hoping for a more positive update later.
 
I am surprised that he is drinking fine, not that he is, but that he is drinking so much/so often that you are not worried, is he actually consuming more than you would consider normal drinking?
I would try to add some molassed sugar beet nuts to his water and offer that as a sort of slurpy drink, in order to get something down him.
Other things are all sugary, apple juice, grated apple, grated carrot, all in a wet mush. Mint.
If he suddenly deteriorates, I think it is the end of the road, sorry, but you need to be stoic, do the best you can, as I am sure you are doing, good luck and hugs.
 
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Did the vet check for loose/infected molars? That is the age at which they begin to run out of root, as Owlie says, and once they get wobbly they do get infected. My old girl came with a couple like that (I took her in when her owner died) and she has gradually lost more and more as the years have gone on. Infected teeth are very painful, but you might need the vet to sedate to remove any such.
 
any news Op. hope the vet has been back out, I would have expected a vet to get in the horses mouth to check things out whilst the horse was sedated, sedation slows the gut and is avoided where possible during suspected colics or when horses are not eating.

hope it is good news
 
My friend had a 28 year old cushings horse who had very similar symptoms, acute lameness in one hind leg and lying down a lot. He was taken to the vet hospital for investigations, but they sadly never found out what was wrong but suspected it was related to his cushings. The decision was made to euthanise as she felt further invasive tests wouldn't be beneficial for him.

I hope your pony has a better outcome, perhaps some soaked sugar beet or fast fibre would help him to eat?
 
Have you tried feeding some wet speedibeet Mixed with a little chop of some sort my friends Shetland lived for years on alfalfa mixed with speedibeet .I hope you can sort him out .
 
Yeah, I've tried soaked nuts and also soaking his chaff but he's never liked soaked/wet feed for some reason :(

Just called vet, she said she can come back and rasp if need be (didn't say she could do it at the time though!) but that although she thinks his teeth need looked at, she doesnt believe it to be the main cause. But I think the colic is being caused by him not eating so surely if we make his teeth better then he'll eat and the colic will stop?? But she said she felt his teeth weren't bad enough to affect him this badly... but I do want a dentist out as obviously they know more about teeth than vets do.

I thought about syringing the oil into him, but he went nuts just trying to get the probiotic in this way - he is an absolute ****** with syringes (worming has always been hell). I'm keen not to stress him out anymore hence I'm putting off doing that just now. Vet saying not to worry too much that he's stopped eating again, that the painkiller will keep acting for 10 hours or so, so she thinks he might pick up again in a few hours.
 
call a different vet, a vet who is not worried that a horse has stopped eating again when they suspected low grade colic when they saw the horse earlier in the day is not a good vet
 
I tend to think that he should be left for a bit rather than trying to do any dental work today. Would an antibiotic be worth trying today, not sure if it can be injected in to the dental area as I am out of my experience zone here, puting something in to the gut is going to make a colic worse by killing off gut flora.
 
twiggy2 said:
call a different vet, a vet who is not worried that a horse has stopped eating again when they suspected low grade colic when they saw the horse earlier in the day is not a good vet
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I rather gulped at that I have to say, but I am not a vet. I have called a vet for impaction colics and they said, horse will be fine in two hours, but that was very definate diagnoses and not a general colic situation as you have.
 
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MagicMelon said:
Yeah, I've tried soaked nuts and also soaking his chaff but he's never liked soaked/wet feed for some reason :(

Just called vet, she said she can come back and rasp if need be (didn't say she could do it at the time though!) but that although she thinks his teeth need looked at, she doesnt believe it to be the main cause. But I think the colic is being caused by him not eating so surely if we make his teeth better then he'll eat and the colic will stop?? But she said she felt his teeth weren't bad enough to affect him this badly... but I do want a dentist out as obviously they know more about teeth than vets do.

I thought about syringing the oil into him, but he went nuts just trying to get the probiotic in this way - he is an absolute ****** with syringes (worming has always been hell). I'm keen not to stress him out anymore hence I'm putting off doing that just now. Vet saying not to worry too much that he's stopped eating again, that the painkiller will keep acting for 10 hours or so, so she thinks he might pick up again in a few hours.
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any of these might help??>>http://horse-care-and-advice.weebly.com/veterinary.html

when my donkey would not her prascend when she first started on it I used a handful of fibergy and she thought it a treat and ate it till her stomach stopped moving food through.


try mashed up herbal treats just a few like a treat
 
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twiggy2 said:
Really a vet thinks a horse is colicky due to lack of food and the horse briefly picks up with pain relief but then goes back downhill and stops eating again, in this situation I would expect a vet to attend again no question.
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I think she sounds rather casual about it to say the least, doing the teeth today would not have been ideal but the opportunity was there and you have little chance of getting a dentist, if he requires sedating to rasp then you do not want to be sedating any more than essential to keep him comfy, has she run the bloods yet?
 
related to eating - you said he won't eat food soft but have you tried a mash inside a hollowed out crusty bread roll?

may seem odd, but saw the idea years ago as a way of giving a picky horse medicine as the bread is a treat too them and the mash is tasty. Not the healthiest.

big hugs for you OP, hope it all works out ok and you can figure out what is best for your boy and get to the bottom of this.
 
Bonkers2 said:
I rather gulped at that I have to say, but I am not a vet. I have called a vet for impaction colics and they said, horse will be fine in two hours, but that was very definate diagnoses and not a general colic situation as you have.
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Wow my donkey would not eat she was diagnosed with compaction colic 6 weeks ago and was rushed to RVC, and despite numerous attempts to clear the impaction including administrating fluid into the mass, and stomach drains, it filled up again when allowed to eat a little so much that the camera could not go in so had no choice but to call it a day.

If I had left her, her stomach would have ruptured :(

They need to be more interested in finding out the cause, and not use their delay tactics.
 
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Did she do a rectal exam to check for impaction, torsion? They can both cause acute pain, and the pain relief might have made the situation worse if he ate more food which backed up from any obstruction - but both really need invasive treatment. I would be asking for another vet TBH
 
Bonkers2 said:
I am surprised that he is drinking fine, not that he is, but that he is drinking so much/so often that you are not worried, is he actually consuming more than you would consider normal drinking?
I would try to add some molassed sugar beet nuts to his water and offer that as a sort of slurpy drink, in order to get something down him.
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Thanks, will do. I dont think he's drinking excessively - just normal for what is a warm day I'd say. I've had to bring him in as the flies as just horrendous and wont give him any piece despite dousing him with fly spray. He's lying down again in the stable. Vet told me to call again this afternoon so I think I'll get her (or one of the others) to come back out shortly - thing is I generally trust this vet as she's the horsey one at the practice and I've had her for years - she dealt with this pony since I got him 23 years ago and has vast experience with all horses in my area... she's seen as a good vet, not just some random small-animal type vet.

I didnt realise that sedation slowed the gut, she gave him very minimal sedation earlier she said for his rectal. Probably couldn't get his teeth done then as he would definately require sedation for that, to be honest I'd hate to stress him out anymore too (but if it IS his teeth then it'd be worth doing...).
 
How about fibrebeet? One of ours went off his food entirely a few months ago, we got very worried, fibrebeet was the only thing he'd eat (turned out to be fractured molar, but he seemed well in all regards, bright and energetic, moving freely, just not eating). You can make it relatively dry or very sloppy according to horse's taste.
 
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