Retired horse no appetite struggling to eat

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Worried1

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My lovely old boy was retired in the summer, he is 17 and grey. A bone scan showed changes everywhere and a course of Tildren was followed by retirement.

He previously lived out in the summer and occasionally over the winter but clipped and rugged, it's fair to say he lived on fresh air.

He had a big appetite and never left anything, he has always been wormed and worm counted but I have no history from before he came to us 5 years ago. He. Never had much feed aside from some chaff and a few fibre nuts as he was a naturally good doer and did well on hay.

He has some melanomas visible under his tail.

Initially on being turned out he did well, he was tubby and as winter came he developed a very thick coat. As winter progressed and the grass began to die back, we put round bales of quality hay, there was never any periods of time without hay.

My dad first noticed that he was never really interested in the hay, instead he started stripping the trees of bark, little by little he dropped off to such an extent that I have now brough him in, he is very thin.

He has had his teeth done regularly (every 6 months) since I got him. However. I was so concerned my dentist has been up and said his teeth were not an issue, a little sharp but should not be the reason he is not eating and has lost so much weight.

We have noticed he is rolling hay in his mouth and quidding, dropping large cigar like rolls of hay outside his door. He is fairly bright, a little grumpy but having now been in a week he has not put on any weight. He is struggling to clear a net overnight where as before he inhaled hay! I have tried him on hay.age but to be honest he is even less interested than in the hay.
He is on linseed, calm and condition and Alfa oil which he is eating up eventually.

He struggled to eat apples and carrots.

My thinking is that he needs to be scoped maybe there is not a blockage or something in the oesophagus area.

Am I right that bark contains trace amounts of salycilin? Is he now in moderate pain? From tomorrow I am going to bute trial him to see if being on bute helps him eat better.

Any ideas? He is no longer insured and I want him to have a happy retirement, I realise I have some decisions to make but if anyone has anything else to suggest I'd be grateful for ideas.
 
Teeth - get a dental vet out to check them again. I have a 20yr old horse who like yours has always been a good doer living on hay (he is mostly stabled as he is a stallion). He started to lose a bit of weight December time and was over due to have his teeth done. Had them floated and vet said he might need one out next time. Anyway 4 weeks later he had lost more weight and wasn't eating as much hay as he normally would so vet came back and had another look, he had a fracture in side of one tooth that hadn't been there 4 weeks earlier so last Mon he had that tooth and the other one removed. Also did bloods all of which were normal, he has melanoma's under his tail too.
He did look to be eating hay normally just not eating much.
Another 26yr mare, also good doer, had lost weight, tested for cushings but didnt have it but did have a loose tooth, she wasn't eating much hay at all but again looked to be eating okay with no quidding, eating feed very slowly but okay, had put weight back on with feed. Also had tooth removed last week. At the moment neither she nor the stallion will eat haylage but both eating bit hay and plenty of feed.
2.5yr filly, quidding really badly to the point of not being able to eat hay, just chewing it and dropping it. She had 6 diastema's (gaps between molars) and severe peridontal disease. She has had the diastema's made wider and now eats okay but it took several weeks. She has only just started being able to eat apple and carrot again (kept dropping even small pieces), she had the diastema's made wider end of Oct, two were made wider again end of Jan.
I would get a good dental vet out first, have your horse sedated and look for diastema's - not all dentists/vets will know to look for them. If they are very sore your horse won't like haylage because its more acid than hay, especially if its wet (try pulling wet haylage off a bale when you have a cut on your finger and you will know how it feels - it stings!! so imagine poor horse trying to eat it)
 
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My Connie has had two episodes now where he has lost his appetite and dropped lots of weight. The first was about 18 months ago, 4 months post surgery for removal of a large melanoma, the second episode was in the last 6 weeks. Both times we had his bloods checked and he was fine, he just seemed to lose his appetite and nothing would encourage him to eat. He would play with his feed, pull hay out the net but then just drop it, he was just not interested in food at all. Even in the field he was just standing around, not eating despite being on decent grazing.

Now comes the slightly mad bit...... both times this has happened it has been associated with an emotional issue. The first time he was put back into work after surgery but was just not right, he is on loan to a nervous lady who became a more nervous as he was being a bit piggy to ride, the relationship broke down quite a lot and she wasn't spending "quality time " with him. The recent episode followed her having a rare fall from him and hurting her back and not being around for a couple of weeks. The only reason we can come up with for him not eating, and yes, I realise this sounds mad, is that his "emotional needs" were not being met on either occasion and that was why he stopped eating. He is a physically tough little chap but he really loves attention, fuss and having affection lavished on him and I think when that isn't happening he genuinely gets upset and stops eating!

I realise you are now calling the little men in white coats but could you possibly be seeing a similar response to being retired?
 
Thank you, both.

Next step is the vet so will ask them to send their dental expert.

I think he might be missing being ridden but I honestly thought retirement was the best option.
 
I'd try allen and page fast fibre, it's a complete hay replacer and I use it on an old boy (nearly 40) who struggles to chew hay (it just balls up in his mouth and he spits it out). I add some allen and page veteran vitality to it in order to make it less bland but you could also try apple juice, vitamin b will also help to stimulate appetite if he's lost this.

Red cell/propell etc also good for a bit of an energy boost and i'd definately try the bute. Definately worth getting dentist out and I'd probably get bloods done as this may well answer a lot of questions.

Hope he's soon on the road to recovery.
 
Have them check for diastema. My horse had this for 10 years before a decent vet diagnosed it, and she had been seen by many equine vets and dentists.

Agree fast fibre would be good to see if he manages that.
 
Fast fibre sounds like it might be better than C&C, will gets vets to check him thoroughly. I feel so sad for him I thought he'd relish being lawn mower :(
 
Hi.
Just wanted to say I spoke to an Allen & Page rep a while back and he recommended Calm & Condition for weight gain and Fast Fibre for weight maintenance.
Hope your boy picks up soon x
 
If you can't find a vet who specialises in dentistry in your area I can highly recommend Chris Pearce, my horse was referred to him and was so lucky he was :)

Perhaps have a look at A&P Veteran Vitality its a mash like Fast Fibre but is excellent for putting weight on.
 
For weight on I swear by Saracen's Equi-jewel and their Re-leve. Can feed in small quantities, so good for those struggling or just not so interested in food. I've used it on a variety of horse types and ages, all to good effect :)

For something to tempt, how about Readi-grass?

Sugarbeet seems to go down well with all. Easy to eat. Our older lad used to have it so sloppy he almost drank it! But it went down, so I wasn't bothered about the consistency. Helped to keep weight on him over a tough winter living out.

What level is his feed bowl at? If on the ground, maybe try it on a block or hung off the stable door/fence.

If finances allow I'd opt for: X-rays of neck and back; Bowen Therapist; magnetic pads/rug (I don't care what the science is, my horses are always much more chilled after twenty minutes or so with the pads on, often dozing through the session!); thermal imaging.
 
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Second all the fab advice you've been given so far.
Jane_lous response interests me. My horse was on loan (long term) and they retired him in his 30's as he started to show his age. I was so sad when I saw him about 6 months later that with their consent I brought him home and back into very light work. He picked up no end quickly. In both condition and attitude. Once you've checked everything else I'd certainly try working him again? By work I mean my horse did 30 min hacks mostly at walk several times a week so not anything major. Good luck x
 
Thanks everyone, neck mobility is good but he has a manger in the stable and we have tied his haynet at a similar height.

I'm ringing the vet this morning to have a chat and see where we go from here.

I've upped the calm and condition as he is able to eat this better, interestingly he is managing the Alfa a oil no problem.

He is still off hay and haylage.

I'll keep you all posted.
 
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