galaxy
Well-Known Member
If anyone has any thoughts or experiences I'd really like to hear them right now. I'm feeling very low!
I have a 17yr old NF who I've had 10 yrs. He's grey, and does have quite bad melanomas. He's a bit "special" for a NF pony as he's certinaly never been a good doer, and has always had to go on quite a bit of grass and fed haylage etc to maintain weight. (he eats till he's full and then snores!) But I've always managed to see him just right.
But this winter I just noticed that he'd dropped off. He'd had no change in food. So initially I just put it down to age. Increased his feed a bit, he didn't put any on, but didn't drop off any more. Then in March at a PC ralley (a 12 yr old girl loans him 2 days a week) I noticed he really wasn't firing on all cylinders. He was still jumping everything, but just wasn't flying around with the girl hardly being able to stop as usual! He had been fine the month before.
So we decreased his work, and upped his feed a bit more. I would have had him blood tested but he's very needle phobic and the vet was happy with the way I dealt with it. It was then that I noticed that his poos were getting a bit soft. But I just put it down to the amount of feed.
Then throughout April it got worse. But he actually improved within himself and was back to normal, although hadn't put weight on. So I decided to wait for the spring grass and see what happened. He's 14hh and weigh taped 450kgs He's usually 470kg ish. But the difference in weight was quite visible.
By the end of April the poos were very wet, not piling at all if that makes sense. He was then wormed and it turned into full on projectile water. Yet he was still 100% in himself, eating and drinking normally. Hadn't put weight on, but hadn't lost more. But the vet was called.
Since then, we've worked out a way to inject my very needle phobic pony! We've had to! He's had about 5 blood tests. None have really shown up anything. To those of you who understand these things his PCV Albimum level has been high for a pony of his type consistantly. His latest (Tues) came back with a marked inflammatory response suggesting some kind of inflammatory changes in the gut.
He has a worm count of 0.
At the beginning we tried several different meds to stop it. Codeine eventually worked and the poo went normal. He was then weaned off that onto Steroids. He's on 14 a day. His poo has gone soft again. It's in piles, but not breaking when it hits the ground. He's no different on or off grass. He has been weaned off the steroids to see what would happen, and it got worse, so gone back on them. He's also on Bio Premium (probitoic from vet)
He had a rectal biopsy on Tuesday and I am waiting on the results.
He has put weight back on the last few weeks and looks a lot better. He's still 100% in himself.
Sorry this has turned so long! Probably very boring to read! But if anyone has had a horse with terrible D I'd be really grateful to hear what caused it, and if anyone had one and never really found out I'd liek to hear what you did?
Thanks so much!
I have a 17yr old NF who I've had 10 yrs. He's grey, and does have quite bad melanomas. He's a bit "special" for a NF pony as he's certinaly never been a good doer, and has always had to go on quite a bit of grass and fed haylage etc to maintain weight. (he eats till he's full and then snores!) But I've always managed to see him just right.
But this winter I just noticed that he'd dropped off. He'd had no change in food. So initially I just put it down to age. Increased his feed a bit, he didn't put any on, but didn't drop off any more. Then in March at a PC ralley (a 12 yr old girl loans him 2 days a week) I noticed he really wasn't firing on all cylinders. He was still jumping everything, but just wasn't flying around with the girl hardly being able to stop as usual! He had been fine the month before.
So we decreased his work, and upped his feed a bit more. I would have had him blood tested but he's very needle phobic and the vet was happy with the way I dealt with it. It was then that I noticed that his poos were getting a bit soft. But I just put it down to the amount of feed.
Then throughout April it got worse. But he actually improved within himself and was back to normal, although hadn't put weight on. So I decided to wait for the spring grass and see what happened. He's 14hh and weigh taped 450kgs He's usually 470kg ish. But the difference in weight was quite visible.
By the end of April the poos were very wet, not piling at all if that makes sense. He was then wormed and it turned into full on projectile water. Yet he was still 100% in himself, eating and drinking normally. Hadn't put weight on, but hadn't lost more. But the vet was called.
Since then, we've worked out a way to inject my very needle phobic pony! We've had to! He's had about 5 blood tests. None have really shown up anything. To those of you who understand these things his PCV Albimum level has been high for a pony of his type consistantly. His latest (Tues) came back with a marked inflammatory response suggesting some kind of inflammatory changes in the gut.
He has a worm count of 0.
At the beginning we tried several different meds to stop it. Codeine eventually worked and the poo went normal. He was then weaned off that onto Steroids. He's on 14 a day. His poo has gone soft again. It's in piles, but not breaking when it hits the ground. He's no different on or off grass. He has been weaned off the steroids to see what would happen, and it got worse, so gone back on them. He's also on Bio Premium (probitoic from vet)
He had a rectal biopsy on Tuesday and I am waiting on the results.
He has put weight back on the last few weeks and looks a lot better. He's still 100% in himself.
Sorry this has turned so long! Probably very boring to read! But if anyone has had a horse with terrible D I'd be really grateful to hear what caused it, and if anyone had one and never really found out I'd liek to hear what you did?
Thanks so much!
