Urgent please help.

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MeganAbigail

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Hi guys, this afternoon i checked my horse and he was fine he is a 13.3 19month old gypsy cob, very thick winter coat (kept out 24/7 with the option of going in and ut of the stable.) but i went down to feed him at 4:00 and he was soaked from head to toe and shivvering constantly (covered in leafs so clearly been rolling in the wet) (its foggy at the moment) ive dried him off the best i could and made a make shift rug until i can get to a supplier tomorrow morning to get one, im currently feeding him hay and barley straw, should i feed him some kind of hard food such as suga beat and chop to bulk him up, he didnt seem like he was loosing weight but now i have seen him when he is wet i can tell he needs bulking up (this may be reason for him feeling so cold?) what would you guys reccommend me do ?

please get back to me as soon as possible, even if you dont have proffessional help, just tell me what you would do in my situation
(i may sound like i havent got a clue what to do, i have, but this situation has never happend to me before)
many thanks megan.
 
Are you sure he isn't covered in leaves from rolling because he is getting colic pains or something? Has he got access to plenty of fresh water?

A 19 month old cob type (well any 19 month old) should be getting more than just hay or straw at this time of the year IMO. Even if it is just a good mineral and vitamin lick in the field that would help. You don't want to over feed a youngster but at the same time he must get all the nutrients to keep up steady growth. If he is seriously underweight he isnt getting this. Have you had him on a regular worming schedule?

I would go back and check his temperature and respiration and would speak to your vet if you are in any doubt about his welfare.
 
Hi could he have fallen into water ? which would have made him very cold if not sounds a bit odd , could you pop him in the stable with some hay and keep an eye on him .
 
Had he been galloping about, got all sweaty, had a roll then got cold standing about waiting for tea? I would go back up and check on him then observe him for half an hour or so to make sure there is no colic there.

Hope he is OK

Re the feeding
I wouldn't go overboard feeding him as he is a cob type, maybe some alfalfa, high fibre cubes, small amount sugar beet.
 
hi guys, i wouldnt say its colic, hes not trying to roll now, and i havent seen him rollig, it was clear he had been rolling because of the leaves but he hasntt rolled for over 2 hours now... iv put him into the stable to keep himas warm as possible, put some straw down and plenty of hay for hi , and some more water. he has access to fresh water constantly, we live next to the river, bu i doubt hes been ni the river, and managed to get back out. so i cant see hi have faling in any water. it wasnt sweaty, and ive had a good rumage around his belly and hes n bothered about me touching it, he just seems stiff from being cold im gonna go back dwn in acouple of hours to check again. its confused me more that he is shivvering and wet when the 2 donkeys he lives wth are dry an not cold at all, we arent even rugging the donkeys at the min, but im having to rugg a big heavy hairy cobb :s
 
Rebel Without a Claus said:
Had he been galloping about, got all sweaty, had a roll then got cold standing about waiting for tea? I would go back up and check on him then observe him for half an hour or so to make sure there is no colic there.

Hope he is OK

Re the feeding
I wouldn't go overboard feeding him as he is a cob type, maybe some alfalfa, high fibre cubes, small amount sugar beet.
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he hadnt been running, he was stiff, and cold. not at all sweety, we have alot of trees around the outside of the field, and i think that he much have been laid in them a while...?
 
If you have straw available I would put that under his makeshift rug, think thatched roof. That will warm him up.

If you are sure he is not colicing give him lots of hay and take his temperature.

Give water with the chill taken off with hot water if you can.

Tomorrow have a good feel of him, ignore the thickness of his coat and then look into extra feed if he needs it. Maybe come back on here for advice?
 
Janah said:
If you have straw available I would put that under his makeshift rug, think thatched roof. That will warm him up.

If you are sure he is not colicing give him lots of hay and take his temperature.

Give water with the chill taken off with hot water if you can.

Tomorrow have a good feel of him, ignore the thickness of his coat and then look into extra feed if he needs it. Maybe come back on here for advice?
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hopefully he's warming up a bit, it wasnt cold inthe stable my hands werent that cold in there aftter an hour and i didnt have glovess on nor were i wrapped up, hopefully when i go backd down soon he wil be a bit better, ill keep you all updated.

thankyou guys.

hes not bothered about me neer his belly, hes not pawing the ground, not rolling, so i wouldnt say he was collicing would you?
 
Well hopefully he isnt - but when you go back if you have any doubt, please, please contact your vet. Unfortunately non of us can see him so any opinion is just that - an internet opinion.

I really hope he is fine and that he had just got a bit cold and needs a bit more food in his tummy to keep him warm. It does seem odd he was soaking wet though and the others aren't? Don't underestimate what a bold youngster can get up to....it is quite possible he went paddling and got himself in deep water, literally, but managed to clamber out before you arrived.:)
 
I would cut out the straw and just feed hay. There is no feed value in straw which is why it is good to feed to good doers, fills them up but doesn't put on weight. Your boy is still growing so needs plenty of good quality fibre (hay) to keep the weight on whilst he matures

If he is turned out with donkeys, make sure he is wormed for lungworm which donkeys carry. Have a word with your vet for an appropriate wormer.
 
Aw bless you! You sound like you are doing a great job and care a great deal about your pony.
Plenty of forage - so hay/haylage. Preferably ad lib if you can. If he is dropping off a bit then maybe a turnout rug for the winter just to keep him a bit warmer. Then you know that he isn't using precious calories/energy on keeping himself warm.
Totally agree that you can fill your make shift rug with straw. Really insulating and will soon warm him up.
Also agree - fresh water topped up with warm will encourage him to drink.
Also agree with the worming situation - make sure you are up to date with bashing the little critters.

If you need to provide some hard feed then some high fibre cubes with a tad of speedibeet would be fine.

If you are in any doubt then do seek veterinary advice.

:)
 
Haylage has more sugar. If not perhaps just feed straight hay with a mineral block available.

I bet he did get in the river somehow, and had been rolling to warm up. One of the yearlings I worked with many years ago managed to fall in a swimming pool one night, and was stood there in the morning at the shallow end!

Hope he is ok.
 
Tammytoo said:
I would cut out the straw and just feed hay. There is no feed value in straw which is why it is good to feed to good doers, fills them up but doesn't put on weight. Your boy is still growing so needs plenty of good quality fibre (hay) to keep the weight on whilst he matures

If he is turned out with donkeys, make sure he is wormed for lungworm which donkeys carry. Have a word with your vet for an appropriate wormer.
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i dnt purposfully feed him the barley straw, it is mostly for our donkeys are they are little fattys, we have 2 big feeders and put straw and hay in both b frankie doesnt eat the straw so much. ill giv him alot more hay. thankyou
 
Honey08 said:
Haylage has more sugar. If not perhaps just feed straight hay with a mineral block available.

I bet he did get in the river somehow, and had been rolling to warm up. One of the yearlings I worked with many years ago managed to fall in a swimming pool one night, and was stood there in the morning at the shallow end!

Hope he is ok.
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i cant seehim being able to gt in the river, we have a fence and then a hill with trees onthe otherside, h wouldnt be able to get over there unless the fence was broke (which it isnt) orhe would jump it (which he woul deffinately injur himself)... if he did get in the riverhe wouldnt ge out, because of the big slide down into the rive. so i higghly doubt it. it would be vertually imposible.
 
Always Henesy said:
Aw bless you! You sound like you are doing a great job and care a great deal about your pony.
Plenty of forage - so hay/haylage. Preferably ad lib if you can. If he is dropping off a bit then maybe a turnout rug for the winter just to keep him a bit warmer. Then you know that he isn't using precious calories/energy on keeping himself warm.
Totally agree that you can fill your make shift rug with straw. Really insulating and will soon warm him up.
Also agree - fresh water topped up with warm will encourage him to drink.
Also agree with the worming situation - make sure you are up to date with bashing the little critters.

If you need to provide some hard feed then some high fibre cubes with a tad of speedibeet would be fine.

If you are in any doubt then do seek veterinary advice.

:)
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thankyou, its odd seeing him like this, hes normaly an angy little fella with littl manners at dinner time, he hates fuss and doesnt like his head being stroked. but i knew something was wrong and he jus put his head into my belly and nudgedd me, i feel so guilty for him being cold :'( i thought he would be ok with it with his coat, and theres horses round us with less fur and no rugs, its strange how he is so wet :S i need to keep an eye on him, im gonna go get a lightweigh waterproof rugg tomorrow, do you thinkg a lilghweight one will be sufficient ? he is VERY hairy, he hasnt sufered at all with the cold apart from when its wet.... ?
 
Honey08 said:
Haylage has more sugar. If not perhaps just feed straight hay with a mineral block available.

I bet he did get in the river somehow, and had been rolling to warm up. One of the yearlings I worked with many years ago managed to fall in a swimming pool one night, and was stood there in the morning at the shallow end!

Hope he is ok.
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Haylage has less sugar than hay as the fermentation process that goes on inside the wrap uses up sugar.
 
I think I would phone the vet, just to be on the safe side.

It seems strange that he was wet and shivering and the donkeys weren't. Donkeys are far less waterproof than horses.

Could he have been running around earlier and got sweaty and it did not dry as its so cold. My friend got a new horse last month which sweated in the trailer and it took ages for her to dry out as she had a very thick coat.

I wouldn't rug in a lightweight, it might make him colder. It will keep the wet off but stop his coat fluffing up to keep him warm. Personally I would want at least a mediumweight.
 
I agree it seems odd that he's wet but the donkeys aren't. You say he's not sweaty, but what do you think he's wet from then? Has it rained and he's got wet, or do you think he can have got that wet from rolling, or could it be sweat but just not frothy sweat? And if it is sweat, then why.

I don't think you've said whether he's eating normally at the moment. That's going to be important. Is he interested in food as he normally would be? If not, then alarm bells start ringing.

You said he was less grumpy than normal and put his head in your hands. Would you say he was depressed (head low, and looking kind of flat emotionally). If so, then I'd call the vet.

It'd be REALLY helpful to take his temperature and pulse, and also to just observe whether his breathing is normal or any different to normal. Temperature and pulse will give you an excellent idea of whether he's in a lot of discomfort and hiding it well, and will also give your vet an idea of how much of an emergency (or not) it might be.

Is there anything else different about the way he's standing or moving at all?

You know your pony better than anyone else to know whether he is "just" wet, or whether that's a sign of him being unwell, but the more objective you can be in describing how he is, the more that'll help a vet decide whether or not he needs a visit.

Sounds a good idea to have stabled him, though, and hopefully with plenty of water to drink as well as the hay that you mentioned. At least you'll know if he gets wetter that it has to be sweat. Also, you'll be able to check how many poos he's doing to get an idea whether there's anything odd going on that way.

Hope he's right as rain.

Sarah
 
I personally think you should be calling your vet for advice!! My horse was very quiet one particular morning and I immediately knew there was something wrong as he was normally quite a bolshy chap. I called the vet and my yard owner and another livery told me I was completely over reacting as he looked fine to them and was probably a little tired, they suggested that maybe he'd not had much sleep that night!! WTF?

Luckily for my horse I ignored the cretins and called the vet......he had peritonitis and was in intensive care at Liphook Equine Hospital for 10 days!!

I admit he didn't really look unwell just quiet and depressed and at NO time did he display colic symptoms for another 24 hours (by which time he was at Liphook)

It won't cost you anything to call the vet for a chat and I really think you would be foolish to take advice on a forum instead of calling the vet.

By all means ask away for advice and how other people dealt with certain conditions once you know what you're dealing with.

If I had listened to the people at my yard (who were stood looking at my horse) he would have died.

Sorry to be blunt but you sound a very caring and worried owner but your vet really is the best person to be speaking to as none of us can see your horse
 
Given his breed, age and time of year I'd be calling the vet ASAP. You have described many of the signs of a classic cyathosome infestation. He needs worming for encrusted reform ASAP. If start with Panacur equine guard, dex if necessary and follow up with equest in 2 wks. You need veterinary assistance pronto.
 
glenruby said:
Given his breed, age and time of year I'd be calling the vet ASAP. You have described many of the signs of a classic cyathosome infestation. He needs worming for encrusted reform ASAP. If start with Panacur equine guard, dex if necessary and follow up with equest in 2 wks. You need veterinary assistance pronto.
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Spot on Glenruby, OP please take our advice and call your vet immediately. It could be VERY serious and your vet can advise you and help youx
 
hi, i wen back own to check on him aroun 11 o cock and he was layed flat out on the floor, i immediately phoned the vet and she has done all the tests fo colic, but she has a fear its much worse - his bladder was full, and it was mostly blood that came out of his kidneys so she is suggesting he has a kidney/liver infection if not both. she also mentioned something called "atypical myopathy" (im not sure on spelling) either way she said it is looking very fatal, and i wll haveresult around 11:00 am. he is in a very bad way and i feel so useless that i cant help, im going down every other hor to check on him :'( thankyou guys so much for advice, its the worst thing when you havent been through something before and its such a bad situation.

i have my fingers, toes, arms legs and everythig else crossed, please pray for my baby tonight, ill keep you all updated, thankyou again for all of your help.

meg x
 
MeganAbigail said:
so ive jst had a quick read up on the "atipical myopathy"
extremely rare but he has almost every symptom on ther, ist new in the k so you guys might wanna take a look?

http://www.avshayle.co.uk/EAM.html
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Megan, are you from Cornwall and do you use those vets? If you do, you and your horse are in excellent hands, so sorry to hear ned is so poorly x there are a couple of users on here who have lost horses to AM x may be good to chat with them, although I can say its going to be pretty fast and fatal if it is AM, so brace yourself, you are going to be in for a nasty heartbreaking ride x the vets at AVS are fantastic if its them you are using, you can absolutely trust them with your horse x

Feel free to pm me if you need to and (((hugs)))
 
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