VERY VERY VERY wet gelding

[Pinkvboots]

Definitely remove the salt lick and put salt in his feed soaked hay can reduce the intake of water as well, I would give him a really thick shavings bed of 6 or 7 bales to start with and use wood pellets underneath, muck out and replace wood pellets everyday thin beds on mats just won't work you will end up replacing the whole bed everyday.

 

[zaminda]

I used miscanthus for a mare previously getting one bale of shavings a day, we went down to three a fortnight! I would also take the salt luck out, greedy ones will eat it, and then drink and per excessively. I think regular Cushing's tests may be an idea too, I've seen so many younger horses diagnosed recently.

 

[Annagain]

You seem to have started two threads. I commented on the other one so have pasted it here as there seems to be more traffic on it.

I'd try wood pellets. My old man is very wet and a mixture of unsoaked pellets underneath and soaked on top works very well for him. The soaked on top holds it in place long enough for the unsoaked to do its work, without the soaked, the wee just runs away and under the rubber matting. You'd be amazed how much it will soak up and it seems to eliminate the smell too. I dig out the wet every day and replace with unsoaked pellets. I only get through a bag and a half a week / two if it's particularly bad so that's about £8-9 a week. The only horses I've found they don't work well for are those who are both wet and stable walk as it just turns to mush so as long as he's relatively calm in there, pellets should work.

 

[AandK]

I would remove the salt lick and add salt to his feed, especially as you say he goes through it fast. I'd also try adding pellets to the bed, as they are very absorbent.

 

[Leafcutter]

We had one the same, had every test imaginable, all normal. The vet put it down to boredom/stress. Apparently box flooding, as he called it, is quite common and the only way to cure it is to relieve the stress of being stabled. He told us we could restrict the water to a normal level, but only when we had other measures in place so the horse could relieve his boredom in other ways. Ad lib forage of various types, stable toys and moving him to a bigger box with a better outlook seemed to help. This was a horse who never really looked stressed about being in, a chilled type really, so we had never considered it could be that.

 

[paddy555]

The drive for salt is worthing speaking to a vet about. The body craves salt for a reason, as I found out when I had chemotherapy. I was eating salt from a teaspoon and nothing would have stopped me.

A horse eating salt rapidly and drinking that much water, for me, would warrant investigating again.

does he have a drive for salt or is it simply a case of a very bored young horse with nothing to do all night or to play with?

To test the latter try removing the salt, put it in his feed, and give him something to do. Haynet of straw, swedes hung on a rope, something like a lickit but more healthy. Anything to take his mind off the salt. If the water slows down there is the answer and you can build on the toys. If not I would press the vet for an answer.

ETA, sorry leafcutter, didn't see your post. Exactly as you suggested.

 

[The Jokers Girl]

Is it possible the horse has an electrolyte imbalance, which he is trying to correct by eating the salt and drinking large amounts of water. Does the owner ride him quite hard so he gets hot and sweaty, or is he over rugged so he is getting too hot, or sweating. Changing the bed is not going to treat the cause of this ponies excessive salt and water intake so as the yard owner you must insist to this livery she gets the vet and jncludes you in discussions, shows you test results etc. As a yard owner and having the horse on your property you are equally liable and responsible for meeting its welfare needs

 

[oldie48]

Cob on diet will eat anything so I guess he's scoffing the salt lick partly out of boredom, then he needs to drink lots. I'd get rid of the lick, put salt in his food and leave him a big trug of zero chop to nibble at. Give him a week and I bet he's not drinking and weeing such a lot. However, he may have got into the habit of drinking lots, so I'd be inclined to reduce the amount of water after a week, just to see how he goes.

 

[spotty_pony]

I own the king of wet geldings ? again, he has had all the tests and he is fine - just very wet and has been for the whole 15 years I've owned him. I've tried everything over the years but what seems to work best is wood or straw pellets under a straw bed. Means I use less straw and he has a proper base to his bed. I add 1-2 bags of pellets per week and mostly just skip out and take out the wet once the pellets are completely sodden.

 

[Frumpoon]

Water buckets are definitely not leaking?

I found mine were on several occasions because grooms were dragging to empty and refill and holes wore through the rubber

The smell of the excessive water and ordinary urine plus bedding was quite astonishing

 

[ForeverBroke_]

Mine was like this at 5. He was also horrendous in his stable. Went down to the vets for similar tests and was basically diagnosed with a ( insert posh name that escapes my memory....polysydic something ) condition that means when stabled he drinks because he is bored. He also went through about 17 hunter shavings one month on a very very deep bed. I spent about a month putting EVERYTHING in his stable that I possibly could - haynet of haylage, hay, soaked hay, a nut ball, munch-nets etc etc and thankfully he stopped. Now has one shavings a week and is 'normal.'

 

[Chinchilla]

Mine was like this at 5. He was also horrendous in his stable. Went down to the vets for similar tests and was basically diagnosed with a ( insert posh name that escapes my memory....polysydic something ) condition that means when stabled he drinks because he is bored. He also went through about 17 hunter shavings one month on a very very deep bed. I spent about a month putting EVERYTHING in his stable that I possibly could - haynet of haylage, hay, soaked hay, a nut ball, munch-nets etc etc and thankfully he stopped. Now has one shavings a week and is 'normal.'

psychogenic polydipsia isn't it called? Glad you got to the bottom of it with your boy, anyway

 

[ForeverBroke_]

psychogenic polydipsia isn't it called? Glad you got to the bottom of it with your boy, anyway

YES! Thats it! Haha, saved me a day of scratching my head trying to remember!

 

[TheChestnutThing]

How much bedding do you have on the mats? Do you take the lot out daily and put one bale of shavings back in?

I was doing this but it was such a waste and owner won't pay for extra bales.

So he now just gets 1/4 of a bale a day since this week. And 90 percent of it is thrown out daily.

 

[TheChestnutThing]

The drive for salt is worthing speaking to a vet about. The body craves salt for a reason, as I found out when I had chemotherapy. I was eating salt from a teaspoon and nothing would have stopped me.

A horse eating salt rapidly and drinking that much water, for me, would warrant investigating again.

Have noted this to owner. Thank you.

 

[AmyMay]

I was doing this but it was such a waste and owner won't pay for extra bales.

So he now just gets 1/4 of a bale a day since this week. And 90 percent of it is thrown out daily.

So essentially just a sprinkle on top of wet bedding or on the mats?

 

[TheChestnutThing]

And here lies your problem. Take the salt lick out. If owner is concerned with salt intake, add it to the bucket feed. He’ll continue to flood the bed if he’s constantly drinking to balance licking a salt lick... ponies like that tend to find the salt lick a method of entertainment or if they’re the greedy ones they’ll keep at it all night purely to eat at something.

I spoke to owner and she won't take it out.

Said she has done it before and it make no difference apparently.

 

[TheChestnutThing]

So essentially just a sprinkle on top of wet bedding or on the mats?

On the mats.

All wet is taken out.

 

[AmyMay]

Is this horse on full livery OP?

 

[PurBee]

If he’s bored in the stable it is possible to give him yard space to wander around in with stable door open?...to relieve his boredom if its that, or confinement anxiety, if its that?

 

[TheChestnutThing]

I would want a TRH Stim test for PPID, if he hasn't had one very recently. I would remove the salt lick and definitely wouldn't remove the water. The pony might be better with a proper big bed onto the mats, with wood pellets or similar as a base to soak up the wet. I have to say that one bag of shavings per week doesn't sound like much to me.

We offer as a livery yard one bale a week which is normal in our area. This is on

Is this horse on full livery OP?

He is. But owner pays cost as she is our weekend groom.

 

[TheChestnutThing]

If he’s bored in the stable it is possible to give him yard space to wander around in with stable door open?...to relieve his boredom if its that, or confinement anxiety, if its that?

Unfortunately not possible.

This is actually a horse that needs to live out which we cannot offer in winter.

 

[TheChestnutThing]

Water buckets are definitely not leaking?

I found mine were on several occasions because grooms were dragging to empty and refill and holes wore through the rubber

The smell of the excessive water and ordinary urine plus bedding was quite astonishing

Definitely Definitely not leaking. That was the first thing I thought of.

 

[TheChestnutThing]

YES! Thats it! Haha, saved me a day of scratching my head trying to remember!

Have sent owner your post....

 

[AmyMay]

We offer as a livery yard one bale a week which is normal in our area. This is on


He is. But owner pays cost as she is our weekend groom.

I think then I’d be inclined to tell her you are taking the salt lick out for a fortnight then to see if things improve. There’s a problem that you’re trying to solve and it seems that perhaps the owner is being less than accommodating.

 

[TheChestnutThing]

I think then I’d be inclined to tell her you are taking the salt lick out for a fortnight then to see if things improve. There’s a problem that you’re trying to solve and it seems that perhaps the owner is being less than accommodating.

Have sent her the info on psychodelic whatever ( i can't remember and my phone is being less than accommodating) she has agreed that may be the issue and we are taking lick out.

Thank you everyone. Will report back.