What could be wrong with him?

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mudmonkey17

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Horse today just not himself, very quiet and when we went for a short hack wasnt really interested and usually he is an idiot :)

He is 18yr old cob that is a good doer in summer but drops weight in winter. He has had quite a bit of time off this summer with lameness but now sound and back in full work. This is hacking and schooling 4-6 times a week.

He is still eating and drinking but lacking his usual sparkle. He has also developed small hard lumps under the skin all over his back. His saddle, teeth etc all been checked in last couple month and all ok. Also seen physio in last few week so don't think is a pain issue.

He is fed veteran vitality, lo cal balancer and topspec lite chaff. Supplements he has equine gold for digestion, suppleaze gold and devils relief for joints.

He also suffers from loose droppings and these seem to have got worse lately despite the supplement. Gets this every winter with haylage and have tried pink powder and haylage balancer with little effect.

Could all this be food related? He is turned out in day and in at night, as days shorted he in more so on more haylage and wondering if this is the culprit?

Any advice or suggestions gratefully appreciated xxxx
 
After you've cleared that there is nothing badly wrong with your vet my next thought would be that it could be the haylage upsetting him. As that is the main thing which has changed from his summer to winter routine. Could you feed him hay as an alternative?
 
Are the lumps like a rash? Do they have heads on them? Is it warm?

Could be he is feeling quite sore with the lumps and with the saddle on he is just much more subdued.

I would get the vet out for bloods and a diagnosis on the lumps.
 
Not sure that this is causing him to be lacklustre, but i'd look seriously at your diet. it looks expensive and possibly over the top:-

veteran vitality - gives energy and vits and mins
lo cal balancer - vit and mins, prebiotics, fibre
chaff - fibre
equine gold - vits and mins
supplease gold - vits and mins
devils relief - vits and mins

Why don't you cut back to just the balancer (maybe get a veteran balancer?), chaff and the deveils relief? that way you aren't overdosing on anything which will probably sort the digestion, and will save yourself a small fortune?
 
Thanks for the replies, will certainly call vet if no better tomorrow. His glands slightly up tonight and was just stood at gate to come in so brought him in early. He eating net and teatime feed.

The lumps are not warm, just hard and he doesn't like them being touched.

Tangocurly thanks for the advice about the feed, will look into it. However i was under the impression the supplements all do different things? Has supplease and devild relief for his joints as gets stiff and the equine gold for digestion. Is there any supplements that do all this?
Feed wise i feed the balancer as dont feed other feed at recommended doses. Veteran vitality helps keep weight on in winter and can alter the amount as needed like sugar beet.

Will contact some feed companies for advice.
 
Hi

If it's the haylage making him sickly, and you rule out nothing else being wrong, it might be worth getting some Brewer's Yeast - it's firmed Blue's poos up tremendously! It assists digestion by enabling the hind gut to function correctly.
x
 
Horse looking a lot perkier today thank goodness. Still has the lumps and more appearing so will get vet to take a look at them.

Also ordered hay for him thanks for all the advice, hopefully can cut out the supplement with this eventually.

Plan to discuss feed with feed company though relucatant to change to much all at once.
 
Has he got any acorns/oak leaves in his field? My old boy used to get a lumpy rash all over him every autumn and we eventually worked out it was probably a reaction to oak leaves in his field. Hope you find out whats wrong with him.
 
Instead of faffing around with every other treament known to man get the VET out for a once over nad probably blood sample
 
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