What could it be stomach troubles!

[oscarwild]

Well around 3 months ago I had the vet investigate my horses digestion problems as he was having recurrent runny poo and drinking vast amount of water (around 120litres a day) and hardly peeing. Dropped a little weight and wasnt eating. And had swollen legs and sheath. Vet diagnosed inflammation in his hind gut and the only thing that controlled it was steroids. So he is on steroids long term and to give a try some aloe vera gel aswell. He has been on these for a month and the last 4 days he has had cow pats again. We have been weaning him to a low level of steroids and we had him down to 15 tablets but upped him to 20 as he was having slightly watery poo. Since then it has gotten worse.

I'm confused about everything now and have to phone my vet tomorrow with a update on how he has been over the weekend with another increase in steroids. He's out 24/7 and he had slightly swollen legs (rear) for last few days.

I'm about at the point of asking for the vet to refer him for a investigation operation to find out the exact point of inflammation etc to see if we can get a better diagnoisis.
Anyone got any ideas what it could be or what would be the best thing to do?

Have no idea if this is connected so you guys may be able to help me out. But I take him inside every day to have his tablets and so we can monitor what he's passing and then put back out in the field. But for a horse that doesnt like to be inside I'm having a tough time to get him to go back into the field. He plants on the anchors in the stable and the whole way to the field. Could it be because he's feeling under the weather and wants to stay inside or could it be something else.

Thanks guys x

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Difficult one. Have you tried feeding live yoghurt or codeine or a reputable supplement like pink powder? If he's got permanent diarhhoea then he will need to drink a lot because of the amount of water he's losing with his stools. Strange though that he's got a degree of oedema in his legs and sheath. That could be a symptom of heart problems. How old is he? Does he ever appear unusually breathless on only minor exertion? Could he have just got into a habit of drinking too much as the result of stress? I wondered about stress when you say he appears reluctant to go back out to his field. If you've had awful weather and he's run down and his heart isn't working properly, then he could be cold and unhappy in the field. There's also the possibility that the source of all his problems is something in his field! Has he had any recent changes to his management/lifestyle? Has a different horse/s been put into his field and he's getting bullied or kept away from good grazing? Is he losing weight? Is he on his own, which might cause reluctance to go out, especially if he's run down? Is the grass ok in his field, ie very lush or very wet boggy land (could also cause reluctance) or full of a particular weed? You need to analyse every aspect of his life very carefully. You could certainly try keeping him in, though depending on the reason for his swollen legs and sheath that might need careful monitoring. If all else fails, I'd definitely ask for a referral to a specialist centre to get this sorted out before it gets worse as it's possible he has a serious hind gut problem.

 

[oscarwild]

Thanks box_of _frogs. Yeah he's been given probiotics and yoghurt non of which has made any difference to be honest. He was given codeine when it first kicked off but after a bout of colic vet has been wary of giving him anymore. He's 7 years old and hasnt shown any signs of breathlessness on light exertion. Yeah the vet and I have wondered if its something that he has eaten that causes the flare ups. But he's been in a few fields and on boxrest and he has skitty poos through them all. So nothing concrete to say anything. Nothing changed in the field still all his friends he out with 4 others. He's normally the boss but last few days has been hanging around slightly more than normal by himself nearer the gate than the others. But he does still integrate with them and graze with them for parts of the day. Ground isnt too wet as we havent had too much rain. He's definitely feeling under the weather because he wants to be inside and has the poorly look about him if you can understand what I mean. The grass in the field is fine. Plenty of it and its not too rich. I'm going to go and have a proper look around the field again tomorrow and see what I can see baring in mind its a 10 acre field I'll have plenty of fun and lots of exercise Vet not keen on keeping him due to the swellings as he's better off outside but I'll see what he has to say tomorrow once I catch him.
I'll monitor him and contact the vet again and see what he says. Think my head is a bit minced with it all to be honest!