HobleytheTB
Well-Known Member
To start at the beginning, and sorry if this an incoherent ramble...!
Around 3 or so weeks ago a few odd symptoms started. A few times after coming in from being turned out over night, I noticed my horse looked tense in her flank areas on both sides. I noticed this maybe 3 days first thing, and just chalked it up to being a bit cold. Maybe relevant, maybe not. Not seen since.
Then, the loose, green poos! This I assumed was from all the rain on the fields. Poos are now a normal colour, but still looser than I'd like. Certainly not diarrhoea, and no water running down her back legs. They are ranging from cowpat-esque to on the loose end of normal. I'm not getting the pile of nuggets I had before, basically.
And what's concerned me the most...
She has been slightly touchy on the right flank. Not a massive reaction, mostly either lifting her hind leg, or turned around with her ears back when touched or brushed. Fine on the left flank. She's not a massive fan of having the inside of her hind legs sponged off after riding (and never has been - fair enough!), but the reaction is now more an angry tail swish than just moving away.
I've started her on Protexin gut balancer, which has helped a bit with the poo consistency, and she is now fine with the flank being brushed, but still tail swishing when belly below is brushed. But legs remaining on the ground! More mild irritation than surprised pain.
The last few hacks she's done on her own have been excessively silly and spooky. Quite tanky in trot and horrible tense, head in air canter transitions. She is always a sharp, spooky ride, especially on her own, but this has been up a notch. So nothing totally out of character, i just wonder if it's due to discomfort. In company she is her normal self. I don't know if this is related or not. She has also slightly raised her back for 10 seconds or so when mounted - but the saddle is due a check now so I wonder if that's a red herring.
Does this sound like some sort of hindgut discomfort? We've not had the best summer, in that she had two multi day horsepital trips, one involving a GA, and two separate stints of box rest and return to grass. I'm wondering if her gut has just taken a bit of a battering in terms of stress etc, but would you expect to see symptoms sooner than a few months after? Could this be the early signs of hindgut ulcers, or mild acidosis? The symptoms seem so minor compared to some horses, but I don't want to ignore something now which might turn into a bigger issue down the line.
Maybe relevant - I took her off Pro Hoof around a month ago as she wasn't finishing her feeds with it anymore. I notice that this contains Yea Sacc. I've just received Pro Balance, which contains Vistacell, which I assume is somewhat similar?
She appears sound, tracks up equally on both hinds, walks straight and relaxed downhill etc. She is slightly resistant to carrot stretch to the right - but can stretch just as far as the left. It's more than on the left she's often there before I'm ready with the carrot, on the right it seems to take her a second. Routine physio appointment around 6 weeks ago noted a few minor tight spots (one around right flank area), but nothing significant.
I'm wondering whether to just continue with the gut balancer and see what the addition of the Vistacell does, or think about something like Acid Ease/ Equishure/ Yea Sacc etc?
Any thoughts? Does this all feed into a hind gut issue, or something else entirely?
Around 3 or so weeks ago a few odd symptoms started. A few times after coming in from being turned out over night, I noticed my horse looked tense in her flank areas on both sides. I noticed this maybe 3 days first thing, and just chalked it up to being a bit cold. Maybe relevant, maybe not. Not seen since.
Then, the loose, green poos! This I assumed was from all the rain on the fields. Poos are now a normal colour, but still looser than I'd like. Certainly not diarrhoea, and no water running down her back legs. They are ranging from cowpat-esque to on the loose end of normal. I'm not getting the pile of nuggets I had before, basically.
And what's concerned me the most...
She has been slightly touchy on the right flank. Not a massive reaction, mostly either lifting her hind leg, or turned around with her ears back when touched or brushed. Fine on the left flank. She's not a massive fan of having the inside of her hind legs sponged off after riding (and never has been - fair enough!), but the reaction is now more an angry tail swish than just moving away.
I've started her on Protexin gut balancer, which has helped a bit with the poo consistency, and she is now fine with the flank being brushed, but still tail swishing when belly below is brushed. But legs remaining on the ground! More mild irritation than surprised pain.
The last few hacks she's done on her own have been excessively silly and spooky. Quite tanky in trot and horrible tense, head in air canter transitions. She is always a sharp, spooky ride, especially on her own, but this has been up a notch. So nothing totally out of character, i just wonder if it's due to discomfort. In company she is her normal self. I don't know if this is related or not. She has also slightly raised her back for 10 seconds or so when mounted - but the saddle is due a check now so I wonder if that's a red herring.
Does this sound like some sort of hindgut discomfort? We've not had the best summer, in that she had two multi day horsepital trips, one involving a GA, and two separate stints of box rest and return to grass. I'm wondering if her gut has just taken a bit of a battering in terms of stress etc, but would you expect to see symptoms sooner than a few months after? Could this be the early signs of hindgut ulcers, or mild acidosis? The symptoms seem so minor compared to some horses, but I don't want to ignore something now which might turn into a bigger issue down the line.
Maybe relevant - I took her off Pro Hoof around a month ago as she wasn't finishing her feeds with it anymore. I notice that this contains Yea Sacc. I've just received Pro Balance, which contains Vistacell, which I assume is somewhat similar?
She appears sound, tracks up equally on both hinds, walks straight and relaxed downhill etc. She is slightly resistant to carrot stretch to the right - but can stretch just as far as the left. It's more than on the left she's often there before I'm ready with the carrot, on the right it seems to take her a second. Routine physio appointment around 6 weeks ago noted a few minor tight spots (one around right flank area), but nothing significant.
I'm wondering whether to just continue with the gut balancer and see what the addition of the Vistacell does, or think about something like Acid Ease/ Equishure/ Yea Sacc etc?
Any thoughts? Does this all feed into a hind gut issue, or something else entirely?