Worried sick about Welsh Cob

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fireboxchaser

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I have a 30 yr old Welsh Cob gelding who has always been really well. As the weather has been so bad he has been kept in, only going into a small turnout paddock whilst I do his bed etc in the evening.

The last 4 days he has not eaten his feeds and has hardly touched his haylage, although I make sure it is always fresh.

He also has very loose motions and a filthy tail. Other than this his heart is fine, he has a shiny coat, good pink mucous membranes and a bright look.

I had the vet this morning and they took bloods. I am so wooried because she said that he may have a tumour or something chronic. I am beside myself with worry as I have had him since he was a yearling.

Sorry for the rant but I needed to unburden myself. I dont want to think of life without him.
 
Turn him out - he'll be fine. Let him get some fresh air and some exercise. Ensure he has plenty of hay to eat, and bring him in at night as usual.

I simply can't understand people keeping all these poor animals in because of a bit of snow..........
 
"I simply can't understand people keeping all these poor animals in because of a bit of snow.........."

It's a bit more than a bit of snow...Frozen rock hard ground, Frozen grass covered with ice then 8 inches of snow on top...Not to forget the slippy trek across the yard...I'm keeping my horse in until it thaws.
My friend lost her horse this week due to him braking a leg falling over in the "bit of snow"
I'd rather have a horse as snug as a bug with hay a soft warm bed and clean unfrozen water than digging and skidding about in a field but that's just my thoughts...just thought it may help you to "understand" why people keep their horses in.

If you can get a vet out to your cob then i would, 4 days with runny poop isn't good. Make sure he has plenty of water, maybe offering a sloppy beet which will give him fluids and a feed. His teeth may need checking.
Good Luck.
 
Aww its a really hard winter for oldies, hope he's OK. It could just be the change in routine / diet etc. and the vets just being very thorough. Good luck and all the best to your welshie
 
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I simply can't understand people keeping all these poor animals in because of a bit of snow..........

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Wow, what a welcoming reply to some ones first post
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There's a 24 year old welshie at my yard (my boy is too
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) and shes been suffering a bit the last few days, really stiff and generally not looking herself. She's has extra rugs on and bute for the last few days and seems a lot better.

It must be so hard when they get to that age and the weather starts affecting them.

Hope he perks up soon and that it's nothing more sinister
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take no notice of S.Smiths post- we have huge drifts here and wouldn't dream of turning ours out- good luck with your old boy, get the vet and hope for the best,welcome to the board by the way!!
 
Ypu could try a vit B supplement to increase his appetite (I've used the Equine America one my older boy). If they don'y eat enough grass they can lack in this and it helps to give them an appetite. How about trying some alpha a etc as a fibre replacer if he's not fussed on haylage. Also heard good things about calm and condition mix. Hopefully his droppings are loose because he hasn't been eating properly.
 
Thanks to everyone for their good wishes and helpful advice. I took some hot water down tonight and washed the crap out of his tail to make him more comfortable. Mixed up some warm sugar beet nice and sloppy and carrots/apples, then watched him pick all the good bits out! Still at least he's eating something!

I might try the Vit B supplement Puzzled, and thanks.
 
sending you lots of hugs. What did the vet say? Are you lucky & have a real horse vet?
what is the field like. can he be in the field more like normal? praps hes fed up being in the stable?
tell us how he gets on
 
I am sorry to hear that your old Welshie is not doing too well. However it may be just the weather and the fact that he is stressed, due to not being able to get the grass
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If he has any problems with his teeth, due to his age and is used to eating grass, then this may be the problem
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My 2 just stand in their field shelter and eat their hay, albeit my old chap only eating a little bit due to teeth problems
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I am so glad that you have called the Vet out and have had some bloods taken and you need to wait and see what the results are. Vets always seem to tell you the worst and therefore your Vet saying there maybe something sinister going on, may be just preparing you for any worrying results from the blood tests.

I hope then when this horrid snow thaws, he will be happy and content with the grass again and his digestion will go back to normal.

I know exactly what you mean about not knowing what you would do without him, as that is exactly how I feel about my boy ..... so <<< hugs >>>> and keep us updated please?
 
Sorry to hear about your old chap, it's such a shame we can't keep them going forever. As said above, when things return to normal, hopefully he will too. Can I add a suggestion? I find fast fibre/sugar beet made up with hot water help when appetites are poor. I'm sure as he's a pensioner you get his teeth done often but maybe it would be worth looking at them again if it persists. All the best to you and your boy x
 
Hi ShirleyP and welcome.

Try not to worry hun. My Welshie is 23 and every winter, when he first goes onto haylage, he gets squitty. He can't have hay because he has a dust allergy and anyway, his tum settles down after a week or so. But he's been squitty again over the last week because I've had to switch him from out overnight to out in the day. So he's eating tons more haylage and much less grass than before. So his squits have returned. I'm pretty certain that when (if!) the snow disappears and Sunny can get back to his normal grass/haylage intake, he'll be fine again. Could this be the same with your lad? I think you're doing exactly the right thing which is to understand him and keep him as fresh and happy as you can. If in any doubt whatsoever, I'd get the vet out but fingers crossed he will go back to normal when his turnout goes back to normal.

Give him a huge hug from H&H Forum-ers xxx
 
Just returned from a very snowy yard. No more of his sugar beet eaten and not touched his haylage, but still greeted me as usual and seems quite bright. Blood test results this lunchtime so i'll let u all know the outcome. Lets hope they're normal. I should hopefully be able to give him some time out over the weekend weather permitting, so I am hoping he will return to normal then, fingers crossed.
 
We used to have this problem with a couple of our elderlies, they seemed to just get bored with their feed. Any chance of trying him with some soft meadow hay for a change?.

Our elderly sheep has gone right off his posh coarse mix, he generally hoovers it up. He is really enjoying some soft leafy hay though that at first glance doesn't look very good quality.
 
My 29 year old TB did this too - she now doesn't like haylage. She wants the poorest quality hay I can possibly find. I have no idea why, but she's eating 14kg a day!!! (she's never been a big eater, so this is a huge amount for her to eat) It's also settled her stomach down - she wasn't coping well on haylage, with loose droppings, but she's fine now she's back on hay.

So yes, in short, Nettle's suggestion of trying him with some hay might just do the trick
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Oh, and mine's staying in too - going out for a leg stretch in the morning while I muck out. Why? Because she doesn't want to be out in it - she stands at the gate waiting to be brought in. If she's standing around (ie, not walking or digging through snow to graze), then she's stiffening up, and she might as well be in her stable, where at least she's warm and dry! These oldies can be a nightmare, can't they? Got us wrapped round their little finger (hoof!) Wouldn't change 'em though
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[ QUOTE ]
"I simply can't understand people keeping all these poor animals in because of a bit of snow.........."

It's a bit more than a bit of snow...Frozen rock hard ground, Frozen grass covered with ice then 8 inches of snow on top...Not to forget the slippy trek across the yard...I'm keeping my horse in until it thaws.
My friend lost her horse this week due to him braking a leg falling over in the "bit of snow"
I'd rather have a horse as snug as a bug with hay a soft warm bed and clean unfrozen water than digging and skidding about in a field but that's just my thoughts...just thought it may help you to "understand" why people keep their horses in.


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I second this. If all we had was snow then ours would have gone out but we had torrential rain, then a freeze which led to about 3in of solid ice on our fields, tracks and the concrete on the yard, and then snow on top. If people would like to come and cover our entire yard and tracks with cat litter then they are welcome but it's easier to leave them in for now. I would prefer that my horse, having already spent 3K on vets bills since June last year, didn't end up doing a tendon, with bruised feet, or something worse by walking around on frozen, rutted ground. None of ours really care anyway. They have plenty of hay/haylage, things to keep them occupied in the stable, and 2 x walker sessions per day. As long as everything else is in, they're all happy to be in. Also remember that in some cases, we don't have a choice. Most people are on livery yards and don't have the luxury of deciding when their horse is turned out because the YO makes that decision. Ours went out on Monday at 9am and were waiting at the gate at 10am... if they're going to stand in the same place they may as well be inside with hay, standing in the same place, as outside.

To the OP... I hope the vet is able to tell help you, as I noticed you said you'd had bloods taken. If you can get hold of some mint, either fresh or dried, sprinkle that in his feed and it might help to encourage him to eat. I have mint growing in the garden so put a bunch in my horse's feed if he has to have medication that he doesn't want to eat in it. Always helps
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Right. Update..... Vet said bloods suggested dehydration plus levels raised in kideys, but that may be because he's not drinking. Took him to the turnout paddockl tonight whilst I mucked out and he had his head down all the time. Brought him in and gave him 1/2 scoop Baileys meadowsweet which I bought today as I thought it may tempt him. He ate the lot! Looking for more so I gave him another scoop and left him with it. His head was still in the manger when I left! Vet coming again tomorrow to give vitamin inj and steroid so who is going to look really silly.......... I still need him to drink though.
 
Have you tried a splash of apple juice in his water hun? Don't laugh but I'd set up eg 5 water buckets in a row: add peppermint oil to 1st, apple juice to 2nd, plain water in 3rd, OJ in 4th etc etc. See if he can be tempted to drink that way. Have a chat with your vet about steroids and laminitis just so you know what you're dealing with. Baileys meadowsweet sounds good stuff! Might google that for some info. Thankx hun x
 
I'd try some warm water in a bucket - along with everything else that Box of Frogs has suggested!

He might not like the fact that the water is freezing with icebergs in it!

Can you syringe water into his mouth? I do this with one of mine at shows because she won't drink. She'll happily stand there and let me syringe it in though !!

You could also try bobbing a few apples in his water bucket - he can try fishing them out, or at least they'll stop the water freezing over!

My two ponies seem to have stopped eating hay - which they never do..... but they're both still tucking into their feeds and look well, so I'm thinking the snow has put them off!

Although they're mostly out, I can tell from the hoof prints that they're not moving about much - so I suppose no appetite.

Hope your old chap is better soon. And glad your vet was able to help so far.
 
I do hope your boy gets better, these oldies really do like to stress us out sometimes.

My Oldie was recently very un-well, he couldnt stand to drink so i had to syringe water.

I would suggest that you try warm water first, if he still wont drink add apple juice & failing that syringe as you really dont want him to become any more dehydrated.
If you do end up syringing i suggest that you get a decent sized syringe otherwise its a nightmare.
 
Just returned from second vet visit. Had internal and teeth check.
All seems totally normal, and as he seems to be eating the Baileys meadowsweet I bought last night, we decided to leave things alone. Oh btw, he drank 1/2 bucket of water last night!

I have turned him out for the afternoon for a bit of Dr Green.

I am just SO relieved that he seems to be ok. Yes the oldies do stress us out, but I do hope to have him for some time to come yet!
 
Could you try feeding something like fast fibre?I feed my old boy this soaked in plenty of water so he stays hydrated without even trying!He also suffers periodic squitty tail syndrome which has cleared up since starting fast fibre.May be worth a try?
 
when i went on horsecamp in the summer the Baileys feed rep was giving free electrolytes to everyone. she suggested putting a big double handful of alpha A in 1/3 bucket of water with a scoop of electrolytes. my boy ate/drank it all so you could try that with your meadow sweet? electroylites will encourage him to drink more too
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hope he is ok - probably a bit depressed about the weather like me
 
I will give the fast fibre a try along with the electrolytes. Have used electrolytes before just in his water but not much use unless he's drinking it! lol

He has gone out today, so hopefully all will be well.
 
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