Anhydrosis

[midnight star stables]

I have a horse here who I suspect has Anhydrosis(horse is unable to sweat) and after discussing it with my vet I am planning on starting her on the product One AC. Has anyone here had experience with this condition? I know Mary here dealt with it her driving mare, and she was the one who introduced me to this condition.

Thanks.

 

[targetsmom]

Yes, that would be me... and the mare in my avatar. I don't know that she is totally unable to sweat because there IS sweat inside her neck sweats. But I did notice she was really affected by the heat at driving shows last year and once I started her on the One A/C she started to sweat like a normal horse! That was near the end of the summer and I took her off the supplement over the winter, I may start her back on it soon if this heat keeps up, but certainly for the summer.

I didn't see a downside to the One A/C and it is pretty cheap (for a mini anyway) and it seemed to work.

 

[eagles ring farm]

We had a filly born in 2008 ( our Perlino Spice) with anhydrosis after numerous blood tests and vet visits - she was running fevers of 106 had to hose her off 3 x's a day. But when we hosed her off she would run and play for about a half hour then go down hill again.

We took her to an equine hospital at 3 weeks old for what we thought would be a liver culture as the only thing that showed up in her blood tests were very high liver #'s. She was there 2 days and they sent her home with One AC to give to her for 2 weeks. It worked for her immediately when we got her home she was like any other foal.

She was on it for 2 weeks and she is now 4 years old and completed 2 show seasons (yearling and 2 yr old) traveling to Nationals and winning a top ten in her class. She has never had another problem since her visit to the hospital. And her One AC was sent with her to the trainers in case both years but was never needed again. Great Stuff

Vet said when she was born her sweat glads didn't kick in? And she was a great candidate being so young

 

[jyuukai]

I used to work for a barn and one of our long-time boarders developed anhydrosis rather suddenly. The vet suggested One AC, but she also mentioned that if we wanted a cheaper option we could simply feed the mare.. beer! And so the mare got one can in the morning and one can at night of cheap beer to soak her feed in and within a week the problem was gone!

This mare COULD sweat, but she could only sweat a tiny bit. In our sweltering summers with temps reaching 100F easily the mare could go out for a hard workout and come back only mildly damp, and that's how we knew about the problem. In addition to the beer her owner would rinse her in a rubbing alcohol/water solution after her workouts to help her cool down faster, at least until she started sweating normally again

 

[Joanne]

Thank you all for a subject I had never heard about.

I truly appreciate your discussing it in such detail.

 

[BBH]

I have a gelding, 19 yrs with anhydrosis, and is doing fairly well on AC1 and Thryo L.....he has been on that for about 1.5 years, the addtional problem we have now which I understand is a side effect of the meds and medical conditon is dry skin.....just wants to rub himself raw. Goes thru flymasks like crazy......anyone have any suggestions for the little guy. He is a pretty easy keeper so need to be careful of what we feed but needs some oil or supplement to give him some moisture in the skin.......any ideas??

 

[targetsmom]

I just read something in the paper this week that might be related to our mare's anhydrosis. Princess is also insulin resistant, and the paper said "a known complication of diabetes, particularly poorly controlled diabetes, is an impaired ability of the body to adjust to rises in temperature. This is due to nerve damage of the body's temperature regulators and/or sweat glands. Approximately 60-70% of all diabetics are affected". I think now about Princess's show career and find it amazing that she has done as well as she has, entering up to 15 (mostly performance) classes on really hot days. Or driving in the sun. No wonder judges have commented on her lack of energy! We recently changed her feed and are giving her handfuls of grain during the course of the show, since she can't really "carbo load". It seems to have helped.

For the dry skin problem, I wonder if that is also an issue for diabetics and if you can get clues from human medicine? Or maybe a hair moisturizer??

 

[circlesinthesand]

I don't know much about anhydrosis (other than to add beer, but that's already mentioned) but in answer to the dry skin and diabetics. Yes it is a big problem with diabetics. My husband has problems when his sugar is high, his hands, feet and elbows are really bad at times. There are some really good diabetic moisturizers out there. The one I find works best is Eucerin (the original kind in the jar.) It is awfully thick and I don't like to use it for me but it does a great job on hubby's skin. I am also pretty sure it's one of the milder lotions (no fragrance etc.) because my step mom has probs with skin allergies and it's the only one she can use.

 

[BBH]

I have this pic in my head of Gelding covered in Eucerin and yes i have used that, sort of thik ....he would probably think it something to eat......i am also soakign his hay in water to decrease sugar content per vet and so yes there may be some insultn resistance. Was also told to hardly feed any grain. so I need to be careful with any fat of sugar.....

 

[circlesinthesand]

I have this pic in my head of Gelding covered in Eucerin and yes i have used that, sort of thik ....he would probably think it something to eat......i am also soakign his hay in water to decrease sugar content per vet and so yes there may be some insultn resistance. Was also told to hardly feed any grain. so I need to be careful with any fat of sugar.....

lol, today's the day for mental images then, lol. I was thinking maybe you could water down the eucerin, that's what my stepmom does for her face 'cream' she just adds a little water to it. OH and I was forgetting but a pharmacist had once told her that they use Eucerin as the base for many of the prescription lotions, like for poison ivy etc.

 

[Jetiki]

I have a mare that doesn't sweat much and in the heat I give her a beer and beet pulp if she has to work, She seems fine if not asked to do anything when its really hot and humid.

Could you feed the one with dry skin issues Vit E and possibly flax seeds?

Karen

 

[normajeanbaker]

The mare in my Avatar does not sweat and never has since she was born. I have tried Once AC, the Finish Line brand product, dark ale beer, electrolytes. You name it, we have tried it! Nothing has worked. I had her Thyroid tested a few years ago and it was VERY low, the lowest reading my vet had ever gotten on a Thyroid. She was put on Thyro-L and is now up to a normal Thyroid reading when we draw blood. The Thyro-L did help. She now sweats between her back legs and on her belly a little bit. Still not a normal sweater and only sweats a little bit when it is VERY hot in these 2 locations, but the Thyro-L did help. We do fans on hot days, hose her off, etc to keep her cool.

Hope you have better luck than I did with the sweating products. They seem to work great for some and not at all for others!

Jen

 

[valshingle]

I've got one with anhydrosis. He's been on One AC and Guinness Stout. He's doing very well and really seems to enjoy his cold beer!

 

[BBH]

VAL......so how much beer and how often, my gelding is 33 in and abouut 250 more or less.....maybe take him to the local for a cool one, but seriously how much, how often. I willing to try anything.....how long after you started the beer did you see an improvement in the sweating??

 

[valshingle]

Mine is a 36" Shetland. He gets 1/2 bottle twice a day and 1/2 scoop One AC once a day. It took almost 2 weeks for him to act like his old self and maintain a normal temp throughout the day. I don't really notice him sweating any more than he had been, but it's too hot to ask him to do much. I do have two fans blowing into his stall. Our daytime temps here in TX have been about 103. He has a stall with a run and can exercise as he pleases.

 

[BBH]

VaL....thanks I will try that....I am in TX north of McKInney and will try that, he has a very shaded run with shelter and fans at night when they come in.....he seems to have mor eenergy lately and am very careful when i do drive him. Just don't push it.in this heat. thanks.