Baffled...

[Field-of-Dreams]

We have a three year old mare on our farm right now that has me going crazy. She won't eat. She used to pound on her door wanting her dinner, now it's like no big deal. She only wants pasture, of which we don't have much, so she's losing weight. There is a round bale in the field to suppliment them, but I don't know how much she's eating off that. If I bring her into the barn to feed her she may eat a few bites then quits. All my other mares in this field are pork-chops, she's THIN.

Last night I bought two gorgeous bales of alfalfa, plus we have fresh-cut hay. I gave her a half flake of the alfalfa and a whole flake of hay plus our normal complete pellets. Her companion got the same. This morning she'd picked at the hay, I think most of the alfalfa is gone but she left about a cup or so of grain. Her buddy left some hay, but I had given both a lot.

I can't feed her outside, the others will push her away. I feed her inside, she doesn't eat...

She is not mine and I just cannot afford a vet bill on someone else's horse, or I'd take her in.

She doesn't seem to have teeth problems, was dewormed last month and given probiotics. I just can't figure this one out...she's got me stumped. I may just tell her owner she really needs to go in...

Any clues?

 

[Connie Ballard]

Sounds like ulcers since she's picking a little. Did you check her temp?

 

[Eagle]

I second Ulcers

 

[stormy]

Ulcers would be my first guess also, Rinitadine and Sucralfate...not expensive and very effective!

 

[Windhaven]

I would say ulcers too. I would start her on Ulcer Guard and within 2 days you should see an improvement. It might be best to keep her on a daily after that for a while. I have used Assure and it does wonders.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Totally sounds like ulcers. Try gastro guard or since you can't do the vet, contact targetsmon here on the forum and get her advice. She's an expert w ulcers. Good luck.

 

[valshingle]

Is this a visiting mare? What area is she from?

I have one horse that goes off his feed a bit every summer in this heat. I feed him early in the morning and late at night (9ish) which seems to help. I give him a fair amount of alfalfa hay (not cubes) which he seems to keep eating. I feed him up whenever he seems willing and provide cool water for him to drink. I also hose him off periodically (not more than once a day though). He's only turned out a night and kept shaded during the day.

BTW, if she is a visiting horse, I assume the owner would pay for any vet bills that come up. If I owned her and was apprised of the situation, I would certainly want her checked by the vet if this continues.

Hope this helps!

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Ulcers are certainly a strong possibility, but unless you have a 1.5m endoscope, ulcers are a diagnosis of rule out rather than rule in. What I mean by that is you should have a Vet do a physical along with a fecal, CBC and profile and if all of those come back negative, then you can try an ulcer Rx. Doing it the other way around risks delaying correct treatment for something other than an ulcer.

BTW, UlcerGard is a preventive dose of Omeprazole, not a treatment dose. Be sure to use the correct amount if you're treating an ulcer.

Dr Taylor

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

Ulcers are certainly a strong possibility, but unless you have a 1.5m endoscope, ulcers are a diagnosis of rule out rather than rule in. What I mean by that is you should have a Vet do a physical along with a fecal, CBC and profile and if all of those come back negative, then you can try an ulcer Rx. Doing it the other way around risks delaying correct treatment for something other than an ulcer.

BTW, UlcerGard is a preventive dose of Omeprazole, not a treatment dose. Be sure to use the correct amount if you're treating an ulcer.

Dr Taylor

Thanks! Our vet DOES have a Mini endoscope and he's used on foals. I watched, it was fascinating.

I'll talk to her owner and see if she'll let me take her in.

 

[HGFarm]

She doesnt 'seem' to have teeth problems- has someone reliable actually really checked?

 

[targetsmom]

Sorry I came late to this. I don't consider myself an expert but I sure had a lot of experience and lots of help from other forum members. One product I would try is Stomach Soother which may be available locally or on-line. Sometimes just a dose of a few ccs of this in a dosing syringe will encourage them to eat. Or add it to the feed. I would try to find something she likes and grass is a good first choice. Alfalfa is good because of the calcium - I used soaked cubes because Max would eat them when nothing else tasted good. By all means get her scoped if you can but the scope won't show ulcers in the intestines. Slow feeders like Nibble Nets and Busy Snackers are good and won't do any harm if it isn't ulcers. Lots of small meals, NO SWEET FEED. I would feed Max (instead of grain) soaked alfalfa cubes (could use pellets), a bit of complete Senior Feed (more alfalfa), Stomach Soother and oil. And free choice hay in the slow feeders, second cutting, whatever he liked on that particular day.

Sucralfate is another drug that can help by coating the stomach/intestines. This is a human drug that needs a prescription and can't be given at the same time as Omeprazole.

Good luck!

 

[SHANA]

Could be her teeth. I had a 3 year old mare losing weight, could not figure out why, she had been wormed, etc. I also checked her teeth and could not find anything. Had the vet and she had a retained cap which had broken and cut inside her mouth but you could only feel it and not see it by looking in her mouth as the tooth looked like any other tooth. The vet pulled the tooth and she is back to her old self eating like a pig.

 

[Allure Ranch]

Sounds like ULCERS.....

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Ulcers. Been there, done that, got the tshirt!

Keep giving her alfalfa to start with as it not only tempts their appetites far more than grass hay but the more she eats, the better her stomach will feel from the antacid effect of the calcium. That starts her thinking that eating sometimes equals feeling better, not worse, and she'll be less reluctant to eat.

I've treated mine with Ulcergard (in the correct treatment dose) in the past and it solves the problem nicely but for me it usually comes back. Kody hasn't been really enthusiastic about his feed since he was 4 years old.

It happened so gradually I didn't really notice, I just assumed that's how he was until I treated him for acute ulcer symptoms and suddenly he was banging down the wall for his grain. I felt so bad when I realized he must have been in pain for years!

I made a handful of alfalfa part of every meal, they already got oil on their grain, and both get Ulcergard in the preventative dose for 24 hours before, during and after travel. And I STILL have problems!

Every now and then with no precipitating factor Kody goes off his hay and the last time I took both boys to an event Turbo basically stopped eating for three days except for grass.

Kody's done much better on eating his hay since I added Probios to his diet on a regular basis but what's really perked up the appetites of both horses is a pelleted product called U-Gard. I only started them on it a few weeks ago but within days noticed a clear improvement with Turbo actually pawing for his hay and Kody leaving his hay to chow down on his grain and no longer stopping halfway through the bucket to go back to his hay. I was thrilled!

Now this stuff will not fix a horse with existing ulcers (and it sounds like hers are probably quite severe) but it is a good addition to the diet of an ulcer-prone horse once they've finished their treatment to help keep the ulcers from coming back. I'm anxious to see if it's enough to help keep Turbo on his feed the next time I take him somewhere but the improvement at home is enough to make me a believer.

If you do try Ulcergard as opposed to the human medications, be aware both my vet and my experience said it can take up to a week to show any effect. You'll need to use it for at least 30 days and then use a tapered dose for another week or two. Kody would go downhill as soon as I took him off it; I really wish I'd used U-Gard or a similar product then as it might have avoided a lot of problems.

Leia