How to tell if a horse is cold?

[rabbitsfizz]

I have one mare who constantly wads feed. Her teeth are checked and done regularly and there was nothing wrong with them, but she seems very tolerant of my cleaning the grit out, and actually will approach me to have it down, now!

One thing that does ring alarm bells in what you were doing is the salt.

I would never, ever add salt in a case of suspected possible colic.

I had a Vet do this with a pump and a hose to get things going, she said, put salt in the water.

The horse drank so much in the night that he herniated and died.

The water never did get through the blockage.

So, as far as I am concerned, that is a definite "no-no" nowadays!!

Also, salt is very abrasive, if he has an ulcer, or even an aggravated stomach, salt is going to do no good at all....

 

[RhineStone]

One thing that does ring alarm bells in what you were doing is the salt.I would never, ever add salt in a case of suspected possible colic.

I had a Vet do this with a pump and a hose to get things going, she said, put salt in the water.

The horse drank so much in the night that he herniated and died.

The water never did get through the blockage.

So, as far as I am concerned, that is a definite "no-no" nowadays!!

Also, salt is very abrasive, if he has an ulcer, or even an aggravated stomach, salt is going to do no good at all....

Our vet superhydrates with fluids via IV for impaction colics. A few years ago, we had one mini that I think took 2-3 bags of fluid before he "painted the walls". (We don't have him anymore. He was never going to be a show horse, b/c he coliced with any little bit of stress.)

This thread is very interesting. It almost makes me want to brave the 6 degrees and check our horses' mouths.

Or maybe when it warms up....everybody is eating fine.

 

[Bess Kelly]

YES, it stinks and doesn't wash off your hands easily

Liberal amounts of baking soda added to the soap helps. Some scouring products, like Comet, help.

What we do for our horses

 

[REO]

When you chop onions and can't wash off the smell, when you can't wash off the smell of fly spray on your hands, when you get wads out of their cheeks, rub your hands on stainless steel! Like a sink or faucet.

It WORKS! Totally, instantly

 

[Celia]

Thank You for all your responds!

I think I figured out the mystery...

I went out to clean out his teeth...and I came back out of the spontaneously-trying-to-clamp Cave (aka his mouth) with Blood. So I grabbed a flashlight and looked in there, and he appears to have...an ulcer? (Make that, two, one on each side.)

So I am calling to make an apointment with the vets to come out and...well...what exactly will they do? For sure clean out those wads more affectively...but I mean, for the ulcer, is there some kind of meds/antibiotics I'll have to admister for a while?

Thank you again for all your help,

Celia

 

[Miniv]

It's what I suspected when I posted......a mouth issue, and definite "discomfort".

Once the crud is cleaned away, you may want gently syringe some warm water mixed with a little bit of Listerine into his mouth - aiming for is OWIES. Whatever you do, expect it to sting a bit.

Your vet will tell you more, I'm sure.

 

[Sandee]

Don't know about the mixing of Listerine. I know it's good to put on people's mouth sores but I use a swab for that. The old timer's mixture would be salt in water. That will help with the healing and won't hurt to swallow. (Tastes bad though)

This is taken from a human dental site: "ethyl alcohol, ranging from 18 to 26 percent; and water. Journal of the American Dental Association" indicated that mouthwashes "containing more than 25% alcohol could increase the risk of oral and pharyngeal cancers by about 50%. Also the more alcohol content of the mouthrinse, the more sloughing. The more sloughing, the more food for bacteria, leading to higher levels of bacteria which increases sulfur levels of bad breath. Listerene has triple the alcohol content of American beer, which is a 50% increase over table wine and about the same as fortified wines. Avoid alcohol based mouthrinses, the alcohol actually makes periodontal disease WORSE."

"...... a home-made rinse?

saline solution rinse

1/2 tsp. salt + 8 oz water

for a stronger solution

1/2 tsp. salt + 4 oz water.

sodium bicarbonate

1/2 tsp. baking soda + 8 oz. water. "

 

[albahurst]

I am figuring mine were cold out in the pasture this am. I put the hay out there, as usual, but after an hour they all came back to the barn corral area and stood - leaving their hay in the pasture. So, they were given more hay in the corral. They can go back out later if they want. The wind is much less and the sun much warmer in by the barn. I have no other explanations as to why they would come back in- highly unusual- except for the very cold temp with wind today.