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Regular
Posts: 67
| My 7 year old mare has suddenly lost her appetite. Nit picks at her food...doesn't eat all her grain (completely unlike her). I've been running her once weekly, and nearly every weekend starting in april... She is lost a ton of weight, and have not changed her feed, besides more forage, which in return, she completely wastes it.
I've read that ulcers can cause a horse to lose an appetite. I just ordered 30 days of omeprezole to start treating her for ulcers.
She just had her teeth done April 24th, massaged and chiro'd. Saddle fits, etc Etc. she's been performing fine, not refusing the arena. She's turned out.::by herself but has neighbors (she's generally very food aggressive so she is never pastured with anyone else.
My good mare had a foal at the end of March...could part of it be jealousy that the baby gets all the attention?
Any other recommendations or suggestions? I do everything I can for this horse, so I can tell something isn't 100%... She's been performing fine inside the barrel pen also..
Thanks in advance! | |
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
 
| What brand feed are you giving her ? My first gut instinct is ionophore poisoning from the feed ! Lots of reading on the subject on this board but if she is on ADM feeds then it's a real possibility. There are only a few feeds that are ionophore free! | |
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Regular
Posts: 67
| Thank you!
She is actually on LMF super Supplement, rice bran, beet pulp, and daily gold stress relief. I guess i lied in my original post. I did just slowly start adding Purina Amplify to her grain (for the fat content, hoping it'll help put some weight back on her)
She is by no means skin and bones. Just a tiny bit ribby and my horses are never that way (lol!) | |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Have you vetted her yet? | |
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Regular
Posts: 67
| No, i plan to, but was just looking for other insight. | |
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | Check and see if her mouth stinks. I see she recently had her teeth done and she might have a cracked tooth. Ulcers would be my next guess. | |
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My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | GiveYourAll - 2015-05-09 11:03 PM
No, i plan to, but was just looking for other insight.
Hope it turns out to be something simple and easily corrected | |
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Regular
Posts: 67
| Thank you, I will check that this morning. :-) | |
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Regular
Posts: 67
| Chandler's Mom - 2015-05-09 10:28 PM
GiveYourAll - 2015-05-09 11:03 PM
No, i plan to, but was just looking for other insight.
Hope it turns out to be something simple and easily corrected
Thank you :) | |
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  Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4557
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | Have you wormed lately? Does she have a fever?feel the ears if warm she has a fever. Do the shoes fit properly? Worm, fever, sore feet and ulcers will pull a horse off feed. Even a tooth abcess. Good luck finding the problem. | |
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Regular
Posts: 67
| cow pie - 2015-05-10 7:01 AM
Have you wormed lately? Does she have a fever?feel the ears if warm she has a fever. Do the shoes fit properly? Worm, fever, sore feet and ulcers will pull a horse off feed. Even a tooth abcess. Good luck finding the problem.
Thank you, I wormed her about two months ago, she is probably due again, and I'll probably do the power pac to make sure she doesn't have any. Her ears were not warm, and her mouth smells like a normal horse smelling mouth lol, no bad smell.. She had started to lose weight before I got her teeth done, which is why I went and got her teeth done. She just mostly doesn't seem like herself. As for her feet, they're due at the end of this month. She isn't limping or acting like she has sore feet, but that doesn't mean they aren't. She is Drinking water, she ate most of her grain this morning... But I do think I'm on the right track on ulcers. Thanks for the help :-) | |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I would be checking temp
I would also isolate the horse till I know the cause, as I just heard of a horse that went off of its feed and has now been diagnosed with VS
If I lived in an area where VS was prevalent, I would call the vet give the symptoms including temp, heart rate, and respirations. (This will also let you know if she is in distress) and ask the vet if he wants to come out, or me go in.
I would ask for a endoscope into the stomach to check for any ulcers of the esophagus (VS) or any ulcers of the stomach
I also want blood work done CBC, lytes, alt, alp, crea, urea, ck, this will give me an idea how the body is working, any organ damage, any muscle damage, any infection. | |
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Regular
Posts: 67
| cheryl makofka - 2015-05-10 10:04 AM
I would be checking temp
I would also isolate the horse till I know the cause, as I just heard of a horse that went off of its feed and has now been diagnosed with VS
If I lived in an area where VS was prevalent, I would call the vet give the symptoms including temp, heart rate, and respirations. (This will also let you know if she is in distress) and ask the vet if he wants to come out, or me go in.
I would ask for a endoscope into the stomach to check for any ulcers of the esophagus (VS) or any ulcers of the stomach
I also want blood work done CBC, lytes, alt, alp, crea, urea, ck, this will give me an idea how the body is working, any organ damage, any muscle damage, any infection.
VS is? Where is it prevalent? I'm in the NW. Thank you for the tips. I'll look into that. She hasn't gone off her feed completely. She eats most of her grain then slowly nit picks at her hay throughout the day. | |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| GiveYourAll - 2015-05-10 12:22 PM
cheryl makofka - 2015-05-10 10:04 AM
I would be checking temp
I would also isolate the horse till I know the cause, as I just heard of a horse that went off of its feed and has now been diagnosed with VS
If I lived in an area where VS was prevalent, I would call the vet give the symptoms including temp, heart rate, and respirations. (This will also let you know if she is in distress) and ask the vet if he wants to come out, or me go in.
I would ask for a endoscope into the stomach to check for any ulcers of the esophagus (VS) or any ulcers of the stomach
I also want blood work done CBC, lytes, alt, alp, crea, urea, ck, this will give me an idea how the body is working, any organ damage, any muscle damage, any infection.
VS is? Where is it prevalent? I'm in the NW. Thank you for the tips. I'll look into that. She hasn't gone off her feed completely. She eats most of her grain then slowly nit picks at her hay throughout the day.
Vesicular Stomitis
The outbreak was in Arizona a few months ago | |
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Expert
Posts: 5293
| Thought here but the NW has recently been hit with EVH1 to. | |
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Regular
Posts: 67
| Yes Oregon has, I'm in Washington...and she isn't showing neurological signs like ehv would, and it's slowly been accumulating over the past month or so, so I am 100% sure it's not ehv. | |
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Horse lost appetite??