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Strange Behavior - Thoughts?

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Last activity 2015-05-12 5:44 PM
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TNcowgirl88
Reg. Jul 2008
Posted 2015-05-12 8:19 AM
Subject: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?


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Just to preface everything, I have a call into my vet right now and I am waiting on an appointment. I am just simply asking for imput to see if anyone has had something similar happen. Please no flamming.

I recently bought a horse who is 8 years old. I have been running 2-3D times on him. He is HOTT! Nothing stupid, but just gets on the muscle when he gets close to the gate. If you are away from the pen, he will trail ride all day and stay relaxed. I knew when I got him that he was quirky (no ground manners and likes to be in your space and on the muscle) but it didnt bother me since I really got along with him. The previous owner had told me that he had recently had his stifles blistered and thought that it might help to have that done for maintenance. I was/am fine with that.

I bring him home and he is doing great. Previously, he was being fed a 12% pellet feed and on little grass but fed quality hay. I have a lot of grass. I slowly switched him from the pellet to Omelene 200 and put him out on the pasture. I know that he is a nervous horse so I started him on aloe vera and baking soda as well as remission for the Mg and Vit E.

Brought him out last week and he was really on the muscle (not the norm for him at home). Took him out to the pasture to long trot and he just stopped trotting and acted like he couldnt walk. He stopped and peed and short stepped all the way home. I thought he was tying up. I gave him some banamine and hosed him off and put him in the stall for the night. The next day he was fine.

Took him to a barrel race on Saturday. He was kind of pawing and acting like his normal self. He warmed up fine, ran good, took him back to the trailer. Got ready for the second run about 2 hours later. He threw a fit and locked up again. Took him back to the trailer and gave him more banamine and took him home. The next day he was fine?

I am thinking that he has a kidney infection? He is a little sore over the top of his kidneys when I run my hands down his back.

Maybe the Omelene is too much for him with the grass? I have started him back on the pellets slowly to see if that has help and I have stopped feeding him the remission. Maybe he is allergic to something in it? I have had horses tie up before but this just seems so much more intense than that.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? Any suggestions? Thank you in advance.
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Bibliafarm
Reg. Jul 2008
Posted 2015-05-12 8:28 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?


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 he sounds to be  tying up.. I would remove him off the  Omelene 200 .. its a sweet feed isnt it? I may be wrong.. switch back to pellets and low starch and suger..
if he wasnt used to being on grass you need to limit that.. and also if he stops and acts that way he IS tying up and dont move him.. you can harm his muscles.
banamine was the thing to do and call vet.. you should look into why as well a underlying condition.. he needs time off as well.

 

Edited by Bibliafarm 2015-05-12 8:30 AM
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HorsesNHarleys
Reg. Oct 2006
Posted 2015-05-12 8:29 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?



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Could it be PSSM???  Don't they need to be on a high fat low starch diet??  maybe thats why they had him on the %12 fat and hat...   

Hope you find out whats going on soon and its nothing serious.

 
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TNcowgirl88
Reg. Jul 2008
Posted 2015-05-12 8:36 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?


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Bibliafarm - 2015-05-12 8:28 AM

Β he sounds to beΒ  tying up.. I would remove him off theΒ  Omelene 200 .. its a sweet feed isnt it? I may be wrong.. switch back to pellets and low starch and suger..
if he wasnt used to being on grass you need to limit that.. and also if he stops and acts that way he IS tying up and dont move him.. you can harm his muscles.
banamine was the thing to do and call vet.. you should look into why as well a underlying condition.. he needs time off as well.

Β 

Omelene is a sweet feed. Which I normally am against, but I tried it on my appendix gelding and he acted and looked so much better. I am backing off the omelene and going back to pellets. I have tried to keep him still when he does it because I have heard it is horrible for them to move when they tie up. He is on a dry lot now with only a few hours of grass a day to see if that helps.
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Tatum2
Reg. Dec 2014
Posted 2015-05-12 8:40 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?


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Definitely sounds like tying up. Sweet feed with hinder that. Low starches and sugars in the feed. (safe choice or renew gold is good option) no alfalfa (even live in the pasture). Make sure to warm up slowly and cool down slowly and don't tie up at trailer until then. Stalling is not good for them as they need to walk around and keep those muscles loose. Good luck!
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cheryl makofka
Reg. Jan 2011
Posted 2015-05-12 8:42 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?


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I agree with the tying up

If it just happened, I would pull blood and have the vet run a ck. This will confirm or deny the tying up.

Also what color was his urine?

For now I would pull the horse off of all starches, and grass, I would put him on a grass/Timothy hay till the proper diagnosis can be made
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FLITASTIC
Reg. Jun 2012
Posted 2015-05-12 8:43 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?



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Omelene is extremely high sugar and starch, in fact one of the highest on the market at like 40% or so. That might just be to much for him and could be causing the kidney issues like you said. I would start there. If he needs to keep weight, maybe switch to a senior feed or Ultium. Ulitum is lower in sugar for sure but high calories and fat so it CAN make one hot.
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TNcowgirl88
Reg. Jul 2008
Posted 2015-05-12 8:48 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?


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I just talked to my vet. He said definitely get him off the Omelene. So back to the pellets I go. What about putting him on a Vit E and Selenium supplement?
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BabyJ
Reg. Aug 2013
Posted 2015-05-12 8:54 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?



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I would go with a Rational Balancer like Empower Balance.
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Herbie
Reg. Oct 2003
Posted 2015-05-12 8:55 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?


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He definitely tied up.  The grass could also have something to do with it if he's not used to being out on grass.  PSSM is possible as well, which would explain him being a little bit hot if his diet isn't under control.  I recenlty helped a friend of mine diagnose her mare.  She'd been to the vets several times for an unexplained hitch at a lope.  Not a lameness, just a hitch.  This is a futurity colt and she hadn't really stopped the clock where we knew she was capable and the hitch at a lope kept being an issue.  The vet did a million things and I kept saying it was either muscular or neurological.  The mare would sometimes get really nervous before competing and they put her on guanabenz to help with that.  She finally tied up solid one day after she'd been off for several days and then acted very strange and jumpy for a week after.  We changed her diet completely and in a couple of weeks she was a different horse.  She recently placed in the 1D at a 3 day show and is a different horse having had her diet changed completely.  That being said, she was allowed to go out and eat grass one day and she tied up again. 

These horses that have a tendency to tie up or have PSSM can't be out on grass.  They have to be on a strict schedule of exercise and a strict diet.  I would bet your horse has PSSM.  I would immediately change his diet, get him off the grass, and would bring him back slow and easy with several days of long walks and jogging.  When you do run him, i'd run him on 1/4 cc of ace just to help keep his muscles loose.  I would be willing to bet that alot of his "hotness" comes from him being in constant pain.

Good luck, I know how frustrating this disease can be!

 
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rodeomom3
Reg. Dec 2007
Posted 2015-05-12 8:58 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?



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 I would get blood work done.   Me friends horse had similar episodes.   She had blood work done and found he had a sugar overload and was on his way to foundering.   This was during a drought, she was traveling and put him on green pasture where she was staying.  Vet said it was like a human eating 200 candy bars, his system could not handle it.
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cow pie
Reg. Nov 2009
Posted 2015-05-12 9:47 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?


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The grass is lush spring grass limit him increase his vitamin E and possibly go to straight oats. He is tying up. You can give a can of dark beer daily or u v a ursi to clear his kidneys.
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TNcowgirl88
Reg. Jul 2008
Posted 2015-05-12 9:53 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?


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Thank you everyone. I appreciate the imput.
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mruggles
Reg. Oct 2008
Posted 2015-05-12 9:56 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?



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I always thought they tyed up from being not used for several days and then used aggressively. ......basically not being in good enough shape to be doing the work asked of them......so it may not just be a feed issue.....M
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Southtxponygirl
Reg. Nov 2006
Posted 2015-05-12 10:09 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?



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You have gotton really good advice on here, I agree stop the omelene no green grass untill you get the blood test back, I would put him back on the feed that he was eating befor you switch him. Just wondering why his stifles were blistered does he have stifled problems? Are was done just for maintenance? 
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Crowned Image
Reg. Jan 2011
Posted 2015-05-12 10:15 AM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?



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PSSM?... Triple Crown Low Starch might be a great option for you.
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barrelrider
Reg. Jan 2010
Posted 2015-05-12 1:57 PM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?


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If he's had his stifles blistered before, his ligaments could be lose again. I had a gelding that had lose ligaments in his stifles from EPM. One of the three ligaments would slide out of it's grove, and he couldn't walk until it released. When it locked, I could give him a small amount of Ace and he would relax enough for it to release so he could walk. After his stifles were blistered, he didn't lock up again.
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Bibliafarm
Reg. Jul 2008
Posted 2015-05-12 1:58 PM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?


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mruggles - 2015-05-12 10:56 AM I always thought they tyed up from being not used for several days and then used aggressively. ......basically not being in good enough shape to be doing the work asked of them......so it may not just be a feed issue.....M
Lactic Acid buildup.. but the sugar and starches are culprits.  it builds up in the muscles .. some horses are more prone then others and not warming up and cooling down can cause it yes for horses prone to tying up.. kidneys play a big role in it as well.

Edited by Bibliafarm 2015-05-12 2:00 PM
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Nateracer
Reg. Feb 2008
Posted 2015-05-12 2:47 PM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?



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An overdose of Selenium can cause symptoms very similar to tying up.  It can also cause kidney failure.  Look into how much Selenium he is getting.  
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cloverleaf
Reg. May 2004
Posted 2015-05-12 5:44 PM
Subject: RE: Strange Behavior - Thoughts?



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mruggles - 2015-05-12 9:56 AM

I always thought they tyed up from being not used for several days and then used aggressively. ......basically not being in good enough shape to be doing the work asked of them......so it may not just be a feed issue.....M

In the old days they called tying up "Monday morning sickness." The farmers, who used horses to plow, would work them through the week with only Sunday off. If they fed them the same ration of grain on Sunday, when they weren't working as hard, as they did during the work week, the horses would sometimes tie up on Monday when they went back to work.
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