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Discussion on Mineral supplemented secreted through urine
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Member:
maribeth
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Posted on Friday, Dec 19, 2008 - 10:20 am:
This may seem like an odd question but I need to rule out urinary trouble with my horses. I have always boarded my horses until a month ago when they came to live at my home. It is amazing how much more I see having them there all the time. For instance, they've been eating the mineral block and I noticed a couple of times where it looks like one of the horses urinated in the snow. It looked like blood with the urine but as I looked more closely it was more the color of the mineral block! Can the minerals from the block be secreted through urine? I haven't caught either one of the horses urinating lately. Hard to say, they are both acting fine, eating well. I can tell they've been at the block quite a bit. I'll have more time to spend with them during the day over the holidays so I'll keep an eye on it.
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Friday, Dec 19, 2008 - 10:36 am:
Maribeth, something about the snow makes the urine change that color, quite common! I know the first time I noticed it I thought it strange too.
So don't worry!!! and welcome to the OCD club of horse ownership!
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Member:
pattyb
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Posted on Friday, Dec 19, 2008 - 11:03 am:
Wow Diane...I didn't know that either and I've had mine at home for 16+ years now.
[So don't worry!!! and welcome to the OCD club of horse ownership!] Ahem......I resemble that remark...lol.
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Member:
maggienm
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Posted on Friday, Dec 19, 2008 - 11:06 am:
I was told or perhaps I read that the redness of the urine comes from protein in the diet.
More protein redder urine.
Dr. O can set me straight there.
It is my observation that the color changes, really havent kept close enough track to know if it is random or coincides with other factors.
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Friday, Dec 19, 2008 - 11:16 am:
Here's a little tidbit about it...under urinary problems.
Perhaps someone has a suggestion as to how I can determine which one of my herd has what appears to be bloody urine. I, only today, became aware of this problem upon finding two spots in the snow where one of my horses or jennets had urinated. The urine had a very distinct discoloration as though laced with blood. Noone in my small herd appears to be ill, at least not that I can detect; all have hearty appetites and are spunky, with the exception of Beau.Beau is very overweight and his appetite is as good as ever. He is nearly 17yrs. old, and with the weight he is carrying around, is never as spunky or active as the rest. I don't have individual stalls for everyone, so I rotate them for feeding, hay them together, and they have a big barn as a run-in shelter for them when not in stalls being grained. I have no way of knowing from which of them this urine came, and really don't know where to begin to find out, short of having my vet come out and check them all, which I'm sure would be quite costly, and Im not even sure it would be effective. If any of you out there have a suggestion, please respond. Many thankz!!!!!!!!
I have a mare that does this. She too is perfectly healthy (as far as that goes) but her urine turns blood red/orange in the sunlight. I watched her intensly and found that when she eliminates it is normal color but when her urine is exposed to sun light it turns red. In asking around my vet at OSU gave me the following info:
The phenomenon of urine turning bright orange to red when exposed to sunlight is believed to be caused by urocatechins in the urine that possibly originate from adrenal hormones (catecholamines). Our area rarely has snow that lasts past noon, but I am told it is quite dramatic looking in the snow. My vet has apparently had two of her own horse that did this. She said there is not a lot of information available on it, the only thing she could ever find in writing was in an old veterinary text book that did not have a reference. If you?re sure no one is sick and are curious as to who is the culprit. Take one of your stalls and strip it down to the mats and leave one in over night. Leave the urine on the mat the following day and see if it turns. Each night try another horse until you find the guilty party. Then you can also decide if you want a vet out on one horse instead of the whole heard. Remember that the urine must be exposed to SUN light to turn so make sure you can get light to the pool of urine. Good luck. Hope that helps a little.
Emily
Emily is exacly right.
DrO
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 - 9:36 am:
Hello Maribeth,
Excess minerals are passed out the urine but though your block is red this is not the color of the minerals but a dye added. This dye does not pass out the urine as far as I am aware. However the comments above about red urine being within the range of normal is true but does not insure your case is normal. For more on this and how to differentiate normal urine from abnormal is covered in detail at, Diseases of Horses » Urinary System » Normal Urination in Horses.
DrO
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Member:
pattyb
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 - 8:45 pm:
It's been a loooong day but I'd like to chime in here if you don't mind?
My Arab/Paint's urine reacts with something in the ground under the sawdust in his stall in the summer and I swear, I thought at first it was blood. The vet didn't think so but I collected a urine sample one night and ran several test strips thru it...and everything was normal. Since collecting a urine sample is fairly easy, it may be worth your peace of mind to zip one thru to have it checked. I think I stood there for a little over an hour waiting for "the moment."
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Member:
healthy1
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Posted on Monday, Dec 22, 2008 - 1:21 pm:
I was told from my vet, that a horse's urine sometimes turns certain shavings a red color, it is NOTHING to worry about and perfectly normal.
one time though i my horse had a "red" whiteline. it turned out that the whiteline was perfectly fine ( farrier was there that day and he checked by rasping) and it was stained red from the sawdust/shavings that turned red LOL.
also if your horse(s) goes outside in the snow & urinates it is NORMAL if the snow turns red where it happened. it is the urine reacting with the snow.  and NOT blood ask me how i found out about that LOL
P.S sorry if i repeated someone, i didn't read all of the replies.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Dec 23, 2008 - 7:31 am:
Well Joanne, I hope it is from reading our article on normal vs abnormal horse urine however let me correct a statement you make.
While red urine is common and within the normal range of urine it is not "nothing" to worry about. There are diseases, some serious, which discolor the urine red to red-brown. So this finding must be assessed in light of this knowledge. For more on this and other points see Diseases of Horses » Urinary System » Normal Urination in Horses.
DrO
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