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Discussion on Qudding with Weight Loss
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Member:
indigo
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Posted on Thursday, Jan 8, 2009 - 11:11 am:
Hello Dr. O,
I am considering "rescuing" a mare that belongs to an aquantaince. The mare has a body score of a 2.5-3, and is three years old. The owner states the following:
"My vet has done her teeth twice. First time she had some small hooks and one loose cap. Second time the only thing he could find was two loose caps and I think he went ahead and knocked out wolf teeth. He thought maybe there was an absess or something wrong with the back of her throat but couldn't find anything. She can swallow her grain, but she just chews up her hay and DrOps it back on the ground. Nothing else wrong with her. There is probably something else going on because with as much grain as she does eat, she still shouldn't be this skinny. He thought maybe some kind of paralysis, but he said she shouldn't be able to swallow her grain either if that was the case. Normal poop/no fever/no nasal discharge, wormed regularly. She seems to feel fine, when I turn her out she just wanders around and picks at grass, you would think as skinny as she is that she would act like she was hungry. She eats her grain with gusto but isnt interested in the hay or grass all that much."
I know this person well enough to know that she is telling the truth about the horse. Her vet however is not strictly an equine vet, and I am not confident in his diagnosis and feel that perhaps this young mare might have a mouth issue that is causing her to quid. The owner is not in a financial situation to spend the money to take the horse elsewhere, as there are no good equine vets nearby her. I am considering taking the horse myself and sending her to my own vet for diagnosis and treatment, as the owner says her vet has recommended putting the horse down. This is a very nice mare and I hate to see her euthanized without knowing for sure she is untreatable.
I realize that it is impossible to make a diagnosis based on this limited information, but is it possible this horse could have something else going on that might be communicable? I am willing to take the mare, but I have several other horses (including pregnant mares) and due to my barn set up it is impossible for me to 100% isolate this new horse from the others. I want to help, but not at the expense of my own horses.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
CC
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Member:
hollyw
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Posted on Thursday, Jan 8, 2009 - 8:36 pm:
CC, it could be that there is a tooth issue that the other vet didn't localize. Maybe an infection, maybe ulcers in her mouth?
Why not have your equine vet do a physical exam and take some tests, and that way, you will know if there is a bug that you shouldn't bring to your barn.
It is definitely odd that she is so young, yet unable or unwilling to eat hay. I'd bet that she has more of a tooth problem than the first vet diagnosed.
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Thursday, Jan 8, 2009 - 9:08 pm:
CC my mare (who is old) has 2 reasons she quids, USUALLY it is because of some kind of pain, sometimes it is her teeth. The only way I can differentiate the 2 is to give her some banamine. If the quidding stops with banamine it is usually pain related...I figure her arthritis. If it doesn't stop I have her teeth checked.
Is it possible this mare could have some kind of pain going on, does her surroundings look like it could make her ulcer prone?... Lots of grain, not much forage?
3 yr. olds can have some teeth problems, I've had a few, but quidding was never a symptom, but that was just my experience.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Jan 9, 2009 - 7:58 am:
Yes, it is possible this horse may have some communicable disease that might effect your horse and the pregnancy. This would include Strangles and a plethora of herpes virus infections. These diseases and others can present with no signs yet the horse be contagious.
DrO
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