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Discussion on REFUSAL TO DRINK WATER
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New Member:
remount
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009 - 12:45 pm:
Dr. Oglesby,
I have a 13yr old T.B. that has suddenly refused to drink water. He normally will drink from bucket and automatic. I turned off the auto to monitor intake, but it was only a few inches in the last 48 hrs. His grain was cut and replaced with a very soupy mash with electrolytes and the hay is being soaked, all at the direction of the vet. Blood came back possibly pointing to viral.
SMZ's am/pm 5 days now and 30,000 ml of plasmalyte to date, also on a blood-fluid-muscle supplement w/creatine. Symptoms started 8 days ago and has progressed to current.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Remount
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009 - 8:34 pm:
Dr. O will hopefully answer your question soon but if this were my horse I would not let it go too long without Veterinary help.
Fluids can be administered IV.
Pain medications can be administered if pain is an issue preventing drinking.
Steroids can be given to make the horse feel better and more inclined to eat and drink if this is appropriate.
I am not a Vet and do not make these comments as one, but only as a horse owner considering the problem.
All best wishes with solving this problem, which certainly sounds to be of serious concern.
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Member:
sodmonst
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009 - 11:07 pm:
It was a smart move to turn off the auto water so that you could monitor your horse. How does his manure look? Is it starting to be hard and overly compacted?
We almost lost a horse when a new horse assumed #1 position in the group and wouldn't let him get to the water trough during turnout. He had automatic water in his stall at night, but it wasn't enough to catch him up.
He went off his feed and got our attention, but by then he'd lost interest in drinking much and needed IV support to restart his interest in water. His manure had gotten quite compacted and had the consistency of very dense clay. I agree with Vicki, waiting too long before getting a vet involved is not wise.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 23, 2009 - 8:29 am:
Hello Remount,
Can you tell me what was found on the physical exam, in particular the vital signs and any abnormalities noted. Also what laboratory test were run and their results, please include units and lab normal values. I would also be interested in the temporal relation between treatment with fluids and when the tests were run.
In the mean time you should supply fresh water in a plastic water bucket and turn off all electricity in the barn to see if the horse will return to the automatic waterer. Stray electrical voltage can cause horses to quit using auto-waterers
DrO
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New Member:
remount
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 23, 2009 - 6:57 pm:
Thank you DR. Oglesby and everyone for your quick responses. Doc, I'll post the exact cbc results as soon as I get them, blood was drawn immediately before administrating fluids. Physical exam revealed the following: 3-4 sec. skin pinch under eye, stance appears normal, cap refill 3-4 sec. gum color slightly off pink, he is not overly lethargic or unbalanced, guttural sound is exaggerated. I moved him yesterday to another barn with better ventilation and he is still on buckets and has consumed approx 4 fingers today.Appetite is still fine with very soupy mash in lieu of grain and soaked hay. Resting vitals have been consistent as follows: Temp 98.0-98.7 Resp 19-23 pulse 39-42.
Thanks again to everyone for all the help,
REMOUNT
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 23, 2009 - 8:47 pm:
Remount, I have my mare locked in a pen for 18 hrs. a day...she is pony sized 13.3hh and she has been concerning me with the amount of water she has been drinking...less then 5 gals in 2-3 days. I have just kept an eye one her and she seems fine. She has been on a "water strike" for a couple weeks.
It finally occured to me we have had some very cool weather for this time of year. It warmed up today and her water consumption went up with the temp. She is not a big drinker to start with. Maybe 2-3 gals a day is normal FOR her.
I do know she much prefers to drink out of the auto-waterer than a bucket, but she doesn't have access to it, since she is locked up because of injury.
Since you are watering everything down, maybe he isn't as thirsty. Have you tried switching buckets or adding molasses, apple juice, or something sweet to his water? Once when my mare wasn't drinking up to my standards I put an apple right in her water bucket That got some water in her!
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Member:
rtrotter
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Posted on Friday, Jul 24, 2009 - 6:57 am:
Remount,
Some observations about my own horses. I used to worry because on certain days my horses would go without touching their water for a full day. They get fresh water morning and night. Then I realized that it seemed to happen when they had access to grass, especially freshly rained on grass. I also noticed that when I gave them wet soupy mashes they did not drink very much water as well.
If your horse is eating his mashes and or if he has access to wet grass or grass in general, he may be monitoring his own water intake and getting enough even if he is not drinking from his bucket.
Rachelle
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Jul 24, 2009 - 9:11 am:
The normal HR contradicts the suggestions of dehydration from the skin pinch (a poor test) and capillary refill time. Looking forward to the labs.
DrO
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