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  Discussion on Quidding after floating
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Posted on Sunday, Sep 5, 1999 - 11:47 am:

Dr. O
I am a newcomer to the site. It is extremely informative. Thank you for making this available to us.
I to have a problem like Mary and Pam have described. I recently purchased a 6 yr old App stud that had a chewing/swallowing problem. the former owner had him on a high grain diet. He was extremely overweight prior to my purchase. When I got him home, his stools imitated a steer on full concentrate feed. His water intake was limited, 4-5 gal/day. He would graze with minimal quidding (spitting of chewed forage) but increased with hay. He will only consume alfalfa, not grass hay. He was leased a month prior to my purchase and the leasee said that the problem was real severe and had him floated. The problem improved but was not eliminated. Conferring with my vet, it was decided to go to the University of Minnesota for a check up/dental exam. Upon oral exam of the mouth, he had points on the bottom 2nd to the last molar on each side. Radiographs showed the molars to be tipped inward and the beginning of wavy mouth. The "U" did an extensive floating/grinding of the molars. Upon bringing him home, the quidding had not improved, and it was suggested that 2 weeks should be given for his tongue to heal. I might note that the vet mention his tongue was covering the molars and they could not be seen, only felt. It has been two weeks and although his water intake has increased to 10-12 gal/day. His chewing situation has not been eliminated.

You mentioned the mild colic, but this has been going on for close to 2 months that can be documented. The breeder that sold him in 12/98 told me that there was no problems at her ranch. Could it be possible that he is suffering from sand colic. I have not read the colic issue yet but will. Or do I need to give the situation more time to work through. The "U" doesn't seem to concerned at this point yet. This has stumped many owners and professionals alike and this is first posting of symptoms exactly like I am experiencing. Your comments??

Posted on Monday, Sep 6, 1999 - 6:41 am:

Hello Bruce,
First, you need to decide is he having trouble chewing or is he lacking desire. This may be a difficult decision and always keep your mind open that you may be wrong.

Horses having difficulty chewing are bright and alert but they struggle to chew. They frequently move their head around, they quid, they spit out cuds, they try hard but get ther slow. On the other hand horses that lack desire might pick up food but then change their mind about eating and it just sits there in their mouth, maybe a chew or two, maybe it falls back out. They are mildly depressed with a far away look in there eye. Now that I think about it, it really isn't that hard to tell the difference...

So first decide which and then develop a rule out list from there.
DrO

Posted on Monday, Sep 6, 1999 - 11:05 am:

Dr. O,

The day is split about 50/50 with him moving about normally around the paddock grazing what grass is left and standing around with a "I don't care" type of attitude.

I moved him to new paddock giving him better view of the other horses and having better grazing. He grazed the other paddock to the bare ground. He will graze quite aggressively and spit a cud every 4th mouthfull or so, when the grass is long. short grass he doesn't spit at all. He is normally nonchallant at eating hay, will always eat alfalfa over grass, and will agressively eat grain if given.

I was told that he was wormed just prior to the sale, but am having second thoughts after reading the colic article. I am thinking the second step here would be to worm him. He is around 1000#. would a 1200# dose of Ivermectrin be to much, or would I be better off with a different wormer if in fact he is "loaded"? And also would it be beneficial to shorten up the worming cycle with two different wormers to get a broader spectrum coverage?

Thank you.
Bruce

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 7, 1999 - 6:41 am:

Ivermectin or Quest would probably be fine if his fecals are negative before you start. 1250 lb dosage of ivermectin would be safe for a 1000 lb horse. If he shows signs of a heavy burden you might try the larvacidal Panacur regimen. Since he was overweight severe burdens seem unlikely.
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 7, 1999 - 9:53 am:

I'm not to clear on what you mean by a negative fecal. Could you expand for me please?
Thank you.

Bruce

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 8, 1999 - 7:15 am:

A fecal test, also known as a fecal float, is a test for parasite ova is the stools of the horse. This is done by suspending a small amount of stool, usually around a gram, in a supersaturated solution of salt or sugar, then allowing it to sit for about 5 minutes. The eggs concentrate at the top, which is then touched to a microscope slide, a coverslip put on, and examined under 100X power for the ova. This test is not without problems with false negatives so must be interpreted with careful attention to the history. For example, recent deworming may hide the fact that the horse is very wormy and on badly contaminated pastures by suppressing egg counts.
For more information on this read the articles in the
1) General Care: Deworming
2) Colic & GI: Weight Loss: Parasites
sections of The Advisor.
DrO
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