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  Discussion on Mare unrinates a lot
Author Message
Member:
Shylow

Posted on Saturday, Dec 4, 2004 - 5:17 pm:

I have a 23 year old Morgan mare. She is now being kept in a stall at night that has rubber mats. The new owners of the barn tell me that she urinates a lot at night. When I moved her to this barn 8 months ago the owner said she was drinking a lot too, so I had her checked for kidney problems. She was fine. She isn't drinking as much, but the new owners think she urinates more than the other horses. She has just been diagnosed with Equine Metabolic SynDrOme. The vet said that her urine was fine. I bought some Dry Stall to try to get rid of the smell in her stall. Some days it is really strong. My question is; do older horses urinate more than younger ones? The other horses in the barn are 3-12. If not what else might be causing this problem.
Member:
Shirl

Posted on Saturday, Dec 4, 2004 - 8:41 pm:

Janet, Sounds like your horse is Insulan Resistant or may have Cushings. To check this out have your vet do a blood test for both. ACTH is the best. My mare had the same problem and once diagnosed with Cushings via blood test, my vet put her on Pergolide for Cushings. Her heavy urinating stopped almost at once. I'd suggest a blood test. Lots of vets use the Dexamethozone test, mine did, but it can bring on laminitis in some horses. Does she have a cresty neck, fatty deposits above the eyes, full udder, heavier coat than usual that doesn't shed correctly? Those are all signs of Cushings amd can also indicate I.R. Best of luck, Shirley
Member:
Shylow

Posted on Saturday, Dec 4, 2004 - 10:31 pm:

She had this test last month. She was diagnosed with Equine Metabolic SynDrOme and not Cushing.
Member:
Shirl

Posted on Sunday, Dec 5, 2004 - 12:14 am:

Janet, you might find help by going to Member Services, Care of the Horse, Endocrine Disorders, until you can reach Dr. O. Best of luck, Shirl
Member:
Dres

Posted on Sunday, Dec 5, 2004 - 2:20 am:

Just a thought.. I have a mare that has decided NOT to pee out in the pasture ALL day.. when I bring her in at night, she floods the stall.. thus her stall is always wetter then the others..


On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with SPOTS..
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Dec 5, 2004 - 9:00 am:

Hello Janet,
If you get the feeling most of our members think this is not EMS but instead Equine Cushings (Cushingnoid) Disease there is a reason. The two diseases share some similarities but the age of your horse and history of drinking and urinating almost nail it as EC and I do not know of any tests that positiviely differentiate the two: I would be interested in what tests were run and what the results were. For more on both of these diseases see Diseases: Endocrine:.
DrO
Member:
Shylow

Posted on Sunday, Dec 5, 2004 - 5:23 pm:

My vet did Dex suppression, insulin, and glucose. He felt that she was closer to EMS than EC. We talked about Cushing, but he didn't think she was there yet. I don't remember all the results. She isn't drinking as much as she was. I think her over-drinking last spring was my fault. She had just had a bad accident that cut her leg to the bone and right after it happened I felt she wasn't drinking enough. A friend told me to put table salt in her food. I did that for three months two time a day before she came to the new barn. Right now she is drinking a fraction of what she was last spring.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Dec 13, 2004 - 9:59 am:

The problem that I see with your assessment is that if the new barn owners are correct and she is urinating heavily, then it must follow that she is still drinking a lot: the water has to come from somewhere.
DrO
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