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  Discussion on Change in urine smell???
Author Message
Member:
mysi

Posted on Sunday, Apr 27, 2008 - 9:58 pm:

Okay, I know this may seem strange...but I know my horse well, and notice any change in anything with them. For the past two days all three of my horses urine has turned foul. It smell so much stronger and different than normal. I've seen them all go and there is no discoloration or cloudiness in their urine.

I haven't change anything in their diet. The only thing I can think of is that the pastures are growing and very lush suddenly. They have been on them everyday, but it does seem like suddenly they are rapidly growing.

Is this abnormal? Should I be looking for something else as the cause? Should I be concerned?
Member:
ajudson1

Posted on Sunday, Apr 27, 2008 - 10:54 pm:

Doesn't lush grass have a higher sugar & starch content? Maybe that is affecting the smell of their urine?

Weird, I'll have to see if I notice that when mine get on pasture this year.
Member:
erika

Posted on Sunday, Apr 27, 2008 - 11:07 pm:

Melissa, the only way to tell for sure is to taste it...Just kidding!!I DO amuse myself sometimes.

I'll bet Angie's on to something. There's probably some weed in the pastures that is causing it. If they are otherwise normal, I'd chalk it up to something innocuous in their pasture.
Erika
Member:
dres

Posted on Sunday, Apr 27, 2008 - 11:18 pm:

are you feeding them asparagus?

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

Posted on Monday, Apr 28, 2008 - 6:54 am:

Hello Melissa,
Are you sure this is fresh urine and not the result of urine after it has had a day or two fermenting? Off the top of my head, I do not associated any diseases that are recognized because of the urine's odor.
DrO
Member:
mysi

Posted on Monday, Apr 28, 2008 - 10:06 pm:

Erika & Ann, thanks for the giggle!

It's really fresh urine. They are out all day from 5am and I bring them in to a fresh stall at 7:30pm. I go out and clean their stalls at about 10pm (I like to tuck Moose in at night too) and thats when I have really noticed it. I don't notice it in the morning so much when I do their stalls. I investigated the weed thing and the only weeds I see are these weeds that look like chive or green onion stalks, I pulled one out and it smells like onion/chives too. Do chives grow wild in this area Dr. O? Or is it a weed that is simular? Could that be it making the stinky pee? As long as I am not overlooking something serious I can handle the stink!
Member:
paul303

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008 - 12:16 am:

Could their water intake have decreased? With all the lush grass, they may be neglecting to drink enough. You might be smelling concentrated urine.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008 - 6:11 am:

The problem here Melissa is we cannot smell the pee so we don't know what you are dealing with. Does the odor of the urine smell like the odor of the plants? I am not aware of wild chives in our area.
DrO
Member:
ekaufman

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008 - 9:53 am:

Dunno DrO-- for me it doesn't seem exactly a problem that I can't smell this nasty pee. Guess it's a vet thing.
Member:
cpacer

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008 - 10:01 am:

Melissa, not sure where in NC you are but in my area of NC just south of Charlotte we do have wild onions that give my horses nice onion breath (not sure about the pee though). I've heard that high protein diets can make them more stinky??? Maybe there's some kind of legume in your pasture?
Member:
mysi

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008 - 9:05 pm:

Dr. O do you want me to drive some over to you to check out? It's quite a treat. I'm afraid it might loose alot of its pungent-ness on the way though, you might not get the full aroma.

Lee, yes they haven't been drinking as much as I think they should with the hot few days we had. It doesn't smell like strong ammonia though, it's like funky. Guess its hard to explain. I guess it's kind of a stinky vegetable smell maybe. Never thought of it like that, but I think thats it, plant like.

And CP, yes their breath smells like onions too, I didn't realize that. I thought I was crazy when I pulled one out and swore they smelled like onion and chive cream cheese!!! BTW, I'm about 45 min north and slightly east of Greensboro, just 7 miles south of the VA border (just below Danville, VA)

Atleast they are not suffering from some liver/kidney disease! Just stinky pee!
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