|
|
Discussion on Did I give my horse an ulcer?
|
| Author |
Message |
Member:
teddi
|
Posted on Friday, Jan 23, 2009 - 12:08 pm:
I have a 25 year old gelding that has always been a bit of a hard keeper. Recently I've had some issues with deer and elk on my property. Because of this, there's been a lot of pretty intense commotion around his paddock (firecrackers, rubber bullets being fired, people in his paddock). As a result he's reduced his eating to an alarming point. I keep hay in front of him all the times and have cut his SeniorGlo rations into several smaller portions throughout the day,but it just seems as if he doesn't want to eat. He'll eat a little, then stop and walk away from his food. I estimate that he's eating approximately 5 to 10lbs. of hay a day now. Where he probably needs between 24 and 30lbs a day (it's snowing and extremely cold). This has been going on for about a week now and I'd hoped it would get better with the cease fire with the deer and elk. (If you read my post on Deer and Elk problems you'll understand). I had assumed that since he's an ultra sensitive horse, that once the loud noises stopped he would be fine, but it worries me that he's still not eating. I don't know if he now has an ulcer, or if it's just him being spooked and nervous. Regardless of which one it is though, I'm worried that he's going to get sick if he doesn't start eating soon.
To give you some background on him, he's a retired ranch horse (QH) and was, I suspect, handled roughly as a young horse. As a result, he is a bit on the nervous side - scared more of people than things, a slow eater, and an omega in any horse herd. I have him in a large paddock next to another horse who he's friends with. He has free choice hay (both grass and alfalfa) and I feed him SeniorGlo with Cortaflx morning and night (which he now doesn't finish). He has access to a large plain salt block and heated water. He is eliminating regularly, although in much smaller amounts. His manure looks normal and he is drinking water.
Dr. O - I know you've read my posts on the deer and elk problems. Do you think I gave my horse an ulcer??
Thanks so much,
Teddy
|
Member:
canter
|
Posted on Friday, Jan 23, 2009 - 12:59 pm:
Teddy, I can't speak to the ulcer, but at 25 years old, he may have some other old age related issues...it may be worth your while to have a vet come out and give him a thorough check up, including teeth, to rule out any problems.
Until this summer, we had a 33 yo paint where I board, that became a hard keeper in the last 3 years of his life. Vet couldn't find anything wrong with him. The owner tried many feeds to get weight back on the old guy. It turned out that he simply became more picky in his tastes for those 3 years and when the owner finally found a feed that he liked, he started to put weight back on and looked half his age until he sadly passed away.
Best of luck with your senior citizen...at best, it's been a difficult weather winter for even younger horses.
|
Member:
teddi
|
Posted on Friday, Jan 23, 2009 - 1:49 pm:
Hi Fran, thanks so much for your reply. I have the vet scheduled to come out soon to be certain, but I think his lack of appetite is more a product of the craziness that has gone on around here for the past few weeks than anything else. His reluctance to eat came about abruptly and coincides with when the gunfire started. Also, it seems as if he's worried all the time which makes eating a difficult thing.
I should have added that although he is what I would call a hard keeper, he does normally eat a lot (albeit very slowly) and will keep weight on through the winter without a problem (as long as I keep hay in front of him at all times). I had some issues over last winter with my younger horse eating all the food before my old guy had a chance to finish his. Which is why they now live next to each other, but separately.
That being said, I have ordered several bags of alfalfa hay cubes (which he loves) and a huge bucket of Mrs. Pastures cookies. He LOVES Mrs. Pastures cookies and nothing else will do.
What a nice story about the old paint at your barn. It's nice to hear about owners who will work that hard to keep their horses healthy and happy.
Thanks again for your advice. 
|
Member:
rtrotter
|
Posted on Friday, Jan 23, 2009 - 2:25 pm:
Teddy,
I would try a set of soundproof earplugs on him with an ear hood ( The ear hood keeps the ear plugs in just in case the horse tries to shake them out). Big D's has two kinds, I'd recommend the small black popout ones (they are not as bulky and fit a horses ears better). they come with clips that you can attach to his halter, but I have also used them placed inside the toe part of a couple of knee high stockings ( This also makes it easier to get in and out of his ears. I tie a knot right above each earplug, leave a bit of the string that comes with them attached and then tie the two stockings together. You can cut the excess stockings off after they are tied together, you need enough stocking on both sides of the center knot to let your horses ears move forward and back( Should be about 8-10 inches depending on the size of your horses head.
You can also use cotton in the stockings the same way, it is just not as sound proof. But it would be cheaper to try the cotton first to see if it would work.
I hope this helps
Rachelle
|
Member:
frances
|
Posted on Saturday, Jan 24, 2009 - 7:19 am:
Just wondering whether you have him blanketed, Teddy? If not, it might help him hold on to the calories you do manage to get into him.
|
Moderator:
DrO
|
Posted on Saturday, Jan 24, 2009 - 10:52 am:
Teddy I cannot say if your horse has ulcers or not but as others have pointed out there are many possibilities. To review them and see our recommendations for caring for difficult keepers see Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Weight Loss in Horses » Overview of Chronic Weight Loss. As to the diagnosis of gastric ulcers the article in this section deals with this.
Concerning the use of "cookies" I do not know if they represent good nutrition on not. If they do not I think it is a mistake to relieve hunger if more nutritious feeds available.
DrO
|
Member:
martina
|
Posted on Saturday, Jan 24, 2009 - 12:32 pm:
Hi Teddy,
I have a similar issue with my gelding, who is very sensitive and worries about everything and anything! If something changes in his environment (including snowcover on the ground), he focuses on it and comes off his hay and grain. In the Winter, this can have a devastating effect.
After treating his ulcers last year, I started him on Quiessence. I am very happy with the results. Although he still exhibits signs of nervousness/worry when the snowmobiles go by or the deer are running, he does not continue to fret after the situation changes back to "normal."
You may want to try a supplement, even if temporarily, and see if it helps in your situation. I also keep him blanketed in the Winter, which for some reason also seems to make him less tense.
Best of luck!
Tina
|
Member:
teddi
|
Posted on Saturday, Jan 24, 2009 - 8:23 pm:
Hi Everyone,
Thank you for your responses.
Rachelle - the earplug idea is genius, but thankfully the gunfire has stopped and I won't need them now. Good information to know for the future though.
LL - I have a blanket for him, but have never used it. I keep thinking of putting it on him, but worry that he'll hate it. He's never worn a blanket in his entire life and the stress of having it on him might make him fret even more than he is now. If it looks like I'm not keeping weight on him though it'd be worth a try.
Dr. O - I read the article on gastric ulcers before posting my question, but didn't read the article on chronic weight loss. Because my old guy has been so healthy and happy up until what we'll call the "deer and elk incident", I think he's just suffering from a bad case of nervousness. I think I learned a lesson here with regard to being more prudent about how I handle chasing off interlopers on my property. In the future, I'll bear in mind the repercussions of what just happened.
Oh and regarding the cookies, they're really only for making my horse view me as a non-threatening person again and not for a feed replacement. He really loves those cookies and I used to keep some in my pockets when I first got him so he'd associate me with pleasant things. Since our problems with deer and elk started, every time he sees me it seems to be associated with firecrackers and loud noises. So, it's back to making friends again.
Tina - I think you know exactly what kind of horse I have since it sounds as if yours is similar in temperament to mine. In watching my guy it looks as if he's worried about eating more than not wanting to eat. If he sees deer on the mountain coming our way, he immediately looks up and leaves his food. It's as if he's now conditioned to scary things coming when the deer come. So I've stopped trying to chase the deer away and have tried to make things go back to normal again for him. It seems to be working because he's already more settled and is eating for longer periods of time. Makes me feel guilty that I scared him so bad that he went off his feed though.
Regarding the Quiessence, I used it years ago on a colt that was on stall rest for several weeks with good results. I actually considered buying some the other day, but decided to see how the old guy does in the next week or so without it.
So hopefully we're getting closer to a resolution for both my deer problems and my old guy eating again.
Thanks so much and I'll keep you posted.
|
Moderator:
DrO
|
Posted on Sunday, Jan 25, 2009 - 10:32 am:
Whenever anyone brings up the herbal/vitamin paste sedatives I feel the need to point out that there is no support for the notion these are helpful and 25 years of personal experience with them suggests that it seems to help the owner some. It is always important to remember in assessing efficacy that horses tend to naturally adapt to most situations whether they are given such pastes or not. I still do not know of any better sedative for such situations than a big pasture or pile of palatable forage.
DrO
|
|
|
