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  Discussion on Foamy mouth, weight loss
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Member:
dianes

Posted on Saturday, Jun 13, 2009 - 9:29 am:

Hi, Dr. O,

I have a perplexing issue going on with my 19-year-old Arab mare. She's always too FAT because she's the boss mare and she eats everyone else's groceries in addition to her own. A very easy keeper. This winter I noticed she was losing weight and frothing at the mouth. She wasn't worked all winter, had no bit in her mouth or any of the obvious things you would think of. I had her teeth floated and the comment was her teeth were excellent and could belong to a mare 10 years her junior. I had put her on Equine Sr. when I noticed the weight loss, so the vet suggested taking her off that for a while and seeing if the frothing stopped. It didn't. She's now on COB with Equine Sr. and hay/pasture each day. Her weight continues to be low (for her). Honestly, she's never looked better, but that's really unusual for her. And the frothing continues. Her lower lip actually pooches out a bit on the right side, too, and when I went to bathe the gang last week, there was a big pile of foamy spit on the rubber matting where she had been. My vet said he doesn't know what's going on, but to try Clovite, which can eliminate some condition Arabs get. I didn't understand the details. Can you offer an opinion here? She is otherwise looking great, but I think she continues to lose weight. I NEVER fed her grain or Equine Sr. or Horse Chow 200 before because she was SOOOOO fat. Could this just be an aging change? Thanks, Dr. O. Hope this finds you well. Diane
Member:
mrose

Posted on Saturday, Jun 13, 2009 - 10:28 am:

Diane, this was something my old mare (Arab) was doing when she wouldn't eat. It turned out she had an abcess on her check way back behind her molars. It might be something to check out. Once he healed up she went back to being her same piggy self. I am feeding her the Senior along with hay, however, as she doesn't seem to get as much out of the hay as she used to.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Jun 14, 2009 - 6:33 pm:

Diane,
I am trying to get a picture of this. Lots of horses will occasionally form up some foamy spit and have it fall out of their mouth. This has gotten much worse recently in the N. hemisphere with the clover coming on. If your horse has developed a little paralysis to the muscles of the lips, this might make normal salivation look abnormal as it is lost. If the horse is chewing normally and the head and mouth appear normal on physical exam I don't easily see a connection to the weight loss. Are their any other symptoms than those you write about above and did the vet do a thorough exam of the whole horse, the head, and inside of the mouth?
DrO
Member:
dianes

Posted on Sunday, Jun 14, 2009 - 7:30 pm:

Hi, Dr. O,
This is more than occasional spit. She always seems to have an excess of saliva in her mouth. It doesn't always fall out, but she'll move her mouth and you can tell there's lots of spit in there. And the small pooch to the side of her lip is new.
Yes, the vet anesthetized her, floated her teeth, and he thought maybe it was the Equine Sr. since that was a new addition to her diet. Maybe an allergy or something. But eliminating that didn't change the excess salivation. He also did a blood workup on her, and it was normal.
Could be I'm worrying for nothing, but this mare has so consistently been overweight that this new figure of hers is an attention-getter. That, coupled with the salivation, has my radar up, so I thought I'd post to see if there was something else I should be considering or watching for.
This time last year, I was taking her off feed earlier than the others. This year, I'm leaving her on longer and adding oats, Equine Sr., and a Purina product for weight gain (forget the name), but she's so much leaner than last year! All in all, I'm not unhappy about that - but it's just so NOT like her that I thought I'd post and inquire.
Thanks for your thoughts. It's great having this forum.
Kindest regards,
Diane
Member:
paul303

Posted on Monday, Jun 15, 2009 - 12:16 am:

White ( Alsike )clover is really a pain in the neck. In your pasture and ( I think ), in your hay, it can cause slobbers. It also causes photosensitivity in some horses. Nasty stuff if your horse can't take it.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Jun 15, 2009 - 9:09 am:

A few corrections to the post above. Alsike clover, Trifolium hybridum, is toxic mainly do to the damage it does to the liver and though its flowers are pinkish to white is not the same thing as white clover, Trifolium repens. Usually red clover, Trifolium pratense, is considered most responsible for "slobbers" for more on this see, Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Mouth, Esophagus, and Liver » Slobbering, Salivation, and Clover Poisoning
Member:
paul303

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 16, 2009 - 12:54 am:

Thanks, Dr.O, for the clarification. I'm having a terrible problem with photosensitivity right now and have pulled my horses off my Alsike clover infested pasture ( and had it sprayed ). The vet is coming tomorrow to pull blood and x-ray blown up legs.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 16, 2009 - 7:18 am:

Lee, why don't you start a new discussion this might be of interest to lots of members as this very wet year in the US where alsike is common it may be a problem where it has not been before.

A good place to place it would be Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Mouth, Esophagus, and Liver » Plant Poisoning and the Liver: Hepatotoxicty.
DrO
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