This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below:
HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Weakness, Exhaustion & Overheating » Overheating and Exhaustion »
  Discussion on Recovering from dehydration and exhaustion
Author Message
New Member:
simplysu

Posted on Friday, Jun 28, 2013 - 12:08 am:

I rode two days in a row in a dressage clinic two weeks. I had pretreated my horse with electrolytes knowing it was going to be over 100 the first day. She came through the clinic fine, was given a day off and put back to work. After the second day back to work she went off her feed, became depressed, and was producing very little, but very dry, poop. She would eat some grain "soup" to which we added mineral oil and sweet feed, and nibble alfalfa but not her grass. She was not lying down, rolling, looking at her tummy, or otherwise presenting physical discomfort. She was drinking her water. I added 15g paste probiotic to her daily treatment. We had been consulting the vet on the phone, but two days later, things had not really improved so we had her came out. She checked vitals but did not do a rectal. She confirmed the mare was not presenting colic, ulcer, or dehydration, recommended against tubing and advised we carry on, add salt to her feed and give her light work. That was a week ago. The mare is eating, she is no longer depressed, she is drinking water, she is working well. However, her poops are still dry and not as frequent as I would like. Today, e.g., she only had one pile compared to the other horses' three when I checked her. Her norm is 6-8 in a 24 hour period. Some days since this started she has pooped that much. I'm not sure what to do next. She no longer agreeably eats feed with mineral oil added. I have been researching what I might add to get her bowels moving and thought about adding psyllium. I am at a loss. Any similar experiences or recommendations? This is an 11 year old Hanoverian mare in good health (normally) and up to date routine health care. I have owned her for three years.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 - 5:15 pm:

Hello Suzanne,
The problem here is there is no diagnosis of what might be wrong. You have a vague feeling of too few poops but since she had a period of inappetance back when this began this might not be abnormal...I just don't know from the information above. Perhaps something else happened to have her go off feed during the clinic? How much water is she consuming daily? I would quit doing anything that interferes with her appetite and agree with idea of increasing the roughage. It will help retain water in the bowel. We have a list of recommendations at HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Colic in Horses » Cecal Impaction for ways to increase bowel/fecal water content.
DrO
New Member:
simplysu

Posted on Tuesday, Jul 2, 2013 - 12:39 am:

Thanks DrO,

She is back to normal now thank goodness, took over a week. Could have been a combination of things. She is consuming lots of water now and was while this was going on. I am grateful for that as it is now over 100 here. I'll check out the article your recommend.
Home Page | Top of Page | Join Us!
Horseadvice.com is a BBB Accredited Business. Click for the BBB Business Review of this Horse Training in Stokesdale NC