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  Discussion on Inflammatory Bowel in 17 yr old gelding recurring
Author Message
Member:
mokuchta

Posted on Friday, Jan 9, 2015 - 8:36 pm:

Finn, my Morgan/Trakehner gelding had mild bouts of colic (1-2 hours mild discomfort) 3-4 times a year for several years. Last year he began losing weight and stopped eating grain. He colicked severely (lying down, distress) three times at 10 day intervals. The vet did an ultrasound and found enlargements in his intestines that he thought could be from inflammatory bowel disease. Finn was put on steroid shots for 1 month and appeared to recover completely. Now, 9 months later he is starting to lose his appetite for grain again and appears lethargic. He has not colicked, but I am concerned. The vet is thinking about putting Finn on steroids again but says that each time you do this it can become less effective. The vet did suggest changing Finn's feed to see if there was something Finn is intolerant to. Originally he was on Blue Seal Sentinal Senior (no oats, beet pulp, wheat, corn). After the colic and the steroids, I changed him to oats with molasses and he was fine until now. Is there anything that I can change his feed to? Is there anything else he may have an intolerance to? Finn gets 1st cutting grass/alfalfa hay. I was thinking of taking him off grain altogether but he is a hard keeper and I'm afraid he will lose too much weight. Anyway, I'm looking for any suggestions that might be worth trying. Thank you.
Member:
rtrotter

Posted on Saturday, Jan 10, 2015 - 9:54 am:

I have just started my horse on an all forage diet consisting of premium alfalfa hay cubes, Timothy Hay and a Triple Crown product called Alfa-Lox. He gets the equivalent of 2.5% of his body weight right now because he is on hiatus from racing. He has had intermittent digestive issues but has not colicked for the past 5 years. Because of some of his other issues and symptoms I am trying to eliminate soy from his diet(which was in his feed) and the all forage diet seems to have cleaned up the gassy issue. Prior to starting this I had some success with using a product called Bio-Mos to handle the hind gut issues and by removing all extra supplements from his diet.
Member:
mokuchta

Posted on Saturday, Jan 10, 2015 - 10:50 am:

Funny you should say that. I just bought some Alfa-Lox to try. I am concerned about keeping Finn's weight up since he is a hard keeper and it is freezing here. If I go off of grain completely Finn may have a weight problem. I'll check into the Bio-Mos.

Also, I forgot to say in my earlier post but Finn's teeth have been done, he has a clean fecal, and he is a mild cribber.
Member:
mrose

Posted on Saturday, Jan 10, 2015 - 11:08 am:

How old is Finn? By "enlargements" I assume you mean a thickening of the intestinal wall, not anything that could be an enterolith? I usually have the opposite problem than trying to get a horse to keep weight on, but on the few that did need to gain, I added either Equine Senior mixed with soaked beet pulp or alfalfa pellets with a little oil poured over it to their diets. The horses seem to love the taste of both KocaSoya oil and corn oil if you are having trouble getting them to eat grain.
Member:
rtrotter

Posted on Saturday, Jan 10, 2015 - 11:12 am:

With the addition of the alfa-lox (only 2-3 lbs a day), I took my horse off the Bio-Mos as the Alfa-Lox has both prebiotics and probiotics.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jan 10, 2015 - 11:24 am:

Hello Maureen,
Though there is discussion of such problems we have not clearly identified any such allergens in adult horses so it is a matter of trial and error. There are so many feed possibilities that I don't have any particular recommendations just be sure it is balanced, for suggestions check out HorseAdvice.com » Horse Care » Equine Nutrition, Horse Feeds, Feeding where we discuss many different diets.
DrO
Member:
mokuchta

Posted on Saturday, Jan 10, 2015 - 11:42 am:

Dr. Oglesby, I am heading in the direction of a food incompatibility but we really don't know exactly what the problem is. The horse has been scoped and had ultrasound but there is no definitive diagnosis. Is there anything you can suggest? Without knowing what the problem is, we are just guessing.
Member:
mokuchta

Posted on Saturday, Jan 10, 2015 - 11:50 am:

Sara, thanks for you help. The vet said they looked like enlarged lymph nodes. Enteroliths were not seen. The problem with Finn is that he is a poor keeper and he has a poor appetite when he is sick. When he is feeling normal he eats everything in sight and weight isn't a problem. The bottom line is that we really don't know what is wrong and if food is even the problem. Since Finn will eat hay even when he won't eat grain I am going to try the Alpha lox.
Member:
rtrotter

Posted on Saturday, Jan 10, 2015 - 12:12 pm:

Maureen,

Make sure you weigh the alfa-lox the maximum to feed is 2-4 lbs as it is a supplement. I mix my alfalfa cubes with the alfa-lox and add warm water, its cold here too. I started this because I thought my horse had ulcers and wanted something other than $3000 worth of Ulcer Meds to cure him. I'd rather he eats constantly to keep his saliva flowing naturally than have to treat with meds to keep the acid down, better for him and better for my pocketbook.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 13, 2015 - 5:57 pm:

Hello Maureen,
If you believe it is a food allergy you must try novel diets but understand that from the information presented here that is not at all clear as there are still so many possibilities, for an overview of the condition of undiagnosed weight loss see, HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Weight Loss in Horses » Overview of Chronic Weight Loss.
DrO
Member:
mokuchta

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 13, 2015 - 7:22 pm:

Thanks Dr. The chronic weight loss section was very informative.The horse's diet has been reviewed and OKed by my vet and Finn is always kept up to date on dental work, fecal testing and worming. No other horses have become sick in my barn and several are on similar feed regimens. I believe that the obvious stuff (including stomach ulcers) has been ruled out. I have looked into Finn's diet because that is an easy thing to change and control. I could take Finn to a vet college but what else could there be wrong with him that actually can be fixed? My vet seems to be taking the route of trying different things to treat the horse rather than determining the problem. He felt that the vet school would be likely to suggest exploratory surgery and that there were not a lot of other options left. If there is other testing that can be done to provide information that might help Finn. I would be interested.
Member:
rtrotter

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 14, 2015 - 7:42 am:

Maureen,

I just wanted to touch on a point about him losing weight because of going off grain. I am not sure this is an issue and as long as the volume of what you are feeding him stays above his daily needs and is balanced. I am not sure if that is a problem. What you can not do is feed below the level of his daily needs. I have been taking my hay cubes home and soaking them overnight during this cold spell. I thought my horse would go nuts if he did not get his "feed" but I gradually reduced the amount he was getting while increasing his hay and cube amount and one day, even though I fed him his measly 1 lb, he preferred the cubes and alfa-lox, so he let me know it was ok to stop. He's been fine doesn't even look for it any more.

I really feel that my horse would be better off if he had an automatic feeder. I have tried many different types of gravity feeders, none of which worked for very long, but the automatic feeders are too expensive, my horse eats 3 times a day.
Member:
mokuchta

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 14, 2015 - 2:29 pm:

Thanks rtrotter. I have weaned Finn off of grain and am monitoring his weight. If he doesn't lose weight in this cold (-18F here last night) he never will. He is getting the Alpha-lox 3x a day as well as free choice alfalfa/grass 2nd cutting hay. I'm thinking of looking into some kind of vitamin supplement. I still have no idea if changing around his feed will make a difference since we don't know exactly what is wrong with him. My vet doesn't believe that there are any possible treatments for what Finn has other than steroids, getting lucky with changing Finn's feed, or exploratory surgery to see what is going on. I was thinking of putting the hay in those bags designed to slow down eating so that the horse gets smaller amounts for longer periods. I sent you an email btw.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Jan 18, 2015 - 9:40 am:

Maureen the article referenced above gives many possible tests to be run which I do not see referenced in your post. But I am a little confused as to your strategy to try and help your horse. On the one hand you do not wish to pursue more aggressive diagnostics but then chide your veterinarian for treating without a diagnosis. If you want a better idea about what is going on I think a referral to a equine veterinary Internest is a good idea.
DrO
Member:
mokuchta

Posted on Sunday, Jan 18, 2015 - 1:16 pm:

Thank you. Actually I'm not chiding my vet. I think he did a great job and certainly ended Finn's dangerous colic episodes when he prescribed steroids. When I said that my vet is trying different fixes rather than determining the problem, I don't disagree with his strategy. If something works, then it may give us information about what is wrong and will certainly help the horse. I am looking for different things to try and I am looking to see what else can be done without invasive surgery on this horse. I will speak with my vet and possibly ask him to consult with Cornell which is nearby.
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