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  Discussion on Help for anhiDrOic(sp) mini mare
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Member:
Skutyba

Posted on Friday, Sep 30, 2005 - 12:01 pm:

I'm at my wit's end with my 9 yr. old mini mare, Tess. For the first 7 yrs., she never had a sick day or took a lame step. For the last 2 years, it been one thing after another. From founder to just sore feet and now anhiDrOsis, she's having a tough time. The anhiDrOsis started late last summer, and reappeared this year. I live in Texas (Houston) which is the worst place for this problem. She has stopped sweating completely. Not under the mane, stomach, nowhere. And, of course, being a mini (a large one) she grows hair like a Thelwell pony year-round. Poor baby .......we have body-clipped her, which has helped somewhat, but I have to keep her stalled during the day with a fan going all the time. Even with that, she still pants. Lately, I've had to pull her out of the stall during the day and hose her off. I let her out in the late afternoon/evening for a few hours, but that's about all she can take. Then she has to be hosed off again to stop her panting. She is spending a lot of time in her stall, which means she's not getting any exercise.
Hopefully, it will cool off enough soon so I can let her out at night.
I've done everything I can to pull weight off of her, which is next to impossible since she can live on air. She gets no grain at all, only daily wormer and a small flake of hay morning and night.
When turned out, there is little grass (despite our best efforts) so grazing is not a problem. I'm starting to be concerned that she's not getting enough roughage.
There is a mineral block in her stall at all times and plenty of water. I've tried Quiessence, which did nothing, and have started her on OneAC as of today. I'm not expecting much, but I'm desperate to help her and can't afford not to try anything that might work if it won't hurt her.

I'm sure you are wondering by now if there is a question in any of this, and there is actually two.

First, other than praying for cooler weather or sending her out of state, is there anything else that I can do for her? She is a sweetheart, a pasture ornament, but very dear to me.

Secondly, I am concerned about the lack of roughage. I'm afraid to pile on more hay because of the weight and it's "warming" factor.
Would a small (I'm talking small handfuls) of shredded beet pulp soaked in water be acceptable to add a little roughage to her diet without adding a lot of calories? The last thing I want to do is put weight on her.

Any and all suggestions appreciated.

Whoops, just thought of a third question. My vet mentioned that she had heard that there has been some success getting them sweating again by giving Benadry. She did say that she had no documentation or studies, only hearsay. This is a very expensive alternative, so I am loathe to try it unless someone else has credible testimony to support it. If this is caused by allergies, there could be something to it. Anyone heard anything?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Oct 1, 2005 - 10:35 am:

Hello SKutyba,
We cover therapy options in the article which is currently up to date, I do not know any other suggestions.

I too would be concerned about the lack of forage and am amazed she is not chewing down the barn. Can you find a stemmier hay that could be left in front of her all the time?

Lastly I have seen no work on using diphenhydramine (Benadryl) for anhiDrOsis is horses and am uncertain how it would considering the hypothesized mechanism. However if you live in an area with a lot of anhiDrOsis you might try your vets suggestion and let us know what happens.
DrO
Member:
Skutyba

Posted on Saturday, Oct 1, 2005 - 2:33 pm:

Dr. O,

Thanks for the quick response. The hay I feed is Coastal, a grass hay grown down here on the Gulf Coast. I think it qualifies as what you call "stemmy". I've limited her intake because of a couple of founder episodes the past 2 years.The first time was due to overfeeding (my husband being a little too generous with the grain ration) and the second time was caused by a little too much spring grass. We caught it early both times, preventing any serious rotation but even with pulling her off all grain, she is a little too heavy for my comfort. Losing another 20-30 lbs wouldn't hurt.

That's why I asked about the shredded beet pulp. I'm try to add roughage with the least amount of calories and don't know if she's better off with more hay or the beet pulp as a meal. She certainly loves the taste.

Regarding the Benadryl, I may try it after I've give the OneAC a few weeks. I'm skeptical, but have several people in my area (Gulf Coast) who absolutely swear by it. One thing is for sure, if it works on this little horse, then there really is something to it. If not, then we'll go try the Benadry.

I've got to do something. I hate to see her suffer and it can't continue indefinitely. She'll founder from the stress or something else will go wrong. And not very many people want to buy a horse with this problem so selling her to someone up north doesn't seem feasible.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Oct 1, 2005 - 6:57 pm:

Coastal bermuda can be fairly rich SKtuyba but depends on its level of maturity. Beet pulp is more calorie dense than bermuda hay at almost any stage. For judging your hay and comparing the relative values of these two feedstuffs see Care for Horses » Nutrition » Forages for Horses, an Overview.
DrO
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