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zephania666
Lv 7
zephania666 asked in PetsHorses · 9 years ago

Horse not Eating; any suggestions?

I have a 30-35 year old Arabian mare.

For the last week, she has not been eating her grain. I've offered different kinds, but she's just not interested.

I've been monitoring her closely; her vitals and gut sounds are all good; she's been pooping regularly (diminishing amounts, as her intake has gone down); she pees normally and is drinking water. Up until today she was eating a good bit of grass.

I had the vet out today, and she said the same thing. Normal vitals, normal gut sounds. She palpated her; no indications of any issues. She examined her teeth and mouth thorougly. I had a fecal done; no problems with worms.

The vet had a few suggestions, but didn't really know what was going on. We've put her on bute for 3 days in case it's due to pain from arthritis (major weather systems going through). If that doesn't work, we'll try banamine.

Anyways, I was wondering if any of you had had similar problems, and if so, what happened?

The mare's only known health problems are old age, arthritis, and Cushings.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Update:

She's on Pergolide. Blood work is not back yet. No on the ACTH; she's been on Pergolide at least 5 years and has done well on it. She's pretty classic in her symptoms. But she's shedding well, not laminitic, and not showing signs while she's on the Pergolide.

She still has teeth; that's one of the things I had the vet to check for. Last floated late fall.

She's been on soaked senior pellets all winter, supplemented with soaked hay even though they are a "complete" feed. When she stopped eating the soaked pellets, I tried them unsoaked, then another pellet, then a sweet feed (which she ate for two days, then stopped). She picks at her hay, but had been eating spring grass until today.

I soak her pellets because she had 3 impaction colics last spring, not because of teeth issues.

Update 2:

My old girl died this morning, due to liver failure. She went down sharply after the first vet visit, then continued her down hill slide and I had her euthanized as she was neurologic, toxic, and beyond help. She was seen by three different vets, had blood work, had sonograms, and received all the help and care I could give her.

Thank you to those who cared enough to answer seriously.

Those of you who felt it appropriate to make jokes have revealed who you really are.

9 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    9 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Has she still got her teeth? I know my friend had a big problem getting her old mare to eat,because of her teeth. She ended up giving her feed mushed. It might be worth a try if you haven't tried soaking her feed. She also gave her chopped hay.

  • .
    Lv 7
    9 years ago

    You need to have the vet back out to pull blood to see among other things if there is an infection taking place. I would also have her Triglycerides checked.

    Is she on pergolide or cyproheptadine? Have you performed an ACTH recently?

    I wouldn't give her any karo syrup, which one might do to stimulate the appetite of a non cushiongoid horse. Id' just continue to offer her different soaked food, and have a different, more qualified vet to examine the horse, including pulling the blood for tests above.

  • Amazon Warrior Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
    Lv 7
    9 years ago

    I would suggest getting a second opinion from another vet, since this one isn't sure what is going with your mare. Doctors and vets can misdiagnose sometimes because they don't know everything.

    That would be a good suggestion to try the Banamine if the bute doesn't work. Hope everything works out with your mare.

  • Lilian
    Lv 6
    9 years ago

    So sad your heart must hurt for her! I hope you can make her get comfortable and eat.

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  • Anonymous
    9 years ago

    if a swelling accuses check her feet, she could just be abssecing... try feeding her canola meal , it helps encourage the horse to eat.. if you need any more suggestions just send me a message!

  • Anonymous
    9 years ago

    I agree with Albert. You need to feed horses regularly.

    Try giving her some grain. Horses love that stuff.

  • Anonymous
    9 years ago

    Try her with KFC, extra crispy, bone out.

  • Anonymous
    9 years ago

    I would eat the horse. The meat is a little gamy but there sure is a lot of it.

    Source(s): experience
  • Anonymous
    9 years ago

    You should feed it.

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