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Discussion on 11 year old horse has stopped eating grain | |
Author | Message |
New Member: sblinson |
Posted on Tuesday, Oct 28, 2008 - 10:09 pm: The horse was diagnosed as having a respiratory infection and allergies. Was given prednisone. Two days after treatment, the horse has stopped eating grain. She eats hay and grazes, and drinks small amounts of water. This is the 4th day she has refused grain. Her eyes are clear, no nasal discharge and does not show any signs of colic. What do I do now to help her?Thank you. Syl |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 - 8:32 am: Welcome Sylvia,Assuming the horse is ill (and has just not taken a dislike to his grain) the horse needs to have a diagnosis made and proper treatment instituted. Currently the only symptom you list is the horse has quit eating his grain. Could there be something wrong with the feed? What led to the diagnosis of respiratory disease and is it an allergy or an infection these are entirely two different problems and unlikely to occur together. DrO |
New Member: sblinson |
Posted on Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 - 10:04 pm: Dr. Olgesby,Thank you for answering. The horse was diagnosed by a DMV in September 2008. I was told the horse had an upper respiratory infection and was prescribed prednisone. When the medicine did not arrive in 4 days, I called to check on the status of the medicine and asked did the horse need an antibiotic. I was told No - the horse has allergies, not an infection. This past Sunday, the horse had quit eating the grain (the other horses eat the same grain with no problem). I called the doctor for advice or to see if the horse needed to be seen and was then told the horse has emphysema and would be put on prednisone again. I am totally confused. |
Member: scooter |
Posted on Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 - 6:11 am: Sylvia have you tried a different bag or brand of grain? I have had a bag of grain go bad or was a bad batch....don't know which. My horses refused to eat it, thankfully. After a few days of refusal I examined it closely and there were minute specks of mold on the pellets. It was very hard to see, but they knew it was there! |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 - 7:32 am: Hello Sylvia,I am afraid all I can do is reflect your confusion since you appear to have been told two different things. It does sound like your veterinarian is now saying that the horse has a advanced case of COPD: an allergic pneumonia that if left uncontrolled can lead to consolidation and emphysema. There is a problem with this in my mind and that is COPD horses continue to eat despite difficulty breathing until the signs get very bad and you have not mentioned difficult breathing as a symptom of your horse. Does your horse have difficulty breathing? What are your horse's vital signs? If your horse continues to not eat and you cannot figure out why you certainly need to get a second opinion on this. For more on assessing breathing and other vital signs see Diseases of Horses » First Aid » Taking Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration. For more on the disease COPD see Diseases of Horses » Respiratory System » Heaves & Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. DrO |
New Member: sblinson |
Posted on Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 - 9:16 pm: Diane,Thanks for your input. The other horses eat the sweet feed and have not had a problem. We will certainly look closer.Dr. O.The horse is not running a fever. Her breathing rate was apprx. 64 per minute but that was after lunging. After she rested, she did not appear to have breathing distress but was not as alert as usual and had a clear (no mucus) runny nose. Would naxcel help?Thanks,Sylvia |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Friday, Oct 31, 2008 - 7:54 am: Only if she has a bacterial infection that is sensitive to the Naxcel, Sylvia, using the information in your posts above this is not clear. However diagnosis and treatment must be done by someone who can examine the horse.How long and how fast was your horse lunged? When you say the breathing returned to normal: what was the character of the normal respiration (character is described in the article referenced above) and rate you consider normal and how long did it take to return to normal. DrO |
New Member: sblinson |
Posted on Friday, Oct 31, 2008 - 9:32 pm: Dr. O,Thank you for your excellent advise. I will seek a second opinion. Sylvia |