hello, it s been 10 days my horse is almost not eating, i tried to change food but he won t eat He only eat grass and a bit hay but when i feed him grain he will touch it a bit and then leave it. He only seem to like grass. the vet took some blood samples and he s got anemia. He is a cribber. vet is coming tomorrow to check his teeth. Did you have some horses that seem to suddenly only like hay or grass? thank you
In my experience, pain and discomfort are the main causes of sudden loss of interest in food.
3 Likes
what kind of pain, even a mild lameness?
Liver function checked ???
mouth/ teeth thoroughly checked ?
any new meds or change is dosage ?
Liver function …keep monitoring this please !
1 Like
Stomach ulcers. If not the initial cause, he very likely has them now after not eating for ten days. But good chance his anorexia is due to ulcers.
Get him a full oral exam, sedated and with a speculum, if you haven’t already. Sometimes they get a stick or something wedged in there and physically cannot eat. Or the teeth are so bad it’s just painful. I had one who had broken a cap, and it was stuck sideways in his cheek. He didn’t want to eat, either.
Sounds like you’ve had some blood work–was a low red count the only finding? Organ function looked okay? Sometimes organ failure presents like this.
Good luck!
2 Likes
yes organ functions looked okay but only red count low. but he is a big cribber. he is three years old
and he prefers eating grass
This is just what I’ve experienced with my horses —even the mildest discomfort seems to affect their interest in grain --the normally “good eater” will eat a bit, then maybe stand at his food dish, not finishing what’s there. Never had a horse diagnosed with ulcers --so I can’t speak to that --you sound like a good owner who will find the cause.
Very common first symptom of ulcers is not eating grain or.pellets. Most people here go ahead and treat for ulcers
without scoping and see if symptoms diminish within a week or two.
Maybe Simkie can advise what she would start with for treating ulcers.
Yes, second this. OP if you haven’t done so, highly recommend getting a liver panel run. In addition to this, test SDH levels (specific for liver injury and not part of standard liver panel).
1 Like
sounds like ulcers. because grain has more sugar than forage, it causes the stomach to secrete more acid to digest it and that can cause stomach flare up. low red blood count i believe indicates ulcer.
Along with oral exam and presumptive ulcers ( chronic cribbing, pain? ) I would make sure to do a fecal exam or a series of fecal exam for both parasites and sand accumulation
Kidney failure can be one cause.
Ok, just came back from the vet, we got blood samples, i have to wait for the results but he had low white cells. The vet took fecal samples and no parasites but found sand accumulation. until the results of analyse, he got injection for fever, avemix, treatment for ulcers(gastrogard) and a product to clean the sand
2 Likes
could sand accumulation be related with ulcers and do you know why the horse would eat sand? thank you
Sand can be a problem in overgrazed pastures where grass is too short. Or if they’re eating grain or pellets off sand or
even hay. Once they have the problem most people treat for sand on a schedule, like one week out of month I believe.
I’ve never heard of sand causing ulcers but lack of forage (hay or grass) will for sure cause ulcers. As can stress.
OK, I need to correct something. I just read an article on sand in gut causing irritation in lining of gut. I suppose this could eventually lead to ulcers.
Is your horse boarded? If so, You probably need to discuss with barn owner or manager a change in environment
and feeding practices. And going 10 days without eating hard food indicates delayed treatment.
But I’m glad you’re now attending to his problems. Hope things start looking better for your boy.
Sand doesn’t really hang out in the stomach, so probably not going to cause stomach ulcers. Bet it can cause some hind gut irritation, though!
​​​​​
ok my horse has fever now, we sent blood samples to the lab but don t have the results yet, i am very worried, he had injections to control the fever but i wonder if he could have piroplasmose, i can t believe the lab take so much time to give the result
i mean babesiosis
