Flehmen = oral discomfort?

[cincoandrain]

I have a 23 year old Thoroughbred gelding who occasionally, mid meal, will stop eating and stand around and do the flehmen (raised upper lip) response. Sometimes he will resume eating if I wash out his mouth with a hose, sometimes not. He is pooping and peeing as usual. He has been floated this year and had a loose incisor extracted. He has the start of some tooth loss per the vet. I feed him Triple Crown Senior which I soak when it’s cold, although he eats it dry just as well. He is still eating hay most of the time but quids some of it.

Has anyone had a horse that does this?

[cayuse]

Yes, I have. I just went through somerhing similar with my mini. He did what you described, along with grinding his teeth. I had the vet out and she found a large, sharp point on a tooth. He was UTD on his dental work, so it came as a bit of a surprise.

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

I’ve seen it a few times in horses with ulcers (1) and colic (2).

[NancyM]

Can be indicating pain, somewhere. The mystery you need to solve is “where”. Good luck.

[mypaintwattie]

I know a horse that does it when his ulcers are acting up or if he is colicing. It can definitely signal discomfort.

[BlueDrifter]

It was always a sign of impending gas colic with my mare…

[TWH_Girl]

My old gelding did that when he colicked. I’ve also seen it in conjunction with a bad taste…once I made a mash and my guy started gobbling it, then after a few minutes, stopped and did the Flehman response. I figured out he didn’t like the mash and he never got it again. So yes, it’s not always oral, but a sign of pain/discomfort or dislike of taste.