Last night I came out to the stall to find my house laying down, lethargic, and did not want to move (24yo Quarter Horse). I called the vet and waited there on the ground with her for an hour. Her head was lowered into the sawdust and she was drooling some mucus. She rotated from laying down with neck/head partially out, to fully on her side, legs straight, and head and neck fully layed out. This went on for an hour and a half, and then all the sudden she stood up. After standing up, she was in an awkward spread position, and just stood there for 5 minutes and did not move. Finally, she took a step and then another few steps to a hay pile and started to eat slowly and awkwardly. It seemed as if she had cotton mouth and couldn’t really chew well. I was afraid she was colicing, so I quickly put on her halter and got her away from the hay. I took her out to the pasture and took her for a walk. At that point, she pepped up and even trotted in hand without asking. I continued walking her 10 minutes until the vet arrived. Once the vet arrived, she stood there quietly and lethargic. She is usually a cranky mare, but she had no life to her, no attitude. The vet took her vitals- all which were normal. She suspected she might be choking since she was drooling a lot of mucus. She put a tube in her nose and there was a little resistance, but not much blockage. Stomach smelled normal. During this time, my horse was extremely lethargic, not reacting too much, just standing there quiet with her head down. When I took off her halter, she stood there and wouldn’t move. Offered water, and she refused. The vet asked me to give her a treat, and after a little convincing, she took it, slowly chewed it up, and swallowed. The vet ended up giving her a shot of banamine to treat a small colic (since she hadn’t pooped for the 4 hours I was out there). 30 minutes after the shot she perked up a little, even whinnied at me when I got in the feed box. I gave her grain as a hot mash, and she gobbled that down, then went to the corner of her stall and stood lethargic, and fell asleep. Overnight, she had 2 normal bowel movements, drank about 5 gallons of water, but is still in the same condition. She has been transitioning from laying down to just standing still. She ate her grain this morning, and a little hay, then went back to the corner of the stall and fell asleep. I have no idea what could be wrong. She has been on Succeed paste for the past week, and she became much more mellow- not sure if it’s the Succeed or she was getting ill. She also entirely stopped cribbing, and she usually cribs while eating her grain. She also gets a daily Equioxx for arthritis. On alfalfa hay at morning and night feedings, and unlimited grass hay, little Tribute grain and fat supplement which was needed for weight gain. Anyone have any ideas what could be going on? Also to note- when she is standing, she is constantly shifting weight between her back feet.
I would get a second opinion or haul her to a good clinic for a workup sooner rather than later. I would also stop the Succeed and not give her any grain and just a little hay. best of luck to you and the mare!
You said temp normal, so this is probably NOT relevant, but the hind end weakness and rather sudden onset of lethargy made me think of ehv-1. http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ceh/resources/ehv1/index.cfm
I agree with fordtraktor. I’m surprised your veterinarian didn’t take blood and do some tests. It could be many things that could be revealed through blood tests. That would be my suggestion.
I had a mini go into hyperlipidemia that two vets thought was colic. Only a blood test revealed what was really going on.
The vet said if she didn’t improve by today, then she would do a blood test. After paying for an emergency vet call, I don’t understand why they didn’t just draw blood while they were there! The vet also mentioned palpating her?
I would be concerned about botulism.
Is two piles her typical amount for over night? That seems like a low number.
Highflyer- that was one thing I read in my research that kind of stuck in my head. Especially when I read that vets often misdiagnose with choke, colic, and rabies- which are 3 possibilities my vet mentioned! But with botulism, would they go from bad to worse with no good moments in between there?
No- 2 piles is not normal. That’s probably 1/3 of normal production.
Two options
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same vet back this morning follow up thorough exam * AND insist on blood workup
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different vet, second opinion … thorough exam * and blood workup …
? Is this mare UTD on all vacs and teeth ?
Jingles & AO
keep monitoring I’s and O’s = how much hay is consumed …water intake and number of piles ( consistency/ color) and number size of wet spots … clean stall… start re-count …
- save a recent pile for vet
Thanks everyone. I’m going to insist on the blood work.
As for vacs and teeth- teeth are good and vacs I have no idea. I just got her a few months ago. I’m assuming she is UTD on vacs since she was exhibited at a county fair this summer, but that is only an assumption.
Is there any way to contact the previous owner and get a complete vaccination history? When I showed 4-H, the health requirements were frighteningly low. All that was required was a current Coggins.
Had a mare present in a similar fashion though did not go down. Treated as impaction colic, vet had a hunch and pulled blood. Ran it at his office just down the road, back in an hour. She’d tied up and that shut her gut down. Blood test possibly saved her life.
You really need to pull blood. ASAP. My mare had no history of tying up and nothing other then a mild bellyache or 2 in 10 years. Same vet since her PPE, that’s why he suspected it wasn’t colic at all.
Never did figure out why, never reoccurred and mare is not talking even now almost 10 years later.
She seems to be doing better. Bowels back to a normal amount. However she is still not eating hay or drinking much water. She eats grain mash and gets excited when I get in the feed box- so she has an appetite, but hay eating can be described as awkward to say the least. I witnessed her attempt and struggle, so I opened up her mouth to get a closer look. I pulled out a hay ball- which leads me to think this could be a tooth problem? Everything seems to sort of add up. She stopped cribbing entirely (I guess if I had a toothache I wouldn’t want to clamp down on wood), she is barely drinking water (cold water/tooth sensitivity?), the hay balls and awkwardness of attempting to eat hay. And she possibly was choking the other night because she isn’t chewing her food properly. She is still sleepy though and has acts lethargic. Last night we tried alfalfa pellets soaked in lots of hot water, and she gobbled that all down. I looked in her mouth and her teeth look normal to me, but I’m no expert. I plan to schedule an appt today for a dental exam. When the vet called today, she was throwing around the possibility of rabies, botulism, herpes *sigh
Nobody can tell me for sure- just that she should have gotten them 
Yes sounds like teeth could be very likely at this point. No weird odors from her mouth? Perhaps she cracked a molar or something. Better to get it checked out just in case and before things turn really nasty. Perhaps she is also just hitting a point where regular hay is getting difficult to eat. Although that might not explain the lack of drinking.
Did she stop drooling?
Yes, the drooling has stopped. But no, no weird odors coming from her mouth.
I doubt the hay ball in her mouth has anything to do with a dental problem in light of all the other very serious symptoms this horse has right now. What the OP is describing in regards to her “awkward” chewing is a neurologic sign–as in she can’t coordinate normal food prehension, tongue motions involved with chewing, and/or swallowing. The altered mental status is very concerning. There are so many possibilities that it impossible to really speculate. Could be an infectious process, bacterial or viral infection involving the brain or spinal cord. Something like herpes, botulism or even rabies comes to mind. Based on what information is presented here, I don’t think she is classic for either one. But diseases don’t read textbooks and don’t always follow the rules, because they don’t have to, basically. So odd presentations do happen and that complicates the clinical picture. Ultimately this why diagnostic testing via bloodwork, imaging, etc are required. Those diagnostics all come with their own costs, of course, and it can get expensive.
I’m sorry for the OP because I know how overwhelming these things can be. But this horse really, really, really needs to get veterinary evaluation. Not only for her own welfare, but also out of concern for the larger population, most immediately the other horses on the property. Not many of the usual suspect diseases spread are infectious in a direct animal-to-animal sort of way. But then again herpes does, and we all understand how bad that can be. I understand not being able to get a vet out immediately or even later than we even want, but the owner can’t just give up and blame vet availably like there are not any options. Put the horse on a trailer and take it a hospital. Seriously, make an appointment or just show up at a 24/7 care center. I realize this isn’t convenient or cheap.
Again, I really do wish the OP and the mare the best. I hope it turns out to be something transient and minor.
As an update, I’ve replaced her alfalfa hay ration with heavily soaked alfalfa pellets and she is licking the pan clean. Also continues to clean up her grain mash. She is just not eating hay or drinking like normal. I’ve tried multiple bales of hay- same result. She is less lethargic today and moving around more.
