Horse lethargic, sleepy, not eating much- vet has no idea what is wrong

[findeight]

The lethargy could be related to malnutrition and she just hasn’t had the dramatic weight loss. Yet. Can you get her hot water? Even if you have to bring an immersion heater and warm it yourself. Lot of horses won’t drink icy water and dehydration sets off a whole cascade of problems. And by hot I mean over 50f, not hot hot.

But don’t mistake this for a majikal, easy solution. It’s not. This mare needs to see a vet. Soon. They don’t bounce back like a young horse and once their health starts to hit the skids, it often keeps sliding. I wouldn’t fool with waiting, you need to solve this ASAP.

[trubandloki]

Has the vet been back out yet? How is your horse doing?

[maunder]

I’m glad your mare has gotten some mash into her.

I agree with @freshman that neurological issues could be a concern. I had a mini with neurological issues and they progressed to involve his ability to eat. Not to just get the food into his mouth, but to swallow it.

I hope that your mare’s condition is not this.

[rohrser]

@trubandloki

Has the vet been back out yet? How is your horse doing?

She is back to normal on all accounts! Vet is calling it a minor colic or possible HYPP episode, but she really doesn’t know for sure. Happily whinied at me in the pasture when I got home tonight and anxious for supper. Normal appetite and eating, normal stools, and sassy attitude! Thanks everyone for your help.

[Highflyer]

Time to get those vaccines, then! And an HYPP test, especially if you plan to ride in the future.

[Classic]

EPM

[trubandloki]

Glad to hear she is doing well!

[Angela_Freda]

OP where are you located?

[rohrser]

@Angela Freda

OP where are you located?

USA- OH

[sascha]

My mare has choked several times. It has kicked the shit out of her. So, it may be that first day you were seeing a choke, perhaps the last in a series of small chokes, that could be enough to put her off feed .I have removed all unsealed grain from her diet and replaced with “soup”. Immediately after a choke ALL hay gets soaked for at least a week, and if not consuming enough a haycube soup get added during the day. It’s important to let that abused esophagus recover by keeping all scratchy material out of it.

Remember that with soaked feed and soaked haycubes, she is consuming some water with them so her water intake may be less. As long as she is showing you no signs of dehydration, keep on keeping on.

Sure hope it was just a nasty choke that you caught in the recovery stage and your horse needs only some tlc to get back to 100% If the vet hasn’t listened to her lungs on any visit, maybe have that done soon to be assured she isn’t in danger of aspiration pneumonia.