SMZs and loss of appetite

[pony_baloney]

My 32 yr. old gelding was put on antibiotics after the dentist found an infection from a recent tooth extraction. He’s on them for two weeks and given soaked TC Sr and hay pellets. It’s only four days and he’s not eating either but grazing just fine. She recommended Mylanta for his stomach. I just started that today, giving him a dose, then some hand grazing, then the SMZs and then food. I’m also being sure to syringe his G.U.T. supplement into him as well.

What else should I be doing? She wants the site to heal before introducing hay after the two weeks. Oh, he’s also on daily Equioxx and 2mg Prascend. He finally gained some weight back after the tooth was initially pulled, then the infection came along. Keeping him on the SMZs for the entire two weeks is important, but so is eating at this time of year.

[JB]

All antibiotics have the potential to depress appetite. Oral abx have a higher potential.

I know that finishing a course of abx is important, but so is having a horse eat. I know the grass up there can’t be much of anything great this time of year, unless it’s a stockpiled pasture.

That said, 2 weeks isn’t TOO long. Will he eat more Sr and hay pellets? If so, feed more of those. You can feed a LOT of those 2 things.

If he won’t eat more of those, and you’re really afraid he’ll lose too much weight on that grass, see if you can change to another abx after 7 days, so just 3 more days.

[mg]

You could try hitting him with Equiotic (paste form since he isn’t touching his food reliably) and Ulcergard and see if that makes a difference. Alfalfa (pellets or cubes if he can’t have the straight forage) is good for calming bellies too and horses typically love it.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

Feed him before he gets his meds. You want him to have a full stomach before the meds get to it. This includes food and water filling his stomach before he is given his meds.

[Simkie]

Piggy went off his food with SMZs, too, when he was being treated for cellulitis. Started nexium and he was back to eating in a day. Kept him on for the duration of the antibiotics (10 days, IIRC?) and then tapered. Really worked great.

[pony_baloney]

Thanks everyone. Simkie, how much Nexium did you use? My guy is only 14.2, about 775 lbs.

[mmeqcenter]

My older gelding, who never went off feed a day in his life, was supposed to be on SMZs for two weeks following a couple neck steroid injections, just to be safe.
Fourth day or so he stopped eating his grain. Dude’s the kinda guy that loses 20 pounds if he misses a handful of grain one day. It was rough. Took two or three days of offering grain without SMZs for him to be interested in it again, and about three weeks before he’d eat his normal amount. Had to use an oral syringe and dose him his SMZs twice a day; kept it separate from feeding time to remove the association with his grain.

[Simkie]

@pony baloney

Thanks everyone. Simkie, how much Nexium did you use? My guy is only 14.2, about 775 lbs.

Thread all about it here.

[pony_baloney]

mmeqcenter, mine stopped eating at the fourth day too. So far, the Mylanta before meals, then food, then the antibiotics dissolved in water and syringed in his mouth is working…hooves crossed. We’ve got five more days of treatment and I’m hoping it still works but would try something else if it stopped.