Stimulating appetite in a senior with lymphoma

[fargaloo1]

I’m sure this has been addressed before so sorry for the duplication, but I’m looking for some help with our old guy who’s just been diagnosed with GI lymphoma.

He’s a 25-yo Arab cross who’s always been an easy keeper yet a bit of a picky eater. He’s been losing weight over the last two months with bouts of diarrhea, and a mild cough complicating the diagnosis, but we took him to an equine hospital on Friday and got this final diagnosis. We know the situation is palliative, but we want to give him a good summer if we possibly can. We live in Southern Ontario so the grass is juuust starting and he’s extremely keen to hand graze, but we’re trying to come up with something he’ll eat to supplement his hay until grass comes up in the pasture. He’s lived outside 24/7 on free-choice hay/pasture for the 20 years we’ve owned him, with just some ration balancer and senior feed (more when he was competing). He now has a stall at night until he can be out on grass full time. We’re struggling to find feed that he will find palatable. He’s never been a chow hound, but now he’s turning up his nose at everything except grass and hay.

We’ve tried beet pulp, soaked hay cubes, various senior feeds, more high-energy feeds like Excel HD, etc. He refuses any added oil. I’ve tried adding supplements like Gain, and he hates it. Going to try adding straight rice bran, but since he hates the Gain, I’m not optimistic. He’ll seem interested in a new feed for a day or two, then goes off anything. We started him on a course of omeprazole about 2 weeks ago (hasn’t been scoped, but we assume his gut feels lousy, so thought it would be worth a shot). He’s been getting dex for the last couple of days and seems to be perking up a bit, so I’m hopeful that will stimulate his appetite.

I’m looking for any ideas of how to get more calories into him, especially until the pasture comes in. We know the writing’s on the wall, but we just want to give him at least one good summer before we face down the inevitable.

Just gutted by this. He’s been my daughter’s horse since she was 10, and she’s turning 30. Just two months ago, he was bucking and galloping on the trails. Andy is the sweetest guy ever; this is going to be hard.

Thanks for reading this rambling post.

[NaturallyHappy]

We lost an older horse to lymphoma a few years ago. He loves Purina Equine Senior soaked w alfalfa pellets mixed in. I wonder if APF would help in a case such as this. My heart aches for you. Edited to say loved. Also to add Purina was the only Senior feed he liked. I noted you mentioned you tried several….

[Jarpur]

Alfalfa hay? Renew Gold (rice bran based)?

So sorry for your situation.

[fargaloo1]

Thanks so much @NaturallyHappy, and I’m so sorry you had to go through this. Sorry, I’m not firing on all cylinders — what’s APF?

[fargaloo1]

Thanks, @Jarpur. He wasn’t interested in soaked alfalfa cubes, but I’ll see if I can rustle up some bales. He comes home from the hospital tomorrow. I’ll look for the Renew Gold — worth a shot.

[NaturallyHappy]

It is the supplement many recommend to stimulate appetite during the Prascend/Pergolide vail. You can order it from Smartpak. Santa Cruz/Ultracruz also makes an appetite stimulate you might try.

[Jarpur]

https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=9a7664ab-4a95-4553-9f58-37c44fdf6a82&itemguid=de3c59b3-2ac3-4f7d-871e-5f39d10ba657&sfb=1&grp=4000&grpc=4A00&grpsc=4A60&sp=e&utm_content=30448&ccd=IBSE0001&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=HCAT%20Equine%20Health%20(4000)%20HGPM%20Smart%20PLA%20(IBSE0001)&utm_term=4585513248981143

[Jarpur]

Renew Gold - Leading the Way in Equine Nutrition!

[fargaloo1]

Not to throw a pity party for myself, but in the last couple of months I’ve lost my best friend and my mom within weeks of each other. My mom and daughter were extremely close and my heart breaks for her to have to absorb another huge loss. Life, I guess. Thanks for your kind words.

I’ll definitely look into the Santa Cruz stuff — they do ship to Canada, and it’s great. Thanks

[4BranchFarm]

In a palliative care situation I tend to go with the smorgasbord approach- several separate dishes with a variety of grains- whatever they feel like eating, they get more of- and you just follow the wax and wane of whatever they want for a day or two… some dishes are dry food, some are wet, some are senior feeds, some are hay extenders, etc… I usually just put a quart in each one then refill the “chosen dish” for that night. Its expensive, and can be wasteful if you dont have another animal to eat the left overs- but for lack of appetite situations Ive found it to be the best way to attempt to maintain/gain weight while not also killing me psychologically!

[Limitless]

How about the steroid Stanazolol/Winstrol?

I had a senior with appetite issues, and this kept him quite happy for the several months of the year when grazing was not an option (grazing being the only food he really loved!).

[Simkie]

@fargaloo1

He’ll seem interested in a new feed for a day or two, then goes off anything.

There’s some really interesting research in nausea in equines, which is not a something I had any idea was a thing. But this presentation–eating well for a couple meals and then not–is not at all unusual in other nauseous animals, so it might be worth considering here.

Here are some papers about it.

Pharmacokinetics of maropitant citrate after oral administration of multiple...

Pharmacokinetics of single doses of maropitant citrate in adult horses - PubMed

I think both of these are available in full text at scihub.

Maropitant addresses nausea and also provides good visceral pain control, so perhaps it’s worth discussing? Nausea is such a hit to quality of life.

[fargaloo1]

Thanks so much for the suggestions; you guys are are the best. . I’ll give these a try and keep you posted.

Please spare a jingle for our sweet boy. Here he is carting my daughter around when she was just a sprout, and one from this past Christmas. He’s a special guy (aren’t they all).

[luvmyhackney]

If its his last summer, let him have all the junk food if possible. Mix in some delicious molasses coated sweet feed.

I swear by cinnamon for my pony as well. He loves that flavor for some reason.

[fargaloo1]

@luvmyhackney

If its his last summer, let him have all the junk food if possible. Mix in some delicious molasses coated sweet feed.

I swear by cinnamon for my pony as well. He loves that flavor for some reason.

He’s never been one to go nuts for sweet feed — not even the molasses-y treats. But I’m willing to give anything a try! The cinnamon is worth a shot

Thanks again for all the excellent suggestions. It’s so frustrating that we have limited access to a lot of the feeds/supplements available in the US. Worst come to worst, we’re not that far from the border so might have to do some cross-border shopping. And I’ll definitely bring up the Winstrol and Maropitant with my vet — thank you!!

[hoopoe]

Agree that medications are likely your friend . Steroids like winstrol or even Pred could help your friend feel as good as possible

[fargaloo1]

@hoopoe

Agree that medications are likely your friend . Steroids like winstrol or even Pred could help your friend feel as good as possible

Thanks . He’s on Dex right now, but good to have other options. In my experience, I haven’t noticed a huge increase in appetite on dex (but my other guys are such chow hounds that I’m not sure I would notice a difference lol). I know prednisone can really boost appetite in other species, so good to have more tools in the tool box.

We’ll definitely try the smorgasbord approach — it’s expensive, but at least I have two others who will be happy to eat the leftovers .

[hoopoe]

Dex has different properties and action than pred. Pred is often used in human lymphoma patients

[Paint_Party]

Don’t have any dietary tips to offer, but wanted to say I love the photos. What a sweet, trustworthy horse he’s been. A true “honest citizen.” I’m sorry you and your daughter are faced with this. Life has so much joy, yet also challenges us with grief and loss.

Sending you lots of jingles for one more glorious, memorable summer with Andy.

[fargaloo1]

@hoopoe

Dex has different properties and action than pred. Pred is often used in human lymphoma patients

Thanks for this — really good to know. I will definitely read some papers and chat with the vet.