Urinary Tract Infection???

[ncsuequine]

So my 12 yo gelding (Journey) has been acting a little weird for the past month or two, but really weird the last couple of days.

Let me start with a little history. I have owned Journey his whole life. He has been a lesson horse since he was 5 years old. Gets ridden be all differnet levels and is pretty much a saint. He packs around the beginners like a pro and can set up to the plate for BN and Novice riders any day of the week. Hes always been very good in the cross-ties and would stand there all day long.

About 2 months ago he started to act really weird in the cross-ties, mostly when my students. He started getting really impatient, shaking his head around a moving side to side. Usually with a firm no or if I stood at his head he would stop and seemed to calm right now. Behavior under saddle didnt change at all, same good boy.

Fast forward to yesterday -
I taught a lesson with 3 little boys, one riding Journey. Journey was horrible in the cross-ties. Shaking his head, throwing his body side to side and had a major worry-look in his eyes. I first thought that maybe he was just worked up because they have been in their stalls a lot lately because of the snow/ice, although he did get out for 3 hours before this lesson. Then he urinated a tiny bit in the wash stall. Looked normal, but it was a small amount and he NEVER urinates in front of me (he’s very very private). He continued to be bad, so I had our stall guy take him to a stall to see if he needed to relieve himself. He did, came back to the cross-ties a lot calmer (but not his normal calmness). Under saddle he was perfect. Never took a wrong step.

After the ride he had a small urination (similar to the first one) in our indoor (as soon as rider got off). Then again in the wash stall (cross-ties). he was again really bad in the cross-ties after the lesson. I decided his behavior warranted observation, but not alarming enough to call the vet.

Today he seemed fine until I used him in a lesson this afternoon, he was bad in the cross-ties again. Then tonight I got on him for about 30 minutes bareback (10 minutes trot, 20 minutes walk). he was perfect under saddle. Right after I got off, two small urinations.

No fever, eating and drinking just fine.

Any thoughts?

[keysfins]

Since this is unusual behavior for this horse that you know so well, you wouldn’t be wrong to have a vet come out. He sounds like a treasure of a horse, and hopefully it is an easy fix.

[Scribbler]

Did you check for a bean? Something I hear about from my friends with geldings

A horse at our barn was diagnosed with a urinary or bladder infection, but she was much sicker than that, was down in her stall with a fever and shakes, got trailered to the vets and put on antibiotics. I’m not sure if they ever verified that was what she had, but she recovered.

[Gumby80]

My horse also occasionally pees a small amount before and/or after riding, and is grouchy in the cross-ties. He’s getting scoped for ulcers hopefully this week.

Perhaps that’s a possibility? I have been wondering if the frequent peeing is some reaction to abdominal discomfort. At any rate, it sounds like a vet visit is in order for your boy. I understand that UTIs and stones are rare in horses, but can be serious.

If I get any answers from the vet, I’ll update my post.

[Action42]

Horses are also not immune to bladder stones which could be causing irritation and a frequent/sudden urge to urinate. If your guy is private, he could be stressing about needing to pee while in “public”.

My own horse is also having some urinary issues and I’ll be running a UA and bloodwork on him shortly to try to sort him out.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

So if cosequin works well with dog and cat UTIs, does it work as well with UTI in horses? (Warmbloods take cosequin daily for their joints already.)

[Justmyluck]

I would clean his sheath and call your veterinarian. Urinary issues can allude to several other diseases that all require veterinary attention.

For example while an extreme case. My gelding was having weird urinary issues and he had Lymphosarcoma.

[Justmyluck]

[QUOTE=WildandWickedWarmbloods;8502958]
So if cosequin works well with dog and cat UTIs, does it work as well with UTI in horses? (Warmbloods take cosequin daily for their joints already.)[/QUOTE]

When you have a UTI do you just want your doctor to just give some cosequin to you? No you go to the doctor to find an underlying cause or to treat infection. Cosequin does not treat anything. It simply serves to lubricate the bladder.

[Action42]

Cosequin (or Adequan) is used in dogs and cats with idiopathic or sterile cystitis because the compounds are healthy for the bladder wall. They do not eliminate infection or help with bladder stones (just FYI)

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

Uh, well the vet prescribed meds which did not help. And one cat had the operation which involved cutting off the penis and cutting off the narrowing part of the urethra. And one cat went up to the vet school where the big profession, who wrote the book on urinary tract infections, examined him and treated him unsuccessfully… So yes, I probably know a little about vets and urinary tract infections in cats. Some vets were board certified as well. So the stones did pass through the urethra, in the cats who did not have the operation, after the cats went on cosequin. Thousands of dollars spent on operations and meds and treatments. Then someone on Coth said her doctor recommended cosequin, and voila! it worked on one female cat and on one male cat.

So I wonder if it has the same effect on horses? It apparently lubricates the whole urethra and lets “sand” and stones pass easily.
And will allow both male and female cats to eat anything and to be able to urinate.

I just wanted to know if it has the same effect on horses.
carry on.

[Ghazzu]

Cosequin will not treat equine urolithiasis adequately.

[skyy]

Learn from my mistake…if your horse starts peeing abnormally, get it checked out. DD’s pony started peeing right after work, sometimes not even making it back to the barn before she had to pee. We didn’t really think much of it as she was acting normally other than the peeing and DD would take her right to her stall after getting off of her and let her pee. Out of the blue, after a ride, she started peeing blood. And I mean bright red. Long story short, she had a bladder stone the size of an egg that luckily was removed manually at the clinic but the whole adventure cost a small fortune. I will never ignore a change in urination patterns again.

[Action42]

WWW - I’m a DVM, so I also know a bit about this. While Cosequin may help with bladder wall integrity and may help with urethral health as well, it will not dissolve stones that are too large to pass. Won’t hurt anything, but will not be enough of a treatment to treat larger stones in dogs, cats, or horses.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

Oh yes, I know that stones and sand won’t be dissolved by cosequin. But if the vet does diagnosis stones/sand, the cosequin really helps to make it easy for a dog or cat to urinate. I learned that on Coth after years of paying vets for meds and surgery. Now my vet sometimes even gives cosequin he told me last year.

I just wondered if it helps with stones and sand in horses. To move them through without pain.

I always take my animals to the vet for diagnosis when anything is odd. Blood in the urine would be a sign that there could be many problems. (If you are wearing levi jeans and your cat backs up and sprays you, you can actually see the particles of sand/stones on your jeans. Learned that years ago when my male cat tried to tell me that the meds the doctor gave him were not working. So he had the operation and lived to be 15 yrs old. Died of bladder cancer as the stones/sand kept forming and going through him. Diagnosed with stones before he was one year old.) (And my father had a kidney stone while I was in college. Had to have surgery as the doctors did not have the ability to break up the stones back then without surgery.)

[horsenut_8700]

Cats generally suffer from bladder inflammation, not actual infection as I understand it. Hope you get to the bottom of the horse’s urinary issue and get him some relief!

[fordtraktor]

I would definitely have the vet out to see him.

[bathsheba8542]

I had my vet out for a similar kind of thing…but more dribbling and starting to buck under saddle. Lots of diagnostics that came back with a big zero. Regardless, I said I wanted to start him on Uniprim and within a few days he was back to regular urination and reduced reactivity under tack.

[Ghazzu]

[QUOTE=horsenut_8700;8503522]
Cats generally suffer from bladder inflammation, not actual infection as I understand it. Hope you get to the bottom of the horse’s urinary issue and get him some relief![/QUOTE]

Cats can and do have UTIs, but yes, idiopathic sterile cystitis (or feline lower urinary tract disease, or whatever the current nomenclature is) is also common.
Since they present in much the same fashion, it takes a bit of knowledge and diagnostics to distinguish them.

[arapaloosa_lady]

[QUOTE=WildandWickedWarmbloods;8502991]
Uh, well the vet prescribed meds which did not help. And one cat had the operation which involved cutting off the penis and cutting off the narrowing part of the urethra. And one cat went up to the vet school where the big profession, who wrote the book on urinary tract infections, examined him and treated him unsuccessfully… So yes, I probably know a little about vets and urinary tract infections in cats. Some vets were board certified as well. So the stones did pass through the urethra, in the cats who did not have the operation, after the cats went on cosequin. Thousands of dollars spent on operations and meds and treatments. Then someone on Coth said her doctor recommended cosequin, and voila! it worked on one female cat and on one male cat.

So I wonder if it has the same effect on horses? It apparently lubricates the whole urethra and lets “sand” and stones pass easily.
And will allow both male and female cats to eat anything and to be able to urinate.

I just wanted to know if it has the same effect on horses.
carry on.[/QUOTE]

They don’t cut off the cat’s penis for a urinary tract infection.

Could you imagine if that was a thing for humans? Man walks into doc’s office with a burning sensation when urination. Solution? Amputate!

OP: You know something’s not right with your guy. I would definitely have a vet visit. And ask if it would be helpful for you to catch a urine sample for them beforehand (if he’s not so private that would be impossible).

[Ghazzu]

[QUOTE=arapaloosa_lady;8503908]
They don’t cut off the cat’s penis for a urinary tract infection.

.[/QUOTE]

Umm, in some cases, yes, they do.
A male cat with recurrent urinary obstructions may have a perineal urethrostomy, in order to prevent further blockages.