A reason was found (& fixed!) for Princess's lack of energy

[targetsmom]

I have posted several times this year about Princess's lack of energy, including some videos. With work and lessons, there was some improvement that forum members even commented on. But during the summer - especially at a couple of Pleasure Driving shows on really hot days, it was clear Princess was really struggling. (Princess is an almost totally black pinto). The low point was a comment from a dressage judge that she was afraid I was going to have to carry my horse through the end of the test. The next show was almost as bad and I realized something was really wrong in addition to her insulin resistance (which can cause lethargy).

In the process of dealing with her colic at another show (which I am just about positive was from bad grain), I was flipping through a catalog looking for supplements and found one for anhydrosis - horses that don't sweat. I had never really considered this because Princess just about lives in neck sweats, and there IS sweat on them when I take them off. Anyway, the supplement (One AC) was cheap, so I tried it. In just a few days, after my next lesson, Princess sweat like a normal horse - chest, under the harness, between the hind legs, etc!!!!

Of course now the weather has cooled off a bit and between the One AC and the weather, Princess is a different horse. At our Pinto show on Saturday - at 6:30 PM after a full day of showing, I had to longe her for a long time to get the bucks out!!! It seemed forever before I felt she was safe to hook, but once hooked she was amazing! We had probably our best show EVER! We got some firsts (3 judges) in reinsmanship, obstacle driving, and several large pleasure driving classes competing with ponies!! (On top of firsts in halter, hunter, showmanship and trail earlier in the day).

I feel so guilty that it took me this long to figure out what was wrong, and horrified when I consider how dangerous this is; she could have died on a very hot day. But I am trying to pass the word along because so many people I talk to are as unaware of this condition as I was.

 

[RhineStone]

Good for you! I have heard of that condition, but thankfully don't have a horse with it. I would have never had considered that was the reason your mare was slower. Some minis just are. Glad you now can do what you want to do with her.

Myrna

 

[brasstackminis]

My stallion Prince had anhydrosis and had a horrible horse show because of it, but I did not put 2 and 2 together at the time. He was just so low on energy and drank 15 gallons of water in one day! I took all the show clothes off of him to make him cooler and the second day was better. I just figured that it was too hot in the stalls at the Rose Palace and he felt like crap! Been there!

So a little history. I had been driving my boy for over a year and had driven him in full winter wollies and never had any trouble with energy. He was full of it actually being a 3-4 year old stallion! I remember trying to get him to sweat under a neck sweat and never got any...my halter friends told me I must not have been putting the sweat on tight enough because he would sweat if it was. Poor guy...at times I thought his eyeballs were going to pop out of his head while I was trying to get it tight enough!

Then a friend had me make a glycerine/mouthwash yadda yadda goop to get him to sweat. Well it looked like it may have worked, but I was skeptical that it was not the goop melting down his neck.

I just figured that he was really fit. I mean I drove him 8 miles or so several times a week. He did sweat down his rear end and by his ears so it never occured to me that sweating might be the issue. Then in December his skin got really dry and flakey. I put all sorts of moisturizers on it and fed him oil too but it didn't work.

Then his hair started to fall out in HUGE chunks...I could just pull it out and he would be bald there...looked like elephant skin. I freaked out and made an appointment for him. My friends told me I was over reacting and he was just shedding, but I wasn't buying it. This was not normal shedding and it was way too early!

Then, soon after, it all clicked... I decided I was gonna make him go. Maybe he was just so broke he was being lazy?? So I made him gallop for a good mile...when I brought him home and was brushing him I realized that he was totally dry until I brushed below an imaginary line from his elbow to his stifle. Then I got it! He was not sweating!

When I went to the vet, we ran all sorts of tests, bloodwork and except from being mildly anemic, (the vet said that sometimes athletes store extra iron in their spleen to make it eaisly accessable during workouts) he checked out normal. We started him on an iron supplement and got him an appointment with an equine dermatologist. The dermatologist wanted me to wait 6 weeks (they only do horses one day a month!) and I told them NO! It had already been 6 months or more and I wanted the appointment sooner. So she worked me into a lunch appointment. He did not make it to his appointment. I had a necropsy done on him and the vet said he died of massive system failures including a heart attack. He had a non functioning spleen that had atrophied and the vet suspected that he had a tumor on his pituitary gland. It was the hardest loss of a horse I have ever had.

I just started driving agian the end of last year. I just couldn't do it after loosing him. It is still hard not to compare all my horses to my beloved Prince. I am not trying to say that your horse has the same thing. I know of 3 other big horses that have anhydrosis and that is all...I guess I am saying that sometimes it is a single issue and sometimes it is a symptom of something more serious. You might check him out, just in case. My Prince had not yet hit his 5th birthday...Even with his medical issues that year he gave me everything he had and more. He was High Point Amature Stallion for our club from that show and I got Reserve High Point Amature. Thank you Princey-Poo I will ALWAYS remember you RIP my dear friend

 

[targetsmom]

Brasstackminis - I am SO sorry to hear about your horrific loss of your beloved Prince. If you notice my avatar and signature you can see that I can really identify with such a tragic loss. My Princess is also insulin resistant so anhydrosis is not the only thing she is dealing with. I just hope I am managing both issues as well as I can. As we both learned, anhydrosis may not be total - some affected horses can sweat to some extent, but just not normally.

Again, I so sorry for your tragic loss and hope this thread will help others learn about this conidtion. The supplement is about $25 a jar and WORKS.

 

[shelterwood]

Well, now I have a new problem to consider. I have a three year old mare who I have been struggling to figure out what exactly is going on with her. She appears to have sweet itch, being very itchy and sensitive to bugs, but also has very dry skin, with dandruff and lots of scurf. I know she has a bug problem, but now I am trying to remember if I have ever seen her sweat. She has not been worked very hard ever....she is a backyard pet basically that I am training to drive for trails and fun. I live in cool climate, but it is hot here for a few months. What other signs and symptoms have you seen in your horses with this condition? It is supposed to be warm here tomorrow so maybe I will lunge her for a bit with her driving saddle on and see if I cant get a normal sweat response, as she has her winter woolies a bit already. I wont overwork her, just see if I can get her to sweat a bit and ease my mind. I do suspect there is some endocrine type problem with her, but nothing my vet could detect with blood work etc. Is there a blood test for anhidrosis?

Katie

 

[targetsmom]

You might try Googling "Equine Anhydrosis" which is what I did. Here is one article I came up with: http://www.nonsweater.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4&Itemid=3

The coat and skin conditions you describe can be related, as is lethargy (low energy like Princess had), and of course not being able to sweat normally. Princess is clipped all summer for shows, but her winter coat is not what I would call "normal" - it is rough and never gets very long.

 

[shelterwood]

You might try Googling "Equine Anhydrosis" which is what I did. Here is one article I came up with: http://www.nonsweate...w&id=4&Itemid=3

The coat and skin conditions you describe can be related, as is lethargy (low energy like Princess had), and of course not being able to sweat normally. Princess is clipped all summer for shows, but her winter coat is not what I would call "normal" - it is rough and never gets very long.

Interesting. She does grow a winter coat, but her neck and shoulders this year have thinner hair, like a layer is missing, I don't know if its the under or outer coat, but it's a different color (darker) than the rest of her. However, she had a bad bug reaction a couple of weeks ago and rubbed her shoulders and neck quite a bit, so maybe that is the difference. I don't specifically notice any lethargy, she seems to be about the same energy level as her full sister. On that note, I noticed a couple of weeks ago on a particularly hot day late in the season, that her sister was sweating around her chest and between her legs, as their coats were in already somewhat for winter. I'm probably overreacting, but I don't remember her sweating at all. It has been a year or so since I have suspected that something systemically is wrong with her, given her bug allergies, slightly cresty neck, poor skin, and weird coat. She also had a colic/partial choke episode in the middle of extreme winter here, below zero temperatures. I don't know, it just seems something is off, but the vet can find nothing wrong, and chalks it up to sweet itch. I'm going to do some more research and try to get her to sweat to see if she has some respiratory changes etc.

 

[targetsmom]

Shelterwood - The cresty neck can be a sign of insulin resistance, which our Princess also has (and is treated for with a low starch diet).

You might want to do what I did - order the One AC from Dover for around $25 and ty it. Cheaper than a vet visit and I don't think there is a downside. As I said, I saw dramatic results in less than a week.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I'm so glad you figured out what was wrong and fixed it! I had trouble believing there was a mini alive that couldn't maintain a 9kph trot so it's a relief to know she did in fact have a physical problem!

I'm sure you'll now have your hands full with a whole new horse, so best of luck and enjoy! Can't wait to see pictures of her new, improved impulsion.

Leia

 

[midnight star stables]

I have one now that suddenly seems to be "fighting lethargy" too. I can't pin it to one thing, but maybe I'll look into this a bit more. Could you describe Princess's actions? Did she just seem to tire easily and quicker than she "should" with the workout schedule she was on?

GLAD to hear your girl is better!

 

[targetsmom]

Desiree-

Princess's lack of energy was clearly heat related. After a normal workout she would never sweat and would be breathing a bit hard at the end. But at the shows where it was really hot (and I was affected too) she had definite issues. At the Pinto show, she was refusing or knocking over jumps, which was unlike her. Ok, she will knock over a jump if she get's lazy and doesn't lift her legs high enough, but this was just lacking in energy. Then in the dressage test I mentioned in the OP, she could barely WALK across the ring in the free walk. She was also having trouble just holding her head up. And despite the heat and humidity - no sweat at all. It is probably a very good thing that we sponged her off anyway. Does your horse sweat after a workout? Now, Princess didn't sweat after our lesson Wednesday, but she had tons of energy and had recently been clipped. Plus it wasn't super hot, so I think she is OK, but I will naturally keep an eye on things.

Now Princess ALSO is insulin resistant, and that can cause lethargy too. The low starch diet and frequent meals seems to help there. It is a wonder she is such a great show horse with all the health issues she has! Oh, the other thing we noticed is that she is showing better in HALTER too!!! It is really hard to look your best when you don't feel that well, and the judges seemed to notice too. One thing I learned from watching the AMHR show was how much better a horse looks with his head and ears up, EVEN IF THE NECK ISN'T STRETCHED.

 

[shelterwood]

Well, just wanted to add a quick update. I got my One AC today and started my older mare on it at a double dose. Talking to the vet, who has been struggling with me through this mare's odd skin issues, she feels that there is potential that anhidrosis may be a problem. When I first rescued my girls, they were in rough shape, and we waited a few months for them both to become stronger to vaccinate, since I have no other horses. After the vaccines, both mares developed bad reactions...swelling of the necks, lethargy, off food for a day or two. With supportive care and pain management they both bounced back, but this is when the skin issues began. My younger mare had a bout of fly bite sensitivity but then never showed it again. My older mare, her full sister, has battled what we are calling sweet itch ever since. Presently, she has hair thinning, coarseness, and dryness from shoulders to head with hair loss around her eyes, and some itchiness. These are apparently classic anhidrosis signs. She does not sweat normally now that this has been brought to my attention as a problem, I never paid attention to this because who would think...and my girls are just old enough now to be getting regular, more strenuous work. Her sister sweats on these hot late fall days with their winter coats coming in, but not her. I'm actually hoping this is the problem, as it has been a real struggle to find the cause of her skin issues. Apparently not sweating can cause fungal and sweet itch like symptoms, as well as dry, flaky, scurfy skin. Hopefully the supplement works and she has some relief. I may not know until the heat returns next year, but it is worth a shot. Thanks for starting this thread, I have learned so much from this forum! Keep it up....

Katie

 

[eagles ring farm]

I'm so glad Princess is doing better, I pray she makes a full recovery like our Spice.

Here is Spice right before we took her to the hospital. She was a sick little baby from day 1. She was running 106 fevers and had to hose her down a few times a day and when we did she was happy and running for awhile then she would go down hill again. Vet doing all kinds of blood tests. She was mostly in the stall under fans as it was so hot but just leaving her and mom out a little each day when it was cooler. She found her way right to the little rubber bucket we had water in,in our small ring. And just got as wet as she could splashing the water and went to sleep there

Then a couple days later after 2 days in the hospital at 3 weeks old she was diagnosed with anhydrosys and sent home on One AC (forgive the terrible hospital clip job)She has been fine ever since

and at 3 years old now she has never had another issue sweats like every other horse.

Prayer your Princess sees the same results

 

[targetsmom]

I remember those photos of Spice but had forgotten what the problem was! I am going to post about this on the main forum but am waiting until after the World Show.

 

[shelterwood]

I posted earlier that my three year old mare Sasha has been now suspected of having anhydrosis. Well I started One AC exactly three days ago at a nearly double dose twice per day on the advice of both the company and my vet. Well, tonight my girls got tangled in a ground hornet's nest that I had been stung by earlier this year but couldn't find. My older mare, Sasha, took the brunt of it, and was ripping around the small, fenced off pasture for several minutes while I caught her younger sister. Once I got her, I took her to the barn to calm down, but she was still swishing her tail and kicking her hind leg, as well as turning to bite her flank. Upon close inspection, she had five or more hornets burrowing deep into her winter woolies, stinging her repeatedly. I had to actually take fly spray and saturate them before they backed out of her fur and fell to the ground, where I stomped them. Phew!

To my amazement though, she was drenched in sweat! Now I am confident I have never seen this horse sweat normally. I never remember her wet like this! Even on very hot days when she would be running a fence line because I had her sister out working her. And tonight she maybe ran for 5 minutes max, and its in the 50's here today for temperature. I'm convinced that the One AC is working, and that anhydrosis is her core problem. Now I'm hoping to see improvement in energy and skin too, praying actually. I thought at first that maybe all the stings could be causing the sweating, and then ran and got some Epi just in case!! But she is fine now, just panted for a while and needed to calm down. But her skin and coat have NEVER felt moist like this! YAY!!!! Sorry, I'm just really thrilled.

 

[targetsmom]

Shelterwood- I am sorry it took a tangle with a hornets nest to learn how effective the One AC is, but so glad it worked!! We have seen a definite improvement in energy level, but with a clipped coat and cooler temps, we don't see a lot of sweat now - but some. Hope your mare gets her energy back too - sounds like you are on the right track!