i have some health questions!

[giddy up gal]

Hello Mini friends!

I have a 2 year old mini mare. who has some potential health problems going on. Im new to this so bare with me. lol she has never had a health problem in the year ive had her and these symptoms have suddenly came up

shes my baby so im a concerned mother apologies if i sound like a worry wort

I took her to a local open show yesterday and she wasnt being herself at all. I started hearing some clicking which ive heard before coming from her right stiffle as i was in the halter class. she didnt seem to be in pain just really anxious and would not park and set her self up like she normally does with her back hind end. it started in her 3rd of the day. after the class i was walking her when her leg was shifting funny. i took her back to the trailer and stretched her leg and it seemed to go away. about a hour later the popping came back and her leg seemed to be funny again. I talked to a few people there who said it may be a growing pain type of case which i questioned since i know that minis are very pron to stiffle issues. one trainer there told me to work her over poles which i do one a week. so my questions to you guys are is this something i should be very worried about? or could it just be because shes growing and gaining muscle. and is it ok for me to work her right away? or give her some time off. sorry if i sound nieve but ive never had a horse with this problem and im still newer to the mini world (ive had her for a year now)

heres my 2nd dilemma,

I happened to run in my old trainer (she primarily does quarter horses). and she noticed her coat was very fuzzy compared to the other horses and got talking to me about it. I live in north east Connecticut and was at a show in mass. she believes my horses coat could be a sign of cushings because it is very thick and has a wooley type feel and look she described her coat as being burnt looking. she thinks its way to early for fur like that and noticed her occasionally kicking her stomach in her class. (which im almost ashamed to admit i didnt notice as much because i mistaken-ed it for anxiety beacuse there where alot of horses in her class). she also noticed her back muscles are a symptom and that she looks bloated.

as for the coat.. there was 2 other mini owners there whom i got talking to who said that there minis were body clipped (i didnt because i dont blanket her in the winter) so i didnt know if it was normal or not for them to be this fuzzy.

I sound so clueless about this beacuse i honestly never had a horse with cushings just a paint with hyppp but now she has me very worried about my baby. i just figured you guys would be the perfect ones to answer and give me advice since you have miniatures yourself and not just full size horses. thank you so much for anything info you give me, at this point anything would help! thanks agian

ps. ive included some photos to show you of her july coat, sept coat and late winter coat

(this is her from the show yesterday - had a bath scrub and trim up) sorry if its a funky set up i was still in the process of setting her up lol)

(this is from a july show note the huge difference in her coat)

and lastley this is her normal winter coat in january of last year)

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Cushing's Disease is more common in older horses, so at 2yrs old it is less likely here, but not impossible.

Poor hair coat and stifle problems (due to poor muscle tone) can be signs of a failure to thrive. I would encourage you to have your Vet check out her overall health status and fixing that may remedy both situations.

Dr Taylor

 

[Michelle@wescofarms]

Stifle problems can be nutrition, conformation and/or genetic. You need to talk to your vet. It could be a simple selenium deficiency or something serious.

Cushings I'd highly doubt at that age. We had our 12 yr old gelding evaluated as he's a chronic founder case the past year, but Cushings was ruled out just a metabolic issues the new grass at certain times of the year. With Woody keeping him trimmed, his weight not ballooning and off fresh grass in the a.m., does the trick.

 

[Charlotte]

If I may add a bit to Dr Taylor's suggestions, Her haircoat doesn't look unusual length for a miniature in early fall. However, it does seem to be lacking in shine. Maybe diet related?

And thoughts on the stifle issue....she might have had a misstep loading or unloading from the trailer thereby injuring the stifle (have you checked the joint for heat or tenderness?) Also, check her hoof trim in back. Is she carrying too much toe? Too long of hind toes can cause the stifle to catch.

 

[targetsmom]

I live not that far from you (north central CT)and our horses are getting fuzzy, but none look quite like yours. You say the symptoms came up suddenly so I guess she didn't look like this last year at this time? It could be various things and it may take some investigation for you and/or your vet to figure it out. For example, I just figured out that one of our minis doesn't sweat normally (anhydrosis) and that is why HER coat looks rougher than our other minis. I found an inexpensive supplement that seems to have fixed the problem! Does your horse sweat normally?

Do you feed a supplement with selenium? Our area is very low in selenium so if your hay is local that could also be an issue.

I would also wonder why she was kicking her stomach - that could be a colic sign or maybe ulcers.

Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] and let me know what town you live in! I'd like to help if I can.

 

[Minimor]

I thought I was losing it....or my computer was, because I know I posted on this thread. But, I see there are two the same & my post is on the other one! I'm not losing it after all.

 

[chandab]

I don't really see anything abnormal about her coat for this time of year, but as a couple mentioned nutrition, why don't you share her diet iwth us (what and how much), perhaps she is lacking something.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Sounds like winter hair coming in. My guys are getting fuzzy already. I swear we only had about a month of slick and all the summer hair started falling out and here we are getting fuzzy again. Depending on where you live, if you don't clip your mini can be fuzzy 10 months of the year. LOL.

Amazing what a little ground flax will do to brighten up and darken the coat and take out the red burnt look they get in the sun. I feed a supplement to my guys, 30% along with the flax and feed a fine grass hay. Just hay isn't enough. A diet lacking in proper protein ratio will make a big bellied looking mini. People see the belly and begin to cut back on the hay and actually make the problem worse.

On the stifles, very common to have slipping stifles. In addition to being related to exercise, an improper trim can also make stifles slip more. Typically my experience has been long toe and short heels make for slipping stifles, Trim proper, exercise and add some protein and flax and I think you will see a big difference.

PS. My pony got cushings at 15 years old. Your mini is just a baby. Best wishes

 

[giddy up gal]

Thank you so much everybody for all your knowledge and advice! Stella my girl is doing so much better with her stiffle issue since my post

shes actually flexing her mind end instead of dragging it like sunday. ive been putting some liniment gel on her hocks and stiffle and it seems to help. and ive been working her on hills which i hope will strengthen her back end.

as for the cushing situation. i wont worry as much now thanks to you guys but i plan on getting her tested to make sure this fall during her shots.

she seems to be back to her silly little self agian which makes me feel alot better. she couldnt stop kissing me which reassures me shes in a better mood. thanks agian everybody for all your advice!

(ps. i thought id include a picture to show you that shes evern starting to canter a bit by herself agian. yay!!!!!!!)

 

[giddy up gal]

oh and i forgot to mention i talked to my manager about her feed and may consider switching grains to either the new mini/pony grain or oats. shes on strider grain right now

any prefernces? id love to hear about ur favorites! )

and i plan on putting a bit of oil in her feed, and charotte my trainer thought it may have been trailer related as well. thank you and i will talk to my farrier next month about getting her hoofs trimming with less toe. thanks everyone!