Little Help Please...Mare drooling

[KrazyHorses]

April seems to be acting a little strange this morning. She didn't come over for hay this morning...she stayed at the barn. I went over to her. She just stood there. I observed her for a while and didn't see anything unusual until I noticed drool coming out her mouth. I opened her mouth and it looked like clear, sticky drool.

After I came in to post, I looked outside and she is not at the haypile yet, but is standing at the gate with a pathetic look. Is she trying to tell me she needs help? What does this mean (drool)?

I thought maybe it's just all the pollen. I woke up with an irritated throat and full of snot, too. Or, maybe it is something going on w/ her pregnancy?

Someone please tell me the drool is not unusual and nothing to worry about??

 

[rabbitsfizz]

It may well be nothing but it is not normal. Does she have a temperature??

It is surely too early for clover??

I would call the Vet as this could develope into something worrying.

 

[KrazyHorses]

Our pasture has very little grass (it's been very dry, no rain). I've been putting out lots of coastal hay. She's nibbling at the haypile now, so I'll just keep an eye on her.

 

[kaykay]

we have had such mild weather here that we still have clover! my mare last year got clover poisoning. Hers was pretty bad as her entire head swelled and all the skin on her head peeled off.

 

[Jetiki]

check her mouth for a stick or foreign object, a good stiff stem of hay could get stuck in there and cause the drooling.

Karen

 

[stormy]

Sounds like choke to me...need to call your vet!

 

[KrazyHorses]

Sounds like choke to me...need to call your vet!

Even if she seems to be grazing and eating from the haypile normally now?

 

[REO]

PLEASE call the vet!

A horse's nature tells them to eat. So even if a horse is acting like they're eating does not mean nothing is wrong with them.

Drooling and being uninterested in things is not a good sign.

If you wait and see, what if it was something serious that could have been fixed if caught soon enough?

My thoughts are it's better to be safe than sorry.

What if it is poison? A snake bite? Choke?

I hope April will be ok.

 

[KrazyHorses]

I checked her temp...normal

I listened to gut sounds...normal

I checked her mouth...normal, except saliva seems sticky

I will continue to monitor her closely. I do not like to 'cry wolf' and call the vet for "I think something is wrong"...like a new Mommy who runs to the Pediatrician everytime their child sneezes or gets the hiccups. When I do call my vet for an emergency...he knows something is definitely wrong.

 

[backwoodsnanny]

Cant you call and talk to your vet without a visit? I can call and leave amessage for my vet and he calls me back and together we decide if a visit is needed. This is not normal. If she were mine I would be calling and talking to my vet about it. Do you only call the vet for emergencies? My vet is more than happy that I call and discuss these kinds of thngs as it gives him a heads up if things progress to needing a visit. JMO

 

[Gail]

:no: Whatever it is, it is NOT normal! You could be playing with your mares life! Call the vet!!! Atleast talk to him. That way if it is something simple he may be able to help w/o come out, or atleast you, ( and alot of us), will feel better about it. May just be a BIG help to your mare as well.

:

 

[Miniv]

I agree with Gail. What you describe is NOT normal. I would be at least calling your vet.

MA

 

[hamdamster]

I just had a mare that was always a muncher, eat eat eat. One day I noticed she was drooling and didn't pay attention much to her hay or grain!! She needed to her teeth floated. Those sharp teeth start to hurt her tongue and mouth and she drooled as a result. Ask the vet to see if she needs to be floated. They just stick their finger in and feel around to find sharp edges. If not, might be something else.

 

[Jill]

I also do not call the vet for every "little" thing but in the situation you describe, at the least (as as been said) I would call him and ask him what to do. That's pretty much my starting point in situations I do not know how to treat or what is going on. My vets know I'm not "horse stupid" and if it's something they can diagnose over the phone and prescribe treatment, they do. They know if it's something they should come and look at in person, and I bet it's the same with your vet.

If you were not concerned and unsure what to do, you would not have posted.

 

[Pepipony]

Not to scare you, but that was how my Indy was when he had impaction colic. His symptoms were not at all how he normally colicked, drooling, just standing there, not into his feed but would nibble. I thought he just had a cold. Wish it was. Lost him because of my waiting.

 

[Marty]

THIS IS URGENT: This is a sign of CHOKE and your horse can die from it. Not saying this is the case with your horse but it's a real possiblity and at the top of my list.

PLEASE get her to a vet asap to rule this out. Do not stick anything at all in her mouth or do anything to her mouth at all. Just get a vet now.

 

[Pepipony]

So how did it turn out? I woke up thinking about this. Hope everything is ok!

 

[Gini]

Please let us know how she'd doing today.....

 

[becks_cupid]

If in doubt ring the vet. From a past experience they can seem ok just a little off and then they are gone so PLEASE call the vet out.Children are a little different they can tell you whats wrong but in the case of the animal the poor little things they rely on us. No one is going to say you are an anxious person calling the vet just a very caring one.Please Please Please. Everything on Cupid seemed fine just a little bit of not himself and we lost him an hour later they go into shock very easy.

 

[backwoodsnanny]

Update Please. We are all concerned for you and your mare. Pleeeease give us an update that things are just fine.