Mare Won't Eat.............

[SBrown]

I have an 11 year old mare who on Saturday was perfectly normal and Sunday morning had not eaten much of her hay overnight and was not at all interested in her SafeChoice grain. I waited a while and tried her on Purina Equina Senior and she nibbled at it and then walked away. Tried her on Purina Omolene 300 and she wasn't interested in that either. She would graze some and then walk into her stall and stand. She is bright eyed and doesn't seem to be uncomfortable, it's just the not eating. Took her to the vet Sunday evening and they have her on fluids, are tubing a fortifying mash and started her on ulcer medication. She is grazing some and passing normal manure. Her bloodwork is normal, no problem with triglycerides and is the same tonight as last night.

Anyone have suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Becky]

It sounds like the vets have ruled out hyperlipemia for now. I would continue with aggressive ulcer treatment. I sure hope she improves soon!

 

[attwoode]

Ulcer would be my first guess. Is she in estrus or pregnant? Does she yawn, lay down, stomp legs? Temperature? Is she vaccinated for insect borne illnesses?

 

[SBrown]

Ulcer would be my first guess. Is she in estrus or pregnant? Does she yawn, lay down, stomp legs? Temperature? Is she vaccinated for insect borne illnesses?

She is an experienced broodmare, seldom any complications and is currently about 40 days in foal. She had a malpositioned foal (head down and back) in February that the vet had to help extract. She acts completely normal except maybe only slightly depressed. No yawning, laying down, leg stomping or anything like that....just her usual calm self. Temp is 100.5 so normal and hasn't varied. She was vaccinated earlier this spring - 7-way Prestige V annual, West Nile, and Strangles.

 

[attwoode]

No wonder you're stumped! I'm guessing they took white blood cell count that was normal too. I'm sure you've also already checked for sharp teeth. Sounds like you've covered everything other than ruling out complications from breeding. Any bleeding after breeding? Vaginal tear?

Wish I could be of more help. Good luck!

 

[wildhorses]

First I would look at the Liver Functions with a blood test as well as the Kidney functions to make sure you aren't dealing with liver failure....had that with 3 mares unexpectantly last year.

If the blood tests are normal, I would highly suspect an ulcer, and with meds should see improvement within a couple of days. I had one showed all the signs of liver failure like the others, but blood tests were normal and she was off feed. Turned out to be an ulcer. I let her graze on green grass, and tried multiple types of feeds to see which she would eat. She liked the green grass the best and after a few days she was close to normal after being treated with the Ulcergard and some white pills that the vet gave me for 3 weeks. Hope this helps.

 

[Jill]

I would also wonder about ulcers, because the symptoms can be just what you've described. How is she acting about drinking water? A classic symptom is reluctance to eat grain / feed and choosing hay / grass instead. I hope she will soon be feeling better!

Good luck!

 

[SBrown]

I would also wonder about ulcers, because the symptoms can be just what you've described. How is she acting about drinking water? A classic symptom is reluctance to eat grain / feed and choosing hay / grass instead. I hope she will soon be feeling better!
Good luck!

They have run bloodwork for liver and kidney functions and nothing unusual there. She was dehydrated when I took her in and is still not drinking much water along with refusing grain.

 

[wildoak]

Wish I had an answer for you. The only ones I've had with any similarities also had pretty extreme diarrhea. They were never able to isolate a cause but we ran fluids and put them antibiotics along with biosponge & pepto, and they eventually recovered. Sounds like you are covering all your bases, hope she recovers uneventfully. Has she been ultrasounded again to see if she is still in foal - could she possibly be resorbing the fetus?

Jan

 

[K Sera]

Sharman,

Update on your mare? Good news I hope! I've been waiting to hear .... wondering .....

 

[SBrown]

She is being treated for ulcers and seems to be responding well. She is eating hay and grain though not drinking as much as the vets would like. I went to get her tonight and storms in our area were so horrible so I turned around and came back home. I plan on getting her home tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

 

[Jill]

This may sound so silly but it might help so wanted to post it in case it would. When I was getting ready for and going to shows, I would give my horses gator ade mixed with water after lunging them at home and they loved it. It was like a treat to them when they were done, but the real reason I did it was so they'd drink plenty of water when we were at shows (since they love the gator ade). I would mix it like 1 part gator ade to 5-10 parts water. I wonder if you added some gator ade or similar (just not "diet" kind) to her water if that might not make her enjoy it and drink more water?

I am very happy to read she's doing better and that she should be home soon