Need Help Please! Mare Literally Starving Herself!

[StarRidgeAcres]

I don't post as much lately and frankly it's because I'm still a bit overwhelmed with taking care of the farm and all the horses by myself so I just don't have the time. But now I've got a real problem on my hands and I NEED HELP! I will take any suggestions anyone has.

I have a 21 year old mare that is losing weight despite my efforts to reverse the process. Here is what has transpired and what I've tried...

She is my mare Cappy, dam of Mira. Mira is the last foal she had (2007). In July of 09, Cappy was ultrasounded in foal and her weight was acceptable. Not fat, but good coverage over her ribs, hips, etc. By November I had made the assumption she had slipped the foal as she was not gaining weight as the other pregnant mares were. Then in late December I saw obvious foal movement. So I had the vet out on Christmas eve and Cappy was ultrasounded again and sure enough there was a foal in there still. The vet physically examined Cappy and drew blood. Just about everything I can think of was tested - hormones levels, organs, cell counts. Nothing was out of the ordinary. The vet agreed Cappy was underweight and that the foal was probably really dragging her down so I changed her diet to Buckeye Growth, Ultimate Finish 100 and free choice grass hay.

On Jan 2nd, Cappy aborted a filly. The foal had no obvious signs of any abnormalities and seemed of proper development for 7.5 months gestation. The vet came out again, examined her internally and externally and took blood again. Once again, there was nothing in the results, nothing. Had the vet out one week later to float her teeth to see if that would possible help also.

So, now it's 2 months later and Cappy has continued to deteriorate. I'm so ashamed of her condition and feel so totally horrible for her. Over the last two months I have tried so many different feeds, treats, supplements but she just won't eat. She eats a handful of this, a handful of that and then walks away and just moseys around. She seems hungry and will whinny to me when she sees me, but again it's just a couple of mouthfuls and then she loses interest. The most she'll eat is of the cheapest, crappiest sweetfeed I can find or whole oats. And even those she just eats a bit.

In addition to her eating issues, many of you know that Cappy has difficulty walking...from an injury as a 2 year old. I've really noticed her seeming to have more difficulty lately. It seems she doesn't want to bend her front legs very much. And she rarely will lay down - I'm assuming because it's painful to get up?

This time last year I have a picture of Cappy running through the field, totally enjoying life. Today she is a shell of that horse. I don't know what else to do and I don't know if it's time to let her go. A couple of days ago I thought her eyes still looked bright and full of life, but today I don't know. She's going downhill before my eyes and I can't seem to figure out how to stop it.

I normally love my vet but am also feeling frustrated with them because they just aren't coming up with anything to help her. I'm at my wits end and I just can't stand seeing her condition so poor. I'm not sure she'll last long enough to get past her low weight issue.

Ok, I'm rambling, but I'm just so mad at myself and concerned for her. If I visited a farm and saw a horse in this condition I would be calling the authorities. And now I've got one of my own.

I will take any suggestions. Anything.

 

[Ashley]

I wish I knew as I have that same problem here. My mare is 20, eats like crazy, is bred but I cant get weight on her. She does need her teeth done but cant get them done until after she foals. She gets free choice hay, alfalfa and grass. She gets mare/yearling grain.

If I knew she was going to be like this I wouldnt have bred her back.

 

[Miniv]

I was going to have you have her checked for hyperlipemia............but I would have her checked for calcium deficiency and do it ASAP.

Bless her and bless YOU...... It doesn't sound good.

 

[mydaddysjag]

Has your vet checked for ulcers? I had a (big horse) mare who we had similar issues with. I went back and fourth with my old vet about checking for ulcers, I felt she might have them, the vet said no way, she has a nice coat and feet and horses with a nice coat and feet dont have ulcers. Five cases of colic, about 300lbs, a new vet, and GI scope later she was diagnosed with ulcers. Shame is she had them for quite a while, because I was following vet #1's advice and treating her as a hard keeper and trying every food and supplement there was. After vet #2 scoped her and diagnosed her, we did a 30 day treatment, and she was well on her way to recovery. I will admit, she looked so bad I kept her blanketed or in a sheet as I was afraid someone wouldnt know I was working with a vet, and call the humane society.

 

[HGFarm]

I agree on the calcium levels.... I am assuming you have had her teeth thoroughly checked? Good advice from all so far.

 

[wildoak]

The above suggestions are all good, and I assume you have had her teeth checked. Wish I had something else to suggest, just wish you luck with her.

Jan

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

I am getting lots of good advice, and I really appreciate it.

Honestly, I'm going to have to recheck with the vet tomorrow to get the list of all that has been checked for. I can't say that calcium is something I remember discussing. Please tell me why you think calcium deficiency?

I'd like to come up with a list of things to check for and have her bloodwork done again, so please keep the suggestions coming. I sure would love to see her happy and healthy again.

As for her teeth, she has a history of tooth issues so she is actually one that is checked every 3 months. There were some points to take care of in Jan and those were knocked off. I should add that I've tried feeding her basically a mush - just in case the teeth were the problem but she wouldn't touch it.

It's like she tries this, tries that, tries some hay, goes back and tries the feed, walks away, stands for a bit then tries it again. Just nibbles here and there. Not at all like a normal horse would eat if there was a bucket of grain in front of them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree with Mydaddysjag. I'd get her on Gastroguard ASAP. It sounds like she wants to eat, but when she does, it hurts, so she stops. Bless her heart, I sure hope she gets better soon! I know you're doing everything you can to help her. Good luck with her!

Melba

 

[ljc]

First of all, I'm holding good thoughts for you. I know how you are feeling.

My 22-year-old TB gelding nearly died last month from a temporary attack of anorexia. His was caused by my starting him on pergolide (for Cushings). Pergolide can cause horses to go off their feed but Benjamin took it to the extreme and refused to eat anything. He ended up being rushed to the hospital with kidney failure - after a few days of not eating, he had become dehydrated and his kidneys were no longer working. The bloodwork (a basic CBC panel) showed this, so I'm guessing your mare doesn't have kidney problems or it would have shown up. Benjamin's calcium levels were sky-high, by the way. A week of IVs flushed everything out and he came home. Still didn't want to eat but finally he did. I started him on a ten-day dose of Gastroguard because the vet figured after a few days of not eating, the acids in his stomach might be bothering him.

When he didn't want to eat, I couldn't get him to touch anything - no hay, no grains, no sweet feeds, etc. I think i bought every type of feed known to the horse world. But his refusal to eat wasn't about a specific food, basically nothing tasted good (extrapolating from what happens to people who have kidney failure).

You might want to have your vet run the bloodwork again and double check kidney functions. And maybe a course of IV's might help your mare, as well, if she's getting dehydrated. I would definitely try the ulcer medicine, too.

Good luck!!!!

 

[~Amanda~]

Poor girl. I don't have any new ideas to offer, but I hope you figure it out and get her feeling well and happy again.

 

[Farina]

Last winter our 36-year old gelding refuesed to eat too. We have treated him with Vitamin B12, B6 and B1 injections plus less often Selenium injections (but I don't know if there is in the US a Selenium deficency also). It works also great for foals too. They start eating right now.

Last spring he was running to me for dinner and three months later he won't stand up and he was euthanized... It was very sad we have had very nice times. He was our first mini. So sometimes they just tell us they are ready to go...

I will hope for the best for you both, bless you.

 

[Maxi'sMinis]

I agree with ulcer meds. I had 2 vets looking at a colt that was lethargic, pot bellied and a bit thin. I had wormed, done teeth, blood work, all kinds of feed. Neither vet considered ulcers even with my insistence after reading about ulcers in minis on LB. I went ahead an put my boy on ulcer meds and in 30 days he was putting on weight, running, kicking and bucking. As many have said I think minis are prone to ulcers from stress.

 

[Margaret]

So Sorry this is happening to you.

Maybe you can incorperate a small amount of Alfalfa shake to her feed?

And by shake I mean just the flaky part, not the stem.. Ive yet to see a horse refuse that ..

Start small and slowly increase the amount so that she adjusts to it.

Maybe this will help bring her weight back.

I was also wondering if she might have worms..

 

[bonloubri]

If all else fails, I recommend getting in touch with Carl Mitz and have her teeth thoroughly checked. Carl was at a clinic I attended recently and I think he said he will be going to the St Louis area in April. There was a young horse there that was really underweight and the owner said he ate anything and everything. I asked Carl if the horse was eating so well, how could he be so underweight. Carl answered that even though he was eating if the food was not being chewed it would just go on through with no benefit to the horse.

 

[happy appy]

I strongly urge you to get her on ulcer meds too! You will notice a difference in a week. I had a full size horse come in as a rescue and nothing we did put weight on him and he would only pick at food. After a week on ulcer meds, he started eating anything we put in front of him and gaining weight. The vet put him on a diet of high protien feed with a top dressing of veggie oil 3 times a day. He was looking good in less than 2 months.

 

[wcr]

You have had the vet out several times and spent probably a fortune in different feeds and don't have a very long list of options and aren't getting anywhere. At this point I would be throwing that horse in a trailer and heading to either a vet college or respected vet hospital where they can examine her and do a more thorough workup.

 

[Becky]

I agree with starting ulcer meds immediately. It won't hurt and hopefully will help. Be aggressive with it. Gastro or Ulcer Guard daily, ranitidine 3 X day plus sucralfate 2 X day. Sure hope something helps!

 

[Genie]

I haven't read all the replies but I am going to throw out the thought "Bots".

The vet has likely checked for this but I had a mare going that way and turned out she had a bad case of Bots.

 

[Charlotte]

Oh Parmela, that is to tough, watching a loved one go down like that. It sounds like you've covered all the bases except ulcers and I'm 100% behind Becky's recommendation.

I agree with starting ulcer meds immediately. It won't hurt and hopefully will help. Be aggressive with it. Gastro or Ulcer Guard daily, ranitidine 3 X day plus sucralfate 2 X day. Sure hope something helps!

Also with the few REALLY bad ones I've had, once they are getting all the ulcer meds, I give as small a dose of banamine as I can to make the horse feel a little better and eat! Banamine is ulcerogenic so you want to wean them off as quickly as possible. I started that at every 12 hours and after about 2 doses tried reducing the amount, then going to once every 24 hours. It's a real juggling game...trying to get them comfortable enough to eat without making the ulcers worse. It takes CLOSE observation and attention to detail.

Also, will your mare eat alfalfa in any form? That is recommended for ulcer horses. Mine would usually nibble at green grass if I could find any. I've even plucked it and fed it leaf by leaf to them.

Remember, with ulcers, grains tend to make them worse untill they are well healed.

Charlotte

 

[Tenltraining]

So sorry to hear about your older mare. Its hard to see them having problems, I know. I think too perhaps the gastroguard would be worth a try. Also has she been checked for tapeworms? LIver functions?

It sounds like youve been keeping up well with the dental work so thats good. I hope you can find something to help her eat more and get back some of her old bloom and vigor. Good luck on her!