[SOLVED ] Q. Horse is an old mare-she is lethargic and laying down-she has pooped was a little dry looking and her face has a tinge of blue under the jaw...

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Experienced and professional animal trainer provide their insights in answering this question :

A. The end of your question got cut off but this horse is seriously unwell and must be examined and treated by a vet as an emergency. Horses laying down and especially passing less and hard stool is an indication of severe gastrointestinal upset and dehydration which can be life-threatening

How to Identify Common Pet Problems ?

Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced pet care professionals :

An underlying fever (pyrexia) — a temperature greater than 38.5°C — is one of the most common reasons for a horse presenting with lethargy. Horses may also present with a history of reduced appetite and increased respiratory rate, and may shift their weight from one leg to another.

A classic indicator for heaves is a persistent, chronic cough. It may be slight, such as three or four coughs at the beginning of exercise, but then it progresses to repeated episodes marked by difficulty breathing, wheezing, and nasal discharge.

The main symptoms include fever, abscesses in the upper respiratory tract, discharge of mucus or pus from the nose and swollen lymph nodes. Horses may also have difficulty swallowing and exhibit noisy breathing.

Lowered. A dropped head is a sign your horse is relaxed and feeling good, and his ears will often hang to the side as well. If he`s standing in his stall or pasture with a lowered head, he`s probably either resting or asleep; call his name and make your approach obvious so you don`t startle him.

Electrolyte deficiencies are associated with fatigue, muscle weakness, lethargy and reduced feed and water intakes, resulting in weight loss and dehydration. In addition, electrolyte deficient horses may experience reduced sweating, which can result in hyperthermia (over-heating) and compromised performance.

Pyloric stenosis, duodenal stricture, and gastric outflow obstruction are diagnosed occasionally in adult horses as a complication of severe inflammation involving the proximal portion of the small intestine.

Guttural Pouch Empyema in Horses

Signs include intermittent nasal discharge that contains pus, painful swelling, and in severe cases, stiff head carriage and noisy breathing. Fever, depression, and loss of appetite may or may not be seen. A diagnosis can often be made after endoscopic examination of the guttural pouch.

Symptoms. Clinical signs include depression, fever, loss of appetite, and signs of uveitis — also called moon blindness — where inflammation within the eye causes tearing, swelling, discharge, and cloudiness. Chronic uveitis can lead to blindness. Pregnant mares can also abort.

Some signs of pain are obvious, such as vigorous rolling and kicking at the belly indicative of colic, but other signs of pain are more subtle. Watch for changes in your horse`s activity level and behavior as these are the best indicators of pain.

A happy, relaxed, horse

The horse is standing with a relaxed body posture, resting one hind leg, alert with ears up and facing forward, eyes open showing no white, muzzle is relaxed with oval nostrils and closed mouth.

When they start showing signs of exhaustion or dehydration, you can give them electrolyte pastes and other water additives such as “horse quencher.” In severe conditions the fastest way to hydrate the horse is through the vet administering IV fluid.

Pinch the skin near the point of the shoulder. If the skin snaps back quickly your horse is sufficiently hydrated. If it takes the skin two to four seconds to snap back, your horse is moderately dehydrated. If it takes longer than four seconds for the skin to snap back, your horse is severely dehydrated.

Hindgut acidosis is an excessive acidity in the horse`s hindgut, a drastic drop of the pH value, most commonly caused by a high grain and low forage diet. More than 60% of performance horses suffer from hindgut acidosis.

Equine granulocytic anaplasmosis is a seasonal, tickborne bacterial disease of horses caused by an agent that can be transmitted to numerous other host species (via the tick), including people. The causative agent targets horse neutrophils, and infection can produce severe fever, ataxia, and thrombocytopenia.

Far more commonly, botulism occurs when horses eat feed or water which contains preformed toxin. Clostridia grow on substrates (food sources) which are above a pH of 4.5 and are in an anaerobic (non oxygen) environment. Here they produce toxins.

Esophageal obstruction (choke) is a condition in which the esophagus is obstructed by food masses or foreign objects. It is by far the most common esophageal disease in horses. Obstruction is most common when a horse quickly eats dried grain, beet pulp, or hay.

What are the clinical signs of Clostridium perfringens? Clinical signs of C. perfringens infection include diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, colic, dehydration, lethargy, anorexia, abdominal distention, and sudden death.

Horses will lie down to catch up on much-needed REM sleep, to relax, and in some cases, they will lay down because they are in physical pain or discomfort. Lying down is a normal behavior in horses, but it can sometimes indicate a medical problem requiring the help of a trained veterinarian.

The safest and most effective way to initiate the safe refeeding of the malnourished horse is to offer it multiple small feeds per day of a good quality alfalfa or grass-alfalfa mix hay. Alfalfa hay delivers a safe source of protein and hind gut-friendly fibre for energy.

When horses are depressed or stressed through illness or a change to routine, they can quickly go off their feed. Tempting them to eat can be tricky and they may only eat very small amounts.

MYTH: “Pulling a horse`s mane doesn`t hurt! They don`t have nerves in their hair follicles like we do.” FACT: Horses have sensory nerves in their hair follicles. Mane pulling can cause horses discomfort or pain.

“Horses might stop eating if they are in pain, stressed, or nervous. If something has changed in their circumstances or environment, they may not be interested in eating. This might happen if they lose a stablemate, have moved to a new location and are not happy in their new environment, or don`t like their stablemate.

Clinical signs of large redworms are colic, anaemia, weight loss, difficulty maintaining or putting on weight, and a dull or lethargic demeanour. Large redworms will be picked up on a faecal egg count and treatment in the form of an ivermectin-based wormer can be prescribed if necessary.

Relevant Questions and Answers :

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

Q. Horse is an old mare-she is lethargic and laying down-she has pooped was a little dry looking and her face has a tinge of blue under the jaw area-she

ANSWER : A. The end of your question got cut off but this horse is seriously unwell and must be examined and treated by a vet as an emergency. Horses laying down and especially passing less and hard stool is an indication of severe gastrointestinal upset and dehydration which can be life-threatening

Read Full Q/A … : How to Know if Your Horse Is Sick: 12 Steps (with Pictures)

Q. My dog is house trained but has started pooping in the house, why is she doing that?

ANSWER : A. It could be the type of food you are feeding. If you are feeding a lower quality kibble, it will be packed with fillers. These fillers will cause your dog to poop more than is necessary, and it can cause your dog to poop indoors because of the excess poop. Finding a higher quality kibble like Taste of the Wild, Orijen, or a high quality food like Ziwipeak, or Honest Kitchen, will help with that issue.

Remember to NEVER scold for accident indoors. The more you scold, the more fearful your dog is of pooping in front of you, the less your dog will want to poop in front of you outdoors, the more he will poop indoors, the more you scold… it’s a vicious cycle.

Have you been cleaning messes with Nature Miracle? Pick up a bottle, and try cleaning with that instead of regular cleaner. It will eliminate the smells deep down (even to your dog), which will discourage him from potting in that spot again.

Maybe he needs to be taken outside more often, and maybe he needs to be kept outside longer each time. He should be allowed at least 10 minutes of roaming outside before he has to come back inside. Allow him 10 minutes every single time you bring him outside, just in case he has to poop. He needs every opportunity you can give him. Bring him outside every hour if he’s full grown, every 40 minutes if he’s an adolescent (6-10 months), and every 30 minutes if he’s a puppy (2-6 months). If you have a doggy door, you should still be bringing your dog outside yourself to encourage him to stay outside longer, and poop. When he does poop outside, you should praise him, and reward him with lots of treats!

Read Full Q/A … : Why Does My Dog Poop In the House? How Can I Stop It?

Q. My 3 month puppy eats his own poop and is also biting what can I do to prevent this

ANSWER : A. When it comes to poop eating, you want to consider a few things. First off, what is his diet like? Maybe something is lacking in his diet that is causing him to want to eat his own poop. This is the most common reason why dogs eat THEIR OWN poop. Try a higher quality kibble like Taste of the Wild, Ziwipeak, Orijen.. and try feeding three meals per day, instead of the more common two meals per day. Remember to gradually switch his kibble. Add a little bit of the new kibble and reduce the old kibble very slowly.. little by little every couple of days until the bowl is mostly new kibble! You should also be cleaning up his poops IMMEDIATELY after he does them.. I mean like, you have a bag in your hand, and you are low enough to scoop it up RIGHT when he finished so he doesn’t have a chance to eat his poop.

When it comes to nipping there are a few things you can do. First, you should yelp as soon as the teeth touch your skin, stand up, cross your arms, and ignore the puppy until he is ignoring you. Once he is off doing his own thing, swoop down and calmly reward him by playing with him WITH A TOY so he doesn’t nip your hands. Whenever you pet him, or interact with him, you should always have a toy on-hand so you can give it to him. This toy should be a soft braided rope toy that YOU own. This means, your puppy is never allowed to have this toy on the floor, and your pup can never “win” tug games with this toy. This is YOUR toy that disappears when you’re finished playing, and reappears when you want to play. If you keep this up, in a weeks time, your puppy will be so excited to see that toy, that as soon as you bring it out, he stops nipping you because he wants to play with the toy. Another thing you can do is have two bags of toys. Bag#1 is full of chew toys/soft toys/squeaky toys/etc. After one week, Bag#1 disappears and out comes Bag#2. Bag#2 has the same types of toys as Bag#1, and it only stays out for one week. This keeps the toys feeling like new to your pup!

Read Full Q/A … : Why Dogs Eat Poop – The 5 Primary Causes – Dog Poop Diet

Q. My 8mo. puppy eats feces. Wedont scorn him for pottymishaps. He hides feces in his bed.I feed him blue buffalo 2 per day. How do I stop this?

ANSWER : A. A lot of dogs do this, and sometimes it is just because feces tastes good.. sometimes it is due to something lacking in their diet.. but a lot of the time, it’s just fun and tasty. The only way to handle this situation is management. You should be cleaning up your two dogs poops immediately when they happen. Scoop them up, throw them into the woods, or into a can. You cannot give your pup access to the poops.

You could also try adding things to your pups diet. Things like canned pumpkin for dogs (not the pie filling you find in the grocery store, that has way too much sugar in it). Or you could feed your dog raw chews like marrow bones, or beef tendons. You’ll have to add things to his diet in order to find out what is missing from it. If you allow him to continue eating poop, even if there is something lacking in his diet, he will continue eating poop when you’ve solved his diet issue because it will become a LEARNED behavior. This means he will continue eating poop because he learned he CAN eat poop. You could also try feeding him three meals per day. Feed him the same amount of food, but break it up into three feedings per day. This could help him feel a bit more full throughout the day.

Clean up your yard, and clean up after your pups immediately when they eliminate outdoors. Do not scold him, there is no need.. it isn’t his fault.

Read Full Q/A … : R

Q. What is the best dry dog food for a Border Collie?

ANSWER : A. If you’re truly looking for the *best* food for your dog, look into feeding a well balanced raw diet. I feed my dog Ziwipeak, which is an air-dried raw food-type diet. It is well balanced (so I don’t have to worry about attempting to balance a diet myself if I were to be feeding raw food).

Ziwipeak is very expensive though. If you’re looking for a kibble specifically, look into Taste of the Wild, Orijen, and Merrick – these are high quality kibbles.

Read Full Q/A … : Best Dry Dog Foods – Dog Food Advisor

Q. My 11 year old Chi has these ridges across his nose that are hard and dry sort of look like a wart, should I worry?

ANSWER : A. Dry patches or calluses on the nose are very common in pets and can occur if they enjoy digging outdoors or sometimes just digging around the house. They can appear as areas of minor hair loss where the nose meets the fur, and can also have a hardened, patchy appearance. These are normal and can sometimes come and go on their own.

However, if the patch appears to be spreading, or is bothersome, that is not typical of a callus. If the area is itchy, red or appears to have an open sore or wound, it may indicate an issue with the skin or a growth that is abnormal. Keeping the area clean and dry with a washcloth may help with minor irritation, while more serious or prolonged irritation should be looked at by your vet.

Read Full Q/A … : scalp condition – jenneedshelp's Journal – MedHelp

Q. I have a 1000 lb draft cross mare. She was overweight but is getting on the lean side. Any suggestions on keeping weight on her? Ridden 5-6 days/wk

ANSWER : A. If your mare’s activity level has increased you may want to take a look at what she is being fed currently. Horses that are higher performance do well with a grain/pelleted feed being added to the diet in addition to any outside grazing time and hay feed. If you are becoming competitive, a performance feed may also provide extra nutrition to help keep up with the increased activity. If you are unsure if your mare is the right weight for her size, looking up an equine Body Condition Score can help. Many give visual aids that you can compare your mare to in order to help keep track of her overall condition.

If your mare is on appropriate feed and continues to lose weight, she may also be due for her regular deworming as internal parasites can cause weight loss in horses even on good feed (as they leech nutrients). If she is up to date on worming and is still looking leaning, calling out your local horse vet to the barn may help as well.

Read Full Q/A … : Adding Oil to a Horse’s Diet

Q. I introduced my American staffy 11 mos old to dog minced foods, she stopped eating her dry dog food is there a way for her to get back her appetite on

ANSWER : A. Try mixing the two together for a while. Start with 3quarters of meat and 1 quarter of dry for a few days then half and half and continue like this until after about 7-10 days just back on dry. It may help to initially warm the mince that you are mixing with the dry to encourage eating or when just on dry try adding some gravy to it if she still won’t eat.

Read Full Q/A … : Ask The Vet