Mini Horse Down - Low Temp

Mini Horses said:

I would continue with electrolytes & water. He can go without feed longer than water. Do you vaccinate for West Nile, EEE, Tetnaus? If so, when last?

I would be very concerned about staggering, lack of leg stability....and whether he CAN drink. Does he put head in water and not drink, etc? Can he hold balance when he walks or does he stagger? Does he hold head up or more down? If you press on his gum with your thumb, then release, does color come back quickly (few seconds)?

Does he get up when you enter his stall/area or stay down? Is there any excess heat in his feet up to fetlock? Is his pulse fast? Is his breathing regular or rapid, or slow & weak, struggling? Do you hear any raspiness> Observe these things as it could help vet to help you both.

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Didn't tag you, sorry! Also there is no excess heat in his feet or up to the fetlock.

Maybe you caught him half asleep.... Hard to get it all together after a nap.

If he wasn't shivering when you found him, he may have just had a little chill. I'd watch him for a few days, in case something is starting up. Keep some track of his eating & drinking, etc.

Let us know how he's doing in a day or so.

Mini Horses said:

Maybe you caught him half asleep.... Hard to get it all together after a nap.

If he wasn't shivering when you found him, he may have just had a little chill. I'd watch him for a few days, in case something is starting up. Keep some track of his eating & drinking, etc.

Let us know how he's doing in a day or so.

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I will. I plan to have the vet out tomorrow if he's not doing any better. It's pouring rain now so I closed the barn door to keep him inside and help him retain some heat.
What do you think is going on? Should I keep giving electrolytes? Anything else? He seems to be a little thinner and with everything else, that's why I assumed stomach worms. I stopped giving him grain (12% sweet feed) when he went out in the pasture in March. That might explain the weight drop but I definitely think I would've noticed it before now if that were the case. He has a salt block and a mineral block by his water bucket too.

Electrolytes are a temp assist to offset body balances if the animal is not eating, drinking, getting nutrients his body needs. Most minis have enough coat to stay warm in very low temps. So, unless he had stood in cold rain and become chilled, weather usually isn't the culprit for a horse his age. Heavy, cold wind is generally not a problem if there is a wind break. A horse standing in snow, WITH a layer of snow on them, is a healthy horse. Yep, their bodies raise the hair at the base and this helps insulate them, thus snow doesn't melt onto them, they shake it off. Minis have heavy winter coats, so I like to feel each one every couple weeks to be sure they still have enough fat over their bones -- they all look plump with that coat. If I see a crease down their back in that nice coat, generally all ok -- if NO crease, you may have a weight issue. This is a very general looksee and in no way the only thing you should check, just an observation of mine that corresponds with amount of body condition you find at topline.

I like to alternate dewormers so, I personally would have used Ivermec in winter, after first heavy frost. It is a good product with a large margin of error on overdose. Quest, on the other hand is a product that must be used quite carefully in minis as the overdose margin is low. A horse with a worm load will most often not have a good coat. I like to see an even, "velvet" look to them.

While I could not guess at what is "wrong" I can suggest that they do need more feed in winter and hay produces more heat in digestion for them. Be sure you are using good quality hay. Then, Spring grasses are generally full of sugars.....thus, question about hot feet as found in foundering. Pastures can look great and still not be sufficient in what an animal's body needs. I like to supplement all the heavily pastured animals with a high protein, vit/min feed. (I use Purina Enrich 32) Just small amount, even every other day. These guys are small and cannot eat volumes, thus my concern that they get sufficient nutrients, without volume. Teeth are often a big concern in a mini as they have smaller mouths but, full sized teeth. Eating can be effected if sore mouth.

These are just what pops into my mind looking at what I read as to his upkeep -- not that anything is wrong with it, just where I would look if he were mine. We are several hundred miles apart and I am not "hands on" with him. You appear to be doing right.

The less than perfect leg movement -- could be just caught "off guard". But, staggering in a horse is cause for concern. So, some common loss of control causes would be ingestion of something toxic, lack of needed nutrients, or infected through bacteria/virus. EEE, West Nile, EPM, listeria, botulisum... come to mind first & can all produce poor gait & or staggering, loss of limb control. Hind legs generally go first.

Most of my herd are elderly now.....I have ten between 28 & 33. Others are late teens to early 20's. I use a lot of extruded Senior feeds (Blue Seal). Can we say "retirement home"?

This has become a book......hope your guy is ok. I just listed things that I would be looking at if such an issue presented to me. Let us know. We all learn.

Would probably be a good idea to have another fecal ran, you may have resistant parasites.

Sorry - meant to update!

Ted is doing MUCH better. The vet came out to see him. He has a nasty stomach ulcer and is on Omeprazole. He's still on pasture but now gets alfalfa hay and after calling around to 8 places, I found a store that sells Purina Enrich Plus! I'll be switching all of my minis to this.

So glad he's better and on meds. The alfalfa helps soothe tummy. Keep him on the meds (I'm sure the vet explained this) because it takes 30 days to get a prelim heal, another 30 (generally at 1/2 dose) to complete the heal of the ulcer, roughly. If your alfalfa hay looks real stemy, consider pellets for first while....just a thought...for same effect and less tough roughage for stomach to handle while ulcer still raw.

Did you ever see him "sitting" before this day he went down? They often do this if they have ulcers. If he had been getting grains, those would have been rejected, hurts the ulcer.

The Enrich Plus is same as what I mention -- they changed name a while back but, 15 yrs use is harder for ME to change the name. Depends on size but, mine get about 1/4-1/2 cup. So even tho it's expensive, still economical to use. Generally it's $27-32 a bag around my area.