Vet Q&A-BackyardFarm

i tell you what is going on and maybe you can point me in the right direction, i have a quarter horse that is 23 years old and over the last few months she has dropped weight terribly and we have not changed her diet any matter of fact we have upped her diet with feeding her alfalfa cubes soaking them in water, alfalfa square bails of hay, reg. hay, giving her 2 scoops of grain every morning and a scoop in the evening, she eats all her grain, and alfalfa cubes, and alfalfa hay, but nibbles on ha

Hi there and thanks for using Boop by Petco! My first worry with older horses is their dentition (teeth). If you have never had your horse's teeth floated, it may be time for that. Lost teeth, impactions of feed, uneven wear, etc can all affect how much and how comfortably your mare eats. Your vet can perform this, after an initial exam. Best pulp can be good to put some weight on them, if it's a simple caloric factor. Last but not least, if you haven't dewormed in a while-consider taking in a fecal sample to your veterinarian to be checked. These simple things I try to take care of first, I hope this helps you!

Hi, my horse is suffering from what looks to be some sort of hives. They have increasingly grew in number and size. The first picture was taken last night while the second was taken moments ago. They could possibly be bee stings. I would like to know your diagnosis and treatments, thanks.

Hi and thanks for using Boop by Petco! It does look a lot like hives in your horse here. Most presentations like this are allergic in origin-finding out what the reaction to is the key to prevention. Has your mate been given any drugs like banamine or antibiotics that she is not accustomed to recently? Have you changed feed or flysprays? Certain types of fly bites can cause break outs like this as well. By the time my patients are bad enough for hives I'll generally recommend an intravenous dosage of a steroid to counter the inflammation-this should be administered by your veterinarian-who can do a physical exam while they are there to make sure the heart and lungs also sounds ok. I hope this helps!

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Exercise Therapy - is this a legitimate therapy for horses, or a fad/scam?

Hi there and thank you for using Boop by Petco to address your concerns. Pulsed Electromagnetic Field therapy (PEMF) has been known to help with muscle aches, bone fractures, nerve trauma, etc. There is actually quite a bit of research done on PEMF, which goes all the way back to the 1960's. I have seen first hand use of PEMF on post exercise muscle soreness in horses and also in cases of exertional rhabdomyolysis with some success. It does not cause any harm and has been shown to help many horses based on current research. If you are considering having this done to your horse, I would definitely give it a try and see how your horse does with the therapy. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

So I found my horse like this this morning. I checked the fence and I can't figure out what happened. I'm not sure how to care for his wound since it looks so bad, but he's walking fine. It looks like his blood kept bunching up and drying in the cold, so I don't know if I should even try to clean it or if it's best to leave it. What can I do to help him? Thanks!

Hello, sorry to hear about Hunter. You're right that some of that may just be dried up blood. What needs to be addressed is the the size of the wound where that blood came from. The biggest concern is for an infection. The wound needs to be cleaned and thoroughly examined by your veterinarian and decide what the next step in treatment should be. I would recommend calling your vet out so that they can clean the wound and evaluate it. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Hi. My boy Jack has slowly stared to poop and piss less... in the morning it takes maybe 2-2 1/2 manure buckets to get his stall cleaned. Yesterday it was 1 bucket this morning it was half a bucket... same thing with my other gelding, Magic. They are both eating their grain and hay and drinking their water. Slower that normal but drinking. Is it because it’s getting colder?? The photo is from this morning in Jack’s stall ... magic’s is the same. With a little more.

Yes it is probably because it's getting colder. Horses will typically drink less water which slows down their gastrointestinal tract. This may be OK but it could also indicate they are on their way to getting an impaction colic. This is the most common type of colic vets see in the winter. I suggest you make sure they have a salt lick available at all times and that you give them an electrolyte supplement that will encourage them to drink more water. Also, you should try to increase their exercise. Here is a link to an article about this issue that may help you: http://www.succeed-equine.com/succeed-blog/2013/01/22/four-factors-that-increase-the-risk-of-impaction-colic-in-winter/ Hope this helps. If you have more questions feel free to ask again.

hello, i have a mini who is fat and i am wanting to help him lose weight before it too late. He lives with a 16.3hh horse. Mini is somewhat lame and isnt showung any signs of laminitis other than shortening his walkimg stride. I want to help him lose weight before its too late. His normal diet consist of Timothy Hay, no grain, sometimes Bermuda pellets if the other horse doesn't finish his it. Pasture every day for a few hours but grass isn't rich most of the time. No treats! On equioxx.

Hello, as the owner of several overweight minis, I share your pain. Your pictures do not show a particularly heavy horse, so you have a good place to start. If you have ever been to a mini show, you have to wonder how they get those horses into such amazing shape. Very careful diets are 1 component, exercise is the next & maybe the most important. Those minis are worked, either by hand, or treadmill, or automatic walker non-stop during the show season. You will also need to be very judicious with the hay. Feed no more than 1.5%-2% of his body weight. No grain or pellets, period. And when he goes out on pasture, place a grazing muzzle on him. He will still be able to pick up a bit of grass, & of course drink. Do this, & your mini will look great in a few months. Thanks for using Boop by Petco.

I have duck and chickens together is this going to cause fights between the ducks and chickens. I have a duck that has a hard time walking and laying down. This is the only duck that has this problem. The duck eyes look like there foggy. The duck can walk strait but when the eyes look foggy does this mean that the duck is going blind. Should this duck be on a different type of food than the others. The food that I am giving the ducks is corn. Could the duck have a disease?

Ducks should be fed more than just corn as feeding only one type of food can lead to nutritional imbalance and diseases with symptoms similar to what you are seeing. Ducks and chickens can be housed together, however they do have differing needs and males of one species may harm or harass the other which could lead to injury and illness. It would be best to have separate housing for each species as well as feed a balanced diet tailored to each as their nutritional needs can vary some. If you have a duck that is acting ill it is best to seek the care of a veterinarian near you as well as keep the duck away from the rest of your flock to avoid spread of illness as well as picking on the sick duck by any flock members.

Molly won't eat she hasn't eaten in days she has mucus dripping from her noes she also has a foal who's still nursing and her body weight is dropping rapidly what can I do to make her eat she's my dads horse and my other questions we didn't socialis her foal and he's scared how can we gain his trust to come to us we were abroad when she gave birth and a neighbor was looking after our pets while we were away

Poor Molly! It sounds like she's very sick. Mucus dripping from her nose could be caused by a severe respiratory infection, a problem called choke which is caused by food blocking the esophagus, or some other type of illness. Her lack of appetite and weight loss may be related to this, or could be due to a separate problem. Regardless, if she hasn't eaten in several days, this is an extremely serious problem - she may die without prompt veterinary care, so I would recommend calling an equine vet out to come and see her immediately. He/she can do a complete exam and some diagnostic testing if needed to help determine what's wrong and get her started on appropriate treatment. The foal should start to become used to you the more you are around - feeding and handling Molly, etc. Over time, he will become less afraid and you can begin gently handling him as well. Go slowly and take your time to earn his trust.

I went to ride my horse this morning, and both of her front legs were swollen, but she's still sound. The right front was larger than the left, and the swelling is concentrated on the outside of the cannon, between the knee and fetlock. Neither the knee nor the fetlock is swollen. I'm pretty sure she ate hoary alyssum. I gave her bute and sprayed her legs down with cold water. Is there anything else I should do?

She may be having an allergic reaction, which causes the edema, or swelling you're seeing in the legs. If she's not lame, you can give her time, with walking and cold water hosing. If the swelling persists, she probably needs steroids instead of bute and I recommend a visit to your vet for a full exam and bloodwork as well.