I'm a bit worried about Keidas

[cloedoll]

These past few days I have been noticing Keidas hasn't been eating any hay, at least I haven't seen him eat any. The first thing I do when I go out to the barn is feed them their grain, then their hay, then I go about cleaning the barn, re-filling water buckets, etc. So first thing I do today was retrieve Keidas from his paddock (go to this (http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/showthread.php?t=915) thread for more on that, lol), I fed him his grain (he was more than pleased to eat that), then gave them their hay and started filling up water buckets. I of course noticed he wasn't eating his hay, Cloe was chomping away on it, so I was trying to think of ways to try and get him to eat it. I put some grain on the hay, he ate the grain then walked away and that's really all I could think of. I just don't get it, he has been eating this hay since around mid-September and loved it! Same type of hay I fed all winter, too and again, he loves it. So that's very odd. He is the alpha in the herd, so I don't think Cloe is not letting him eat. It's just very preplexing. Should I be worried? What are your opinions?

Thanks for reading. =)

[WashingtonBay]

I think it's always good to be concerned about that... it's important that he get enough forage.

Does he have good pasture he's staying full on or is the hay pretty much all he's getting? Is it the exact hay he's been getting all along or is there something he doesn't like about it? He may be pickier than cloe.

When were his teeth done last?

[cloedoll]

Nope, hay is all they're getting pretty much at this point. The hay is the same cut from when I started giving it to them in September. Cloe is actually the picky one, ha ha! I mean, normally Keidas will eat anything, so it's very strange. The hay is good quality, too, so I dunno. His teeth were done in April, so it has been six months, maybe they need done. However, when we first got him (last April) his teeth were horrible and he ate everything...

[WashingtonBay]

Well, it's good to keep an eye on it for the next several days. Who knows, at this point. Maybe you're feeding him in your sleep when you turn him out ;) and he's just not very hungry.

Separate him to feed at least one of the meals and watch to see if he eats it, ignores it, or just stirs it around.

[cloedoll]

Lol, I hope not! I can do that (separate them) and see how it goes. =)

[vicklynn]

I sure hope he is ok. With Keidas not being picky, that does sound weird. Have you picked your flakes apart, to see if there is something in there that he smells, but you dont see?
The only time my horses wont eat is if they dont like the hay.
I have had to take a whole load back due to City not eating, Myst eating it cause it was all she had to eat, but she clearly didnt like it. It was out of the same field Ive gotten before, but different quality(pure crapola to the horses)but a beautiful, sweet smelling hay. It was confusing to me why they didnt like it.
Now, I only buy hay if I 1)know he will eat it, or 2)bring a bale home for trial.
Horses, gesh.
Good luck.

[rums_mom]

Well, it's good to keep an eye on it for the next several days. Who knows, at this point. Maybe you're feeding him in your sleep when you turn him out ;) and he's just not very hungry.

Separate him to feed at least one of the meals and watch to see if he eats it, ignores it, or just stirs it around.


This was a funny post, WB......well the part about her feeding him in her sleep anyway. I hope it is nothing...........

[MyHorseBiggs]

That's odd.. is it possible he's getting his fill somewhere else? :huh:

[cyb]

Maybe try a different type of hay, I dunno I've never had that problem before except when I was feeding my ancient pony who didn't have many teeth left, he chewed a little hay up balled it up then spit it out. Are his teeth okay?

[Peggy Sue]

has anything changed at all?? not jsut hay but anything else?

[cloedoll]

For everyone curious, I definitely know he likes this hay, which is why I'm confused that he stopped eating it all of a sudden. =/ Peggy Sue, nope, nothing has changed.

[MyHorseBiggs]

Weird I would think if he likes it that he'd gobble it all up... does he even eat any of it??

[cloedoll]

Not anymore, like I said, it is just all of a sudden I haven't seen him eat it. So I dunno.

[MyHorseBiggs]

Weird I hope he'll start eating soon.

[cloedoll]

Yeah, me too. =P

[cloedoll]

Curious, do you guys think I should e-mail my vet and see what his response is?

[MyHorseBiggs]

I think I would. Hope nothing is wrong...

[vicklynn]

Id call the vet.

[Jump The Moon]

Yep, I'd contact the vet - it's worth it if you're worried, and it does seem very strange.
Hay he likes and eats happily and then suddenly stops -

You're sure you're not feeding him anything extra in your sleep, lol ??
Hope things get better... :D

[Mandzanita]

If he's eating his grain and ignoring the hay then it's gotta be something about the hay...If there was something seriously wrong with him, healthwise, you'd think he'd turn up his nose at food in general. Do you have any other type of food you could test on him besides grain...say bran mash or a flake of different hay from somewhere else?

My thought is that he's either bored with the hay or he smells something on it like possibly rodent pee, mold, dead animal of some sort, ect. I know that Biggs refused to eat a flake of hay one night and I was sooo concerned until I picked through the flake and found a smashed mouse that had been baled into the hay. Hope he starts eating!

[Gypsy Rose]

Is it possible that he could have gotten into something that might have cut the inside of his mouth- a weed or anything?

After all, he's mysteriously ending up in a pasture where he's not supposed to be during the night, he,he!

(Sorry, Caitlin- couldn't resist!)

[alittleoffkey]

Gypsy's idea about the cut in his mouth is a good one - that was the culprit the one (and only) time Legacy turned down hay. He would eat grain though, I suppose because it didn't poke him.

Good luck, let us know what the vet says if you email him. :)

[PatriotsDreamer]

Check his mouth for blisters to make sure its not a reaction to a possible foxtail that might be in it. also are there any fields by you that are being cut?

[cloedoll]

PatriotsDreamer -- Nope, no fields near me. I'll check his mouth tomorrow. I checked the bale and tried feeding him a different bale tonight, nothing that was in the current bale (again, Clo was chomping away) and he still wasn't interested. I did hand graze him in my front yard today (very lush) and he was more than pleased to eat that.

[lovnforkfull]

Hey, cloe- How does his manure look? does he have regular piles of it today or just a little? Does his breath smell alright? I'm jst trying to think of things that might give you some clues... I just had a go of it with my old girl cracking a molar and needing a shard of tooth removed. Long story but turned out good. If I remember correctly Kiedas is a senior? If you don't come up with some simple explanation for his inappetance I think to be on the safe side I would run the situation by your vet for sure. Good luck!

[cloedoll]

I haven't checked his manure, what would I be looking for? He is always affectionate and loves to breathe right on me and his breath smelled normal, heh. Keidas is fifteen (that's a guesstimate by the vet, I'm not entirely sure on his actual age, but we go by fifteen), so I suppose he could be consider a senior? I think I'm giving it one more day, then I'm contacting my vet. =)

[Gypsy Rose]

I think lovnforkful is asking if Keidas is passing less manure than usual.

Breath smells normal- that's good.

You won't want him to go very long without roughage. Will he have aacces to pasture tonight?

[cloedoll]

You won't want him to go very long without roughage. Will he have aacces to pasture tonight?

I opened their paddocks tonight, it is definitely not as grazed down as the rest, still not as lush as my yard, but definitely something. I'm calling the vet tomorrow.

[Gypsy Rose]

Let us know what you find out, please!

[42many]

I just want to mention that a good "first step" in a case like this is generally to separate the possibly sick horse out (if in with other horses) and immediately begin monitoring all regular body functions, including manure/water/food/etc.

If one of mine stops eating for even one feeding, right away I know something is most likely wrong (piglets, all of them!) and I pull the questionable one out and put him into a separate sick stall. I make sure there is no manure in the stall or its turnout, put water in small buckets at a specific height so as to easily monitor how much is being drunk, and keep an eye out. A good idea is to also take a temperature and other vital signs and check for dehydration so that the vet, if you do have to call, has a better idea of what could be going on. Speaking of which, having a baseline non-sick reading on all those vital stats is a great idea just in case!

A vet will almost always ask you those sorts of questions when you call to ask what could be wrong, so be kind to your vet (and your horse) and be prepared.

PS - I have found that I can generally resolve a problem or determine that there isn't really one after a day or so in "lock-up". If after a day or so I still can't decide what is going on (or things have gotten worse) I would definitely call a vet.

Good luck! I hope he is feeling better soon and that it's nothing!

[Diane of Buck's Hollow]

Cloe. How is Keidas today?

[rums_mom]

I was wondering the same thing. Great suggestions everyone............

[vicklynn]

bump for update

[TLC97]

We need an update.........
Hoping he is eating and doing fine.

[Gypsy Rose]

Waiting to hear how Keidas is doing!

[cloedoll]

Update:
October 23, 2008 -- 12:00PM for me.

Yesterday I hand grazed Keidas in my front yard (oh-so lush, heh) for about an hour (I know that isn't long enough, but I just wanted to see if he would eat the grass) and he was more than happy to eat. Last night I turned Keidas out into his paddock so he could get some forage (the rest of the pastures are down to nothing, but their paddocks have some grass left. This morning I put them both in their stalls and guess what? Keidas is nibbling on his hay! My mom and I are going out to get some horsey stuff for wintertime, so I'll find out just how much he ate when I get back. Sorry it took me so long to update y'all.

[cloedoll]

I got back from errands with my mom and Keidas ate his flake of hay, yay! I gave him two more and he is chomping away!

[Diane of Buck's Hollow]

:)Now that is good news!!! I hope all is well and he continues to eat!!!:)

[cloedoll]

Thanks Diane! I hope so, too! :D

[GrungeEquestrian]

Was it maybe a bad bale? I know Trouble and my aunt's mare will not touch hay that smells the slightest bit off, I usually got and check and find that it doesn't look moldy but smells kinda funky.

Either way I am glad Keidas has stopped his hay hunger strike!:p

[cloedoll]

Was it maybe a bad bale? I know Trouble and my aunt's mare will not touch hay that smells the slightest bit off, I usually got and check and find that it doesn't look moldy but smells kinda funky.

That's what I was thinking, but the flakes he is chomping away at right now are from the same bale that the flakes came from last night...I dunno what his issue was, lmbo.

Either way I am glad Keidas has stopped his hay hunger strike!:p

Hehe, me too! =D

[Gypsy Rose]

Glad Keidas is eating again! I was getting worried!

[cloedoll]

Awe, well he is doing good now! =D