# strange behavior, appears to be a "burp"



## aliliz (Dec 24, 2012)

I know it's not possible for a horse to burp, but that's what it resembles most closely.

My mare is in her mid to late 30's and still going strong. She's at a good weight and looks (and feels) great. In the last year or so, I've noticed Liz doing something odd. 

It sounds like a groan that moves from her barrel up and ends in her mouth. It seems uncomfortable, she gets tense and lifts her head when it happens. If I'm on her, I can feel a rumble start a little behind where I sit (bareback) and move up. When it stops at her mouth, there's a mild but foul smell. It seems to happen only after exercise, when we're cooling out or she's back on crossties after we're finished. It doesn't happen every time she gets exercised, probably just 1 out of every 5 riding/lunging sessions. 

Is this some sort of acid reflux thing? Liz is on a digestive supplement (Ultra-Elite Digest - Horse Digestive Supplements from SmartPak Equine) which keeps her completely diarrhea free, which had been a problem before. 

Any ideas?

And here's a picture of the old lady, just because I love showing her off


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Sorry, I haven't a clue what it is but she is a regal old gal, isn't she?


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## aliliz (Dec 24, 2012)

waresbear said:


> Sorry, I haven't a clue what it is but she is a regal old gal, isn't she?


That she is! At some point, I've got to get a video of us riding- she's unbelievably hyper! This problem doesn't really worry me that much because it isn't an everyday occurrence, I'm more curious about it than anything else!


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## LouieThePalomino (Dec 15, 2012)

Thats so strange, Ive never heard of something like that, the only thing Ive ever heard of that was close to that is when a horse had colic and its stomach ruptured and you could smell it coming through its mouth. You should take a video of her doing it, Im curious to see.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

Call equine vet, as sounds like air is getting sucked in when she is eating possibly?

Or could be her way of trying to readjust a painful part of her body.

But I wouldn't be riding her.


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## toto (Mar 3, 2013)

People say horses dont burp but i beg to differ-- i rode a black dun two eyed jack mare that was a bit older (16 -not as old as your gal) she would belch loudly and was perfectly sound- my 12 year old joker b mare would also burp sometimes.. they were both very healthy horses with no digestive problems.

I would still ask a vet about it just to make sure though.. im also pretty curious myself.. i dont understand why they cant burp- they cant throwup or breathe out of their nose- but i think they can actually burp, lol. Im not a vet though.


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## aliliz (Dec 24, 2012)

LouieThePalomino said:


> Thats so strange, Ive never heard of something like that, the only thing Ive ever heard of that was close to that is when a horse had colic and its stomach ruptured and you could smell it coming through its mouth. You should take a video of her doing it, Im curious to see.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


She definitely hasn't had colic in a long time. She colicked about 4 years ago. It's definitely not a rupture! It's too hot to exercise her for the next few days, but the next time I ride her, I'll get the camera out to see if she does it. Of course, once I try to get a video of it, it'll never happen again :lol:




Palomine said:


> Call equine vet, as sounds like air is getting sucked in when she is eating possibly?
> 
> Or could be her way of trying to readjust a painful part of her body.
> 
> But I wouldn't be riding her.


It doesn't happen after eating, just occasionally after exercise. And she certainly doesn't eat fast... she takes her sweet time! What do you mean by "readjusting a painful part of her body"? 

This horse would be miserable without riding. She's extremely energetic and needs a job. Last year, I didn't ride her for 2 months when we were having issues with her weight and she got very depressed. She also needs consistent exercise to keep from getting stiff.

Because this doesn't happen regularly and just seems to cause a brief moment of discomfort (similar to a human feeling after a burp), I don't feel the need to stop riding her. 



toto said:


> People say horses dont burp but i beg to differ-- i rode a black dun two eyed jack mare that was a bit older (16 -not as old as your gal) she would belch loudly and was perfectly sound- my 12 year old joker b mare would also burp sometimes.. they were both very healthy horses with no digestive problems.
> 
> I would still ask a vet about it just to make sure though.. im also pretty curious myself.. i dont understand why they cant burp- they cant throwup or breathe out of their nose- but i think they can actually burp, lol. Im not a vet though.


Huh, that's strange! Now that I think about it, this same type of thing seems to happen with a pony I work with, although not as often as Liz does it. 

I have a friend who's a vet tech and works with Lizzie's vet, so I'll ask her when I see her this weekend.


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## Hunter65 (Aug 19, 2009)

I agree with toto. My horse has definitely burped. He usually does it if he has been on the grass all day. I wish I had video. Some of them are huge and very very smelly lol


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

Horses CANNOT burp, vomit or breathe through their mouths. Their digestive tract is a one way street. If horses could burp there would be a whole lot less cases of colic.

The cardiac sphincter between the horses oesophagus and his stomach is very strong. If anything it was air trapped in the esophagus, so not a true burp.


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

toto said:


> People say horses dont burp but i beg to differ-- i rode a black dun two eyed jack mare that was a bit older (16 -not as old as your gal) she would belch loudly and was perfectly sound- my 12 year old joker b mare would also burp sometimes.. they were both very healthy horses with no digestive problems.
> 
> I would still ask a vet about it just to make sure though.. im also pretty curious myself.. *i dont understand why they cant burp- they cant throwup or breathe out of their nose*- but i think they can actually burp, lol. Im not a vet though.


Horses can't breath through their noses? Huh? This is new to me :shock:


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## aliliz (Dec 24, 2012)

Muppetgirl said:


> Horses CANNOT burp, vomit or breathe through their mouths. Their digestive tract is a one way street. If horses could burp there would be a whole lot less cases of colic.
> 
> The cardiac sphincter between the horses oesophagus and his stomach is very strong. If anything it was air trapped in the esophagus, so not a true burp.


Which is why I asked the question 

If it is air trapped in the esophagus, why can I feel it start in her barrel area?


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

aliliz said:


> Which is why I asked the question
> 
> If it is air trapped in the esophagus, why can I feel it start in her barrel area?


What you feel and where it is can be so ambiguous it's almost impossible to say why. She may be contracting her barrel to push it out. It's like lameness, looks like its in one leg and it can turn out to not be in the leg at all:wink:


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## toto (Mar 3, 2013)

NBEventer said:


> Horses can't breath through their noses? Huh? This is new to me :shock:


:rofl: me too!! I edited that a little- can ya tell?


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## Merlot (Sep 12, 2012)

Sounds like Wind Sucking but usually they latch on to something when they do this - she looks like a fine old gal, I wouldn't worry if she is happy in herself


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## aliliz (Dec 24, 2012)

Merlot said:


> Sounds like Wind Sucking but usually they latch on to something when they do this - she looks like a fine old gal, I wouldn't worry if she is happy in herself


Definitely not windsucking, I know horses who do that. It's a mystery! By the way, my non-horsey mom and I adore Zephyr's blog! He's so handsome (and hysterical)!


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## DeliciousD (Feb 25, 2013)

A horse could only burp is the valve on the stomach is 'lose', like a hiatus hernia of types.


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## Merlot (Sep 12, 2012)

Thanks Aliliz - that's great to hear ;-)
So nice to see a much loved elderly horse being loved like yours is


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## aliliz (Dec 24, 2012)

DeliciousD said:


> A horse could only burp is the valve on the stomach is 'lose', like a hiatus hernia of types.


Would that have any other symptoms? This is the only weird thing she does. Nothing physical comes out of her mouth, just a little bit of a smell.


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## acorn (Nov 27, 2012)

NBEventer said:


> Horses can't breath through their noses? Huh? This is new to me :shock:


Me. too. 
How are they breathing then when their mouth is closed??:wink:
I'm pretty sure mine aren't breathing through their mouths.
Would make eating rough wouldn't it?


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## toto (Mar 3, 2013)

acorn said:


> Me. too.
> How are they breathing then when their mouth is closed??:wink:
> I'm pretty sure mine aren't breathing through their mouths.
> Would make eating rough wouldn't it?


Through their gills, silly! :lol: 

No they can eat under water! :shock:


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

I had an incident happen today that may or may not be relevant to this thread.
(I did a search on "burp" and this is what came up)

I walked outside about 5 pm to feed for the evening and noticed our gray mare rolling, getting up, itching her face, rolling, getting up arching her neck, shaking her head. I caught her up and it is extremely obvious she is having an allergic reaction. Her muzzle was swollen, her tongue swelled to the point where she could not close her mouth properly. I didn't have any Dex so I called the vet a hauled her down.
I got there unloaded her, the vet is looking her over and asking all the usual questions. All of a sudden Gracie arches her neck and "BELCH"! The vet looks at me and says, "I have never heard a horse do that before, have you???" Nope." horses can't vomit or burp!"
Not only did she do it once but at least four times while I was there. The vet heard it, I heard it, a fourth year vet student heard it and the office manager! And none of them ever heard a horse "burp" like that before.
The vet said if he had to make a wild guess the belching might of come from some adema in her guts from the allergic reaction.
Anyhow vet gives a shot of Dex and sends me home with some powder packets to give her.(Miss Priss gets crappy about shots if giving more than once in a row..LOL)
So we will see and I will keep a close eye on her tonight. 

In conclusion, yes, apparently horses can burp. 
I never would of believed it if I wasn't there and three other people that witnessed it.


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

Sure COWCHICK, blow my theory right out of the water:evil: lol!!


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Muppetgirl said:


> Sure COWCHICK, blow my theory right out of the water:evil: lol!!


LOL, Sorry! 
I was on your side up until a couple of hours ago! 
The weirdest thing I have ever witnessed as far as horses go. We all learn in Horse 101 that horses can't vomit, burp or breathe through the mouth. Even the vet was amazed.


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## aliliz (Dec 24, 2012)

Hm, how strange, Cowchick! I hope your horse is ok. My horse hasn't had any allergic reactions, nor has she done it multiple times in a row.

It's definitely weird. Liz hasn't done it in a few weeks, but I'm keeping my eye on her so I can try to get a video.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

aliliz said:


> Hm, how strange, Cowchick! I hope your horse is ok. My horse hasn't had any allergic reactions, nor has she done it multiple times in a row.
> 
> It's definitely weird. Liz hasn't done it in a few weeks, but I'm keeping my eye on her so I can try to get a video.


Thanks, me too, she is more relaxed now so the Dex is kicking in 

I would like to see the video if you ever catch it!


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## aliliz (Dec 24, 2012)

COWCHICK77 said:


> Thanks, me too, she is more relaxed now so the Dex is kicking in
> 
> I would like to see the video if you ever catch it!


I'll definitely post it on this thread if she ever does it again. Of course, trying to get it on video pretty much guarantees that it'll never happen again :lol:


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

My trainer said "horses can't burp" and not 4 seconds later the filly 'burped' we all saw her do it and he just stared at her lol. It was weird.


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