# Thirsty Horse Keeps Losing Weight



## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

Do a full cbc, organs might not be functioning properly. Also heat and humidty will cause them to drink a ton.


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## horsea (Dec 28, 2009)

No, it hasn't been super hot at all, and he is drinking and peeing like crazy, way more than he did last summer or this spring. And he pees constantly, I brought him to the little fair horse show and he went twice in the ring! It's not normal. What could cause drinking a ton and losing a lot of weight/ muscle?
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## Boo Walker (Jul 25, 2012)

In a human, I would suspect an endocrine system inadequacy or failure. Glad you've got the Vet coming out- keep us posted!


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## Tryst (Feb 8, 2012)

You are correct that excess drinking is cause for concern. I am glad that you have a vet coming out. Liver and kidney problems can both increase drinking. As can Cushing's Disease. Here is an article that covers additional causes: Drinking problems

Sending jingles that it is nothing major. Please keep us posted.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Hope he's OK
Excessive thirst can be a sign that the horse has too much sugar in its blood - similar to people with diabetes - the body is 'telling them' to drink to try to dilute it and pee it out because he's not functioning correctly
Horses that have IRS do struggle to keep good weight on and lose muscle because they cant use glucose the way a healthy horse does, a low starch/low sugar diet can keep the laminitis away but you still have the other issues to deal with such as this and poor healing, lack of energy, poor coat quality
You really need some bloodwork done by a vet before you know the right move to make in managing him and then easier to share ideas with anyone else who has experienced the same diagnosed problem.


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## chelseaaa92 (Aug 6, 2013)

my horse is always thirsty to!! I just got him 3 days ago!! he drinks so much water and has laminitis. please let me know what your vet says.


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

Drinking and peeing a lot together with weight and muscle loss make me suspect there may be something seriously wrong. Kidneys would be my first thought, but a some simple blood work should show a lot both on that front and others. Keeping my fingers crossed for you that it turns out to be something fixable or manageable.


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## xlionesss (Jan 30, 2012)

Please update, I'm also curious.


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

My gelding had the same problem. I didn't realize how much he was drinking until I moved him to my house, and didn't have an automatic waterer. He would drink 100 gallons in a day. I had the vet out to do tests, and everything came back normal, then I went away for a week in which a friend was staying in the house, and was supposed to be feeding him. Long story short (still ****es me off HUGELY), came home to find out that IF she fed him, she didn't feed him much at all, and his 100 gallon bucket was BONE dry, even though said friend claimed she filled it that morning. We got back home around 2pm. He was skin and bones, and even though he'd been skinny, and really hard to keep weight on, hence part of the reason for the first vet visit, he was horrible when I got back. By the time I was able to get the vet out, set up an appointment for the first available vet at the practice, he was basically a skeleton. Decided to not even run anymore tests, and put him down. Found out after, that he had eaten fiddle neck weed probably a couple years earlier, he was 3 when we put him down, and his one kidney (no idea what happened to the other one) had failed, and his liver was enlarged. Vet said that probably the month before his liver and kidney weren't so bad that it showed up on tests, they were a little wonky, but not completely out of the norm, and that the lack of feed thanks to my "friend", and water ended up throwing him over the edge. That being said, I know someone who has a horse that is perfectly fine, had vet out to do full work up when she purchased him, because he drank an insane amount of water. So it is possible for it to be "normal", but you are definitely doing the right thing by getting him checked out. What did the vet say?


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

I am thinking early stage renal failure too. Be curious to know what the vet says.


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## horsea (Dec 28, 2009)

My vet took some blood and scanned him over. He is thinking possibly EPM or Lymes! Both of which are common in my area  my vets biggest concern was his muscle. He has almost no muscle it seems anymore! You can see his spine and the outlines on his neck and other bones. That isnt normal for a 5 year old stocky Paint who's pasture boarded and ridden regularly. My vet also pointed out a ring around his hooves, I forgot what it mean though, I had so much on my mind. He said that it wasnt a major deal right now though
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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

Let us know what the tests show, and I hope you are not still riding him? You said he is "regularly ridden?"

Fingers crossed it is something fairly simple and curable.


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## horsea (Dec 28, 2009)

No I'm not, which is also sad. But he was losing all the muscle while being regularly ridden, which means something is very wrong, riding should have kept him fit. I've been hoping and praying for an answer! I do still lunge him lightly and do ground work and stretches with him though, as the vet recommended. Still waiting for the test results 
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## Nokotaheaven (Apr 11, 2012)

Hm could possibly be a genetic failure... OR, his body is rejecting/not taking well to something he's eating either inside or outside... What sort of plants are in his pasture?
And if u meant Lyme disease, I believe that mainly just affects the joints of animals and makes them very stiff. We are 90% certain our dog has it, but for him there isn't really anything to do, especially since the last time he was exposed to ticks was when he was a puppy, and he's now 8yrs old


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## nvr2many (Jan 18, 2011)

Very curious to what this is. I hope is not too serious and can be managed.


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## Ninamebo (May 25, 2013)

Keep us posted, the water makes me think to the kidneys but that's really too bad about his muscle tone. As a future vet student these sorts of things interest me greatly. Hope everything goes well!


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## cowgirllinda1952 (Apr 15, 2013)

My first thought was maybe diabetes, because in people there is weight loss, excess drinking. Does he seem tired and lethargic at all? Those are also the symptoms of diabetes.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

cowgirllinda1952 said:


> My first thought was maybe diabetes, because in people there is weight loss, excess drinking. Does he seem tired and lethargic at all? Those are also the symptoms of diabetes.


That was my thought at first, because one of my metabolic horses lost a ton of weight and muscle mass when he first got sick. He never got to the point of acting and looking like the OP has described.

Her description doesn't quite seem to fit the diabetes mold:-(

I am also wondering, as someone mentioned, if he might have gotten hold of some toxic weed in the pasture? 

I'm not saying Johnson Grass in OP's case but, as an example, Johnson Grass is toxic at a certain time of the year. My eye doctor had an autopsy done on his cow to prove that, even though he already knew what killed her. She had pushed thru the fence into the field where the Johnson Grass was, the season was right and the cyanide-type chemical the Grass produces, killed her.

It is possible something similar, with a different weed, may have happened to the OP's horse.

We are all hoping your horse is on the mend. Please update when you can


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## horsea (Dec 28, 2009)

So we are still indifferent!!! Tests for epm and lyme came back negative (Which is good, but we still do not know exactly what is going on!) However he IS starting to gain some weight! His coat has also started to actually shine a bit and his coat condition overall is improving. We are not sure if this is him healing or a normal reaction to all of the feed and supplements he is receiving. Either way though, its better than him losing more weight. We have also added trace minerals within the past week to his diet, my vet is thinking it could have been an imbalance. But he also said horses do not usually react that hard to an imbalance, especially one who has the diet Cosmo has.


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