# Blood in Urine!?



## gizpeptig

So this morning I went out to clean my horses stall. In the past three days two of my horses were in there. Saturday night my pony gelding (Gizmo) ate in there and was let out about three or four hours later. Then my gelding Tiger was put in and let out about noon the next day (Sunday). Nobody went in there Sunday night but then yesterday I fed Tiger in there and let him out a couple hours later. I have been sick the past couple of days so the stall did not get cleaned since the pony went in. So I had the dreadful task of cleaning that wretched stall this morning and to my horror I found some buried bright red shavings! They both do their business in the back of the stall so it was all wet shavings where I found the spots. I have never experienced blood in the urine or poo before so I have no clue what to do. They both are eating, drinking, and walking around fine so they don't seem sick but what could be going on in there? Not sure if it could be Gizmo or Tiger. Tiger is in the stall now so when I clean his stall tonight I will check for more spots. This really scares me, if I find it again we'll call the vet because I'm still not sure if it is blood. Have any of you ever experienced this before?

*Oh, by the way Gizmo hasn't had his sheath cleaned in a while, could that possibly be the problem?

Thanks anyone with advice


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## My Beau

I don't have any experience with that, but you're doing the right thing... separate them, figure out which one it is then call the vet.


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## SmoothTrails

I would do exactly what you are doing, but are you sure that its not just very wet shavings? At the barn I work at there are a few horses that will completely soak a part of their shavings, and when they are completely soaked they take on a red color. Just a thought. 

Hope you get it figured out quickly.


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## CharliGirl

Horse urine isn't always yellow--it's usually fine if it is a bit orange or reddish. I used to work for a vet who would get many calls after a fresh snow displayed the urine color...he always said that it is normally not something to worry about.


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## Pro

All our boys pee with some reddish color. I got really scared because there was small amounts blood everywhere they would pee in the snow. Our vet and my Farrier both said it was normal for geldings to do this.


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## gizpeptig

well i know pee turns colors in the snow but the problem is that we don't get snow where i live.. i think they are both fine though. last night after i let Tiger out i kicked around a little in the pee spots in the stall and didn't see anything. this morning when i went to clean it though i did see some dark red shavings, not much, just hidden. i'm thinking it might just be something in the stall or after them sitting for a while it turns some of them red. but thanks everyone!


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## mls

gizpeptig said:


> i'm thinking it might just be something in the stall or after them sitting for a while it turns some of them red. but thanks everyone!


Do you have dirt floors in the stall? If so - it may simply be time to 100% strip, lime and let the stall rest for a bit to dry.


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## Peetz

It is most likely NOT blood. Blood will not stay dark red like fresh blood, it quickly breaks down and turns black. Most likely what you are seeing is a reaction in the shavings themselves to the acidity in the urine. I tried to remember what wood does that, and if you are getting your shavings from a mill or any where really, you are not sure what type of woods are in there. Your horse would hve to be peeing straight blood to see it days later in the shavings. I will try to remember what wood turns red, but relax it is just a chemical reaction.


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## Alwaysbehind

I agree with Peetz. It is not uncommon for pine shavings to turn pretty bright red. It is a combination of the urine being darker/more red than we realize and the reaction to the shavings.


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## gizpeptig

Huh. It's still a mystery to me. The problem was was that it wasn't just big spots of red.. I just found a few shavings here and there that were red (I was thinking maybe blood clots?) and after a few days they did turn dark.. _but just for future reference, what can cause blood in the urine?_


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## mls

gizpeptig said:


> Huh. It's still a mystery to me. The problem was was that it wasn't just big spots of red.. I just found a few shavings here and there that were red (I was thinking maybe blood clots?) and after a few days they did turn dark.. _but just for future reference, what can cause blood in the urine?_


I will guarantee there was no blood in the urine. Shavings turn a burnt red color when they start to "rot" or are completely saturated. Since you only found a few here and there, they were probably from a corner or you forked a bit deeper than normal when you cleaned.

There are many things that could potentially cause blood in the urine. I highly doubt they would clear up on their own.


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## Speed Racer

If you're worried about it, call the vet. 

Don't be surprised if he comes out and tells you the same thing everyone has been saying though, that it's just the chemical reaction of urine and shavings.

If your horses were truly urinating blood, especially for 3 days straight, someone would have been very sick by now.


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## Pro

So when our geldings pee and have red spots on the snow, and its not blood, what is it then...????


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## Alwaysbehind

Pro said:


> So when our geldings pee and have red spots on the snow, and its not blood, what is it then...????


It is urine.

Period.

Urine in the snow.


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## Pro

Ok, Thanks.


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## Alwaysbehind

Pro, I assume if you thought it was blood you called the vet, right? What did the vet say?


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## Pro

He just said it was normal, for me to see that. Literally, that's really all he said. I just assumed since he didn't say it wasn't blood when I said I saw blood on the ground it meant it was blood! I guess he didn't want to correct me, he just told me it was nothing to worry about. I'll have to question him on that the next time he comes out...


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## AQHA

Pro said:


> So when our geldings pee and have red spots on the snow, and its not blood, what is it then...????


 
I was wondering the same thing.


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## Alwaysbehind

This quote is from a vet at the Lasalle Equine Clinic in MT. (Found it via Google.) (No idea why it keeps putting the space between the two paragraphs, I edit out the extra quote symbols and it puts them back, it is all one quote. And who knows what it is doing to the font.)

 


> If you have been around horses in the winter, you have probably seen red spots in the snow or ice where horses have urinated. Normal horse urine sometimes turns red or brown after standing for a while. This is due to the presence of oxidizing agents termed pyrocatechines.





> The red spots, while alarming, are a normal oxidative process that occurs after the urine has been voided. It is rare for a horse to pass blood in the urine and when present is almost always accompanied by some abnormal void behavior. Frequent urination and straining are the most common indications of a disease in the lower urinary tract. When in doubt, the best way to determine if blood is present is to collect a fresh urine sample and see for yourself that the urine is normal in color when voided.


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## Pidge

As for the OP's question of 'for future ref. what could cause blood in the urine' I have one simple answer...Im sure many other smarter people on this forum could give you an entire list though.

The most simple reason for blood in the urine of a gelding would be if they had a bean. Beans can be painful and sometime produce cuts and lesions that bleed. The blood then comes out with the urine.

This happened to a friends horse. They had gone for a ride and when the got back the gelding peed and there was blood. Friend freaked initially, but the other rider was vet tech. Took a hose and cleaned the sheath and removed beans. That fixed the issue.

So that would be a less serious reason for blood in a geldings urine. As I said before...Im sure someone more educated in vet matters could give you a list of serious reasons though LOL.


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