Sitemaps

Is it known for horses to devellope dementia &allzimmers diseaes2007-11-24 21:17:56

my mare now 21 has bn acting weird lately she isnt her useuall self she dosnt look all that good now considering up to not long ago if uyou were told how old she is you would b supprised she is in a paddock with two rising two year olds aand herself she didnt look any older than 8 to 10 yrs she has always been so intellijent but over the last month is thick as a brick she is now looking every day of 21 this has came on so quick as if overnight she isnt in any pain still eating but nott as much her nick name was guts of the year but no she eats so slow and wonders off and i think she forgetts the feed is there the younger ones are not game to eat what she leaves as ive always had to feed her twice as much as my youger horses in the past and put her 200yar ds away from them so she wouldnt be running to them taking there feed off them but now this dosnt go on is it possible shes loosing her mind she swims in the dam at nite time its freezing the silly things she never done before

Answers:

Have the vet listen to see if she has Congestive Heart Failure.

Other than that, a change in a horses attitude and general state is a reason to have a vet look at her.

As far as dementia, I have seen it, but it was a herpes virus that infested a mule. Weird case and not sure that I will ever see one like it again.

I would worry about a weed poisoning with what she is doing.

---

I,ve been around horses all my life and have never heard of any horse acquiring clinical dementia, sounds to me as if it could be some sort of viral infection. watch her if signs persist or get worse call your Vet.

---

I HAVE read an article on horses getting old age dementia. They talked about horses that started showing signs of unusual behavior - fear of common items such as water buckets and becoming isolated from other horses and such. So I think it is possible. I would recommend talking to an Equine vet as soon as possible. There may be a medication that can help, if not you're going to need to plan what to do for your horse as she obviously is not going to be able to take care of herself for much longer.