Autumn lethargy??

[ba]

Does anyone else have a horse that gets lethargic at this time of year? My boy (7yr old Irish cob) is very lethargic at the moment and I seem to remember he was the same around this time last year. He had a cough about 3 weeks ago, this was treated and he had soaked hay for a 2 weeks and the same time off work. He is now on dry hay and is back in work but is overly lethargic. Vet gives the all clear, bloods fine. I'm giving him Ironaid (3rd day of feeding) but he's still the same. This also happened last year, last year I increased the energy content of his feed and he went a bit 'naughty' . I don't want to mess around with his feed unless I really need to. Any ideas??

[jen1]

What kind of blood screening did you have? Were liver or kidneys tested for function? Enzymes? Was he low in iron? Have you thought about global herbs restore? Or Roger hatch?

[Deleted]

Have you had him tested for cushings? Autumn is the worst time of year for it and lethargy is a symptom. I think you can still get free testing done at Liphook by getting a coucher from the Talk About Laminitis site.

[ba]

Liver, kidney's, enzymes, fbc and 'all levels' perfectly normal. All clear from the vet, he hasn't got cushings.
I've started him on ironaid as a post cough pick me up. Maybe in a couple more days this may start to have an effect?
I'm also pretty sure he was the same around this time last year? Could be a lack of fitness too as he has had over a month off work. Prior to that he was fairly fit. Hmmmmmm??

[jill]

In the racing world they always expect a horse to not be at its best when its coat is changing. How long does it last?

[ba]

That's interesting Jill, it lasted about a month last year maybe a bit less and his coat is definitely changing.....

[kizi]

Hmm that's an interesting thought.. Like a chicken going through a moult, they usually stop laying, lose weight etc etc.. I never heard that said before about a horse changing coat!

[beaker]

My friend has an Icelandic and when she bought her was told that growing the winter coat can make them a bit laid back at this time of year as it takes alot of 'energy' to grow a coat so thick.

[rowanrachel]

Honeys the opposite at this time of year she turns into a cheeky little monkey full of beans and very lively- mostly cos she's hungry! The coat thing makes sense though! X

[ba]

It doesn't sound like my boy is the only one then. What do you do? Take it easy for a few weeks? Feed more energy and/or fibre?

[Kelly Marks]

He's not got sycamore seeds in his field has he?

[kathryn]

My old boy always gets slightly depressed at this time of year. I used to give him a vitamin B tonic which helped but know have him on Global Herbs immune supplement- I started feeding about 3 weeks ago and will continue through the winter. This seems to help him. I also try to give him some days without rugs on (weather permitting as he is partially clipped) as I'm sure that allowing him to feel the sun on his back helps with the emotional side - just like we can feel like wanting to hibernate in the winter they must feel it too.

[Deleted]

Funnily enough Talin is feeling a bit ploddy at the moment, but with him I'm sure it's because I'm not working him consistently enough, I've only been riding at weekends and I'm pretty sure if I get my backside out of bed earlier and ride a couple of times in the week he'll feel the benefit. I did also wonder if he's feeling the warmth as he's really fluffy and the weather is so mild still.

[ba]

Some good points raised - thanks guys. Kelly - I don't think we have Sycamore but we do have a row of tree's that over hang the fence, I'm off to google them to make sure!

[cheekychops]

ba does he live out? My boy's previous owner experienced this and used to feed him Redcell to try and pick him up. Since I've had him he's lived out 24/7 year round and I've not experienced these symptoms in 2 years.