Excessive drinking/Urinating

[joy]

My daughter's gelding is drinking gallons and gallons of water, and then urinating, sometimes 3 times an hour. I am going to call the vet in the morning, and see if I can get the colt in for some blood work etc.
The gelding is 5 years old, very healthy, shiny coat, not lethargic, or any other symptoms..........but I am amazed at the amount of urine. Any ideas?

[lesliew]

The only thing I can think of is that his electrolytes are not right... may not be getting enough salt and minerals. Other than that its getting warmer here in cali. Hope he checks out ok!

[h2opony]

He may have some immune system deficiencies, nothing some supplements cant help. Does he have regular access to salt and minerals?

[joy]

The weather has been pretty warm..........and he has a mineral block that he licks often. We only have 2 other geldings, (mostly mares) and they don't drink excessively, although their water intake has increased. I worry that he might have a urinary infection or something that might cause him to founder or somthing else. I always feed alfalfa, and I know that this will tend to make them urinate more, and I have him on all-in-one (chopped alfalfa & molasses) to help add a little bulk to him. 5 years always seems to be the magic age to fill out instead of up. He isn't thin, but I kinda like a little more fat, because we ride so much. He is going to be my daughter's next 'bomb-diggity' heel horse. (Ropers) He's coming along real well, and just want to be safe! Thanks for the replies!

[Golden Girl]

Hi Joy, Please let us know what your vet says. Our App gelding, Little Big Man, is the same. Once when a vet was out I approached the subject with her, and she said that some horses are just like that. I on longer use this vet because I feel that she lacked enough experience. I also was worried about an infection. She just sedated him and cleaned his sheath. No big deal, I can do that, and still do all my boys. I no longer use this vet because I feel she lacks experience. This guys sheath always seems to be yucky & wet I just make a habit of checking him & cleaning him several times a year. He too is healthy, gets vitamins, salt, electrolytes, etc.... you can see him at goldenspony.com on our ponies page.

He can empty a 5 gal bucket over night. I always know to top his bucket off last thing at night or he won't get enough h2o.

On the feed issue, I say far away from molasses, but I don't want my horses hot. Fat & Fiber will bulk up your animals without making him hot. add corn oil, rice bran, and yes alfalfa will too. But be careful about feeding alfalfa through your geldings life as it can cause kidney stones as he gets older! My best girl friend's 22yo TB, an x-racehorse stallion, just had to have minor surgery to remove a stone that was lodged in her urethra! OUCH!

So let me know what if anything your vet says!

[joy]

Great news! I talked to the vet today, he is not concerned about the water intake and urinating because he thinks it's because of the weather change we have had. He thinks it's great news that his water intake is so good. Because there are no other symptoms or problems, I should not worry! My daughter feels better too. He is an awful nice colt, and we don't have problems with him being too hot yet, he is really mellow, but with attitude. (we like to call it personality (lol)) I feel better now, because when I am out watching the two mares we have ready to foal, I am not so distracted by him drinking etc.

Laura, I have never fed rice bran, I think I would like to try it, but I don't know much about it. I would sure appretiate any input that you have. Do you feed it wet? How much do you feed for a 1000 lb horse?

Thanks for any advice, sure nice to know I am not alone............ Joy

[Golden Girl]

Since I feed an all pellet diet, I do dampen the feed. My aged TB (20yo) mare Ange is difficult to keep weight on, I seem to always see her ribs a little the past couple of years. I feed her soaked beet pulp, 14% pellets, rice bran, corn oil, soaked alfalfa cubes 2x a day, & add vitamins 1x a day.
You have to be careful feeding rice bran because of the calcium & phosphorus ratio when adding to the total diet. Here is a link with info to consider :
www.shady-acres.com/susan/ricebran.shtml

I feed her 3/4 cup in each feeding, and stir it in good! She is a1200 lbs horse. I don't want to feed her too much of it I have also added to my 2 yo colt Rajah's feed this spring, and he now has an incredible bloom to his coat! I also feed to Pogo our welsh pony, he seemed a little hippy to me. He is still shedding though, so I hope to see a coat & weight improvement as soon as he finished shedding

Corn is a great way to add fat to horses feed. But I have owned a mare that couldn't take the corn oil. It gave her diarrhea As with adding anything to horses feed, add the rice bran gradually.

Hope this helps! Good Luck ;D

[joy]

Laura, that is a great site, and I LOVED the 'Beet pulp safety warning' (aka the famous squirrel story)
www.shady-acres.com/susan/squirrel.shtml
Cracked me up!
Thanks for the post, going to give it a try.

Oh, do you have problems with boredom in your horses when you feed cubes? I have often heard of that, was curious. I know that cubes are really convenient, and absolutely no waste.

[Golden Girl]

If my horses are board with their cubes, they keep it to themselves I soak the cubes in hot water to revive them. They are almost good as new then ;D None of my horses leave any alfalfa cube in the bucket, just a little of the pellets, and only the older mare that I shovel the food to

I have heard of horses chocking on the cubes before, but I bet that the cubes were fed dry.

Are you the same Joy with the roan QHs? Just wondering

The story of the little squirrel is hysterical! FYI, I use shredded beat pulp, it soaks up really fast