Horse not sweating question?

[tallyho8]

This is a question for experienced horse people. I have owned horses many years but never encountered this problem.

A person I know had their horse in a pasture. A passerby (nosy) noticed that the horse was not sweating and reported it to the Louisiana SPCA. The LSPCA went to a judge claiming animal abuse and got a court order to remove the horse. They confiscated the horse and told the owner that if they want it back they have to pay $25 a day for care and put up a $3000 bond to insure that they properly care for it.

The owner had this horse several years and rode it in Mardi Gras parades and the horse appeared healthy and they said that the horse never sweated heavily since they got it but that it appeared normal in all respects.

1. If the horse is not sweating enough, what causes this? Is it born like this and will live like this it's whole life? Is there any way to cure it?

2. What can the LSPCA do for the horse if it is not sweating enough, if anything, to justify it's removal?

3. Could this just be PETA people overtaking a branch of the SPCA and using it and false claims to benefit their goals of ending horse riding?

And lastly, they had just paid a veterinarian 2 days earlier to worm the horse and give it vaccinations and pull the required coggins test.

 

[blueriver]

This is a question for experienced horse people. I have owned horses many years but never encountered this problem.

A person I know had their horse in a pasture. A passerby (nosy) noticed that the horse was not sweating and reported it to the Louisiana SPCA. The LSPCA went to a judge claiming animal abuse and got a court order to remove the horse. They confiscated the horse and told the owner that if they want it back they have to pay $25 a day for care and put up a $3000 bond to insure that they properly care for it.

The owner had this horse several years and rode it in Mardi Gras parades and the horse appeared healthy and they said that the horse never sweated heavily since they got it but that it appeared normal in all respects.

1. If the horse is not sweating enough, what causes this? Is it born like this and will live like this it's whole life? Is there any way to cure it?

2. What can the LSPCA do for the horse if it is not sweating enough, if anything, to justify it's removal?

3. Could this just be PETA people overtaking a branch of the SPCA and using it and false claims to benefit their goals of ending horse riding?

And lastly, they had just paid a veterinarian 2 days earlier to worm the horse and give it vaccinations and pull the required coggins test.

Well they better not come by here. I have some that won't break a sweat even on the hottest day. I have another that can break a sweat just thinking about it. Its really sad when someone can just make a call and BANG someone sticks their nose where it don't belong.

If it was me and the horse was healthy ... I would go to the vet who just doctored the horse and ask him for a health certificate to go along with the coggins ... then I would go and present that to them and advise them they have 24 hrs to return my horse that the Vet says is healthy ...

 

[tallyho8]

Their only comment when contacted was "either put up the money to get your horse back or have your lawyer contact our lawyers".

She consulted with an attorney who told her to just buy another horse and she will come out much cheaper. That no veterinarians are going to risk their reputations by going against the LSPCA.

 

[blueriver]

Their only comment when contacted was "either put up the money to get your horse back or have your lawyer contact our lawyers".

She consulted with an attorney who told her to just buy another horse and she will come out much cheaper. That no veterinarians are going to risk their reputations by going against the LSPCA.

Maybe I'm different ... first and if in fact all was well with the horse and the vet knew it (I know my vet would write me the HC in a heart beat) and I knew it. I would get my documents together and be on them like white on rice... I would go after it ... HOWEVER if the horse was poor or sick well thats a different deal.

 

[riptides]

Is it a hot blooded, warm blooded or a cold blooded horse?

 

[RoyJackson]

Get a posse together and a rope...we hang horse thieves around here...

 

[tallyho8]

Is it a hot blooded, warm blooded or a cold blooded horse?

It's a quarter horse.

 

[EarPlug]

Call your nearest University Veterinary School and then Call every news station in the area. Headline - LSPCA STEALS HORSE FOR NOT SWEATING

 

[Lloyd_E]

Our horses don't sweat unless ridden. One is solid black and the other solid brown.
We have had temps in the high 80's low 90's and they have been in the pasture and do not sweat. We give them lots of water and they come and go into their stalls or go under the roof that is over their stall entrances when they please - to get out of the sun.

We always manually give them water in their buckets... if they are going through a lot or not drinking at all it is a sign to call the vet.

LSPCA although meaning well can create problems when a problem do not exist. I would not let this go... call media etc...

 

[texasjohn]

Gotta be more to the story than we've heard so far.....horse must have been in poor body condition...need photos, then I can tell if it was in distress.

 

[Snapper Head]

There is much more to the story. This sounds more like a vendetta of some sort. It certainly has nothing to do with hose sweat.

We have Arabians who do not sweat much at all, unless they are ridden hard. We have a couple of quarter horses who are sweat hogs. It is certainly animal specific, and likely breed specific as well.

Someone with connections want to make your friend twist for some reason, other than horse sweat.


Big Al

 

[texasjohn]

Tallyho8, if you were to give the animal a body condition score, what would it be?

1 = all ribs and back bone showing extremely protruding, extremely weak
2
3
4
5 = sloppy fat, rolls of far around tail head, extreme fat all over

Was animal in an enclosure with water and good forage? What condition is its teeth? If very old, toothless, requires special feed else will be unable to process feed and be in extremely poor condition. Note, I have personally euthanized a horse when it was completely unable to forage anymore.

Was there any evidence of the animal being cared for, or was it simply left in an enclosure with no attention for months at a time.

Am suspecting it was taken to vet for worming because of very poor body condition (either condition 2 or 1) over extended period.

 

[tallyho8]

On your 1 to 5 scoring I would call it a 3.

I don't know a lot of details about the horse but it was about 6 to 10 years old. The pasture was bad but a round bale of hay was in there and it was fed daily.

I suspect it was sort of a vendetta but I can not write my reasons on a public forum.

I do know that my number one horse that I rode almost daily and who was in perfect condition sweated very little when I rode her, usually just under the saddle pad. Years later, now that she is 20 and out of condition but expertly cared for, she sweats a lot while in pasture with temperature in the 90s and high humidity.

Twenty years ago I sweated very little also but today while working in the yard, I changed clothes twice because they got so wet. I think that being overweight and out of condition causes you to sweat more.

 

[texasjohn]

OK, tallyho8, good info.

Body condition is fine, no concern, lots of horses work in this shape.
No comment re open sores or wounds.
Apparently daily attention.
Apparently water
Apparently hay available
Likely teeth in adequate shape
Age not an obvious issue
Recent vet visit = not neglected
Horse with same owner for some years

Sweating discussion is spurious...not an indicator of any sort for a horse just standing in the pasture, even with no shade.

Sooooo. It's a mystery.... I can only suggest that somewhere out there there IS a mistreated horse that the judge issued his court order for and that the wrong animal was picked up in a strange mix up.

Or, a blatant case of horse stealing... supported by the court system...hard to believe that the courts have sunk to this level.

There is surely more to this than we can extract from the information available.

 

[EarPlug]

Found a very interesting at Thoroughbred Times from 2004. Horses not sweating is a known condition known as Anhydrosis. It is especially common in the Gulf States

Veterinary Topics: Help for horses that do not sweat - Thoroughbred Times

 

[dmay]

A person I know had their horse in a pasture. A passerby (nosy) noticed that the horse was not sweating and reported it to the Louisiana SPCA. The LSPCA went to a judge claiming animal abuse and got a court order to remove the horse. They confiscated the horse and told the owner that if they want it back they have to pay $25 a day for care and put up a $3000 bond to insure that they properly care for it.

Lets assume the LSPCA and the judge are good people doing their jobs placing the horses interest first. What did they see that you are not reporting? How did they make the determination the horse was being abused?

If this person truly cares for their horse, they should pay the money and put up the bond and get their horse back. Then if they felt they were wrongly accused I suggest they take this to their local small claims court.

And lastly, they had just paid a veterinarian 2 days earlier to worm the horse and give it vaccinations and pull the required coggins test.

Seems to me this is may be an indication the horse was under good care. If the attending vet can concur, I'd say they have a solid case to pursue.

 

[tallyho8]

Found a very interesting at Thoroughbred Times from 2004. Horses not sweating is a known condition known as Anhydrosis. It is especially common in the Gulf States

Veterinary Topics: Help for horses that do not sweat - Thoroughbred Times

Thank you very much for this information. It is very valuable to me. Since this is a condition that is extremely rare in other parts of the country but much more common here in South Louisiana, I can see why most people never heard of it.

Lets assume the LSPCA and the judge are good people doing their jobs placing the horses interest first. What did they see that you are not reporting? How did they make the determination the horse was being abused?

They claimed that since the horse was not sweating, this shows that it was abused. (not properly cared for)

If this person truly cares for their horse, they should pay the money and put up the bond and get their horse back. Then if they felt they were wrongly accused I suggest they take this to their local small claims court.

In Louisiana small claims court is not practical against large institutions because they are allowed to just move the case to a higher court where their lawyers can handle it and then if you don't retain a lawyer you have a very minimal chance of winning.

Since the lawyer they consulted advised them not to take action as it would cost them much more to do this than to pay the costs to get the horse back, they decided to buy another horse.

Some people are in the financial position where they can fight for what they think is right even if it costs them more and others are unable to do so. They chose the second route.

 

[texasjohn]

OK...well, second horse better be a demonstrated sweater!! Or it'll go away, too.:drool:

 

[kyspartan]

they will keep going after them, if they think they have an easy mark. i would forego a horse for a while to see what happens. and do get more opinions from different attorneys.