Equine bladder sludge

[chitalpaStudent]

Hello!

Fun topic for discussion, thick,yellow urine dribbling from a middle-aged Appaloosa gelding.He got to enjoy his second round of lavage today by a disgruntled veterinarian who recommended a trip to a facility that performs scoping and ultrasound. He encountered no resistance in catheterization, and was able to draw off about 2.5 L of sludge. The horse is doing well, still eating a combination of alfalfa and bermuda, no diarrhea, is currently taking a silverlining kidney/bladder support supplement and himalayan pink salt. The temps in our area can range anywhere between 103-120 degrees F so heat can be an issue to say the least. He has plenty of clean water and shade but it’s hot!

Our area grows excellent forage, but it is a 6:1 calcium to phosphorus ratio. This is not the first middle-aged gentleman to encounter this problem, he is now number six, and we are a little perplexed. It does seem to mainly occur during the summer, so I suspect inadequate water intake but is not visibly dehydrated.(Good pinch test.)A recommendation was made to switch feeds to either timothy, orchard or teff.

The problem seems to resolve with a course of antibiotics, which he will now receive once daily, although the vet said the sludge was probably not pus, which makes me think mucus, which makes me think stones.

Soooo, any insight would be much appreciated. Would gravel root and parsley be appropriate? What herbs or products would you recommend to help stop the sludging and overall physical support?

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