With the arrival of winter weather in many parts of the country, some horses may be drinking less water because of the change in the temperature, but also because water may be too cold or iced over. When this happens, some horses, especially stallions may be susceptible to the development of cystitius.
Cystitis is an inflammation of the urinary bladder resulting typically either from an ascending infection coming from the exterior of the body by way of the urethra or an infection descending from the kidney and renal pelvis. Difficulty in passing urine is often the first indication of cystitis.
Although the bladder is strongly resistant to infection because of the cleansing flow of urine which dilutes and flushes bacteria, once an infection is established, it is difficult to cure. Bacterial cystitis is usually secondary to urine retention caused by paresis or paralysis of the bladder. Vaginitis and prolonged catheterization can also lead to this condition. .
In male horses, calculi is a common cause of cystitis, and in mares, vaginal infection often leads to this condition, although calculi in mares may become very large before symptoms appear. In both cases, a lack of sufficient water in the diet may compound the problem, allowing calculi to build up instead of being flushed out of the system through the flow of urine.
Diet, water intake and loss, excessive sweating or diarrhea can precipitate the development of calculi.
Pasturing horses on sudangrass, sorghum or sorghum-sudan hybrid grass causes some horses to develop cystitis. Since there is no way to predict which horses will be susceptible to development of this infection as a result of grazing, horses should not be allowed access to these kinds of pastures.
Although there is no fool-proof way to prevent cystitis, the environment, diet, including the amount of fresh, clean water ingested daily, and on-going attention to the physical condition of each horse can help owners and handlers to catch cystitis in its earliest stages to ensure proper treatment.
As the weather grows colder, provide water at a comfortable drinking temperature for your horse. If water becomes icy, a heating element to warm it slightly should be used. In colder climates, check the water situation both morning and evening to make sure water has not iced over or is too cold for the horse to drink.
A horse should drink eight to twenty gallons a day depending on the temperature and the intensity of exercise.
One advantage to using a watering trough that you are filling is that you have a good idea of how much water your horse is drinking. This information is helpful when you have a horse that appears to be ill.