Ok... so we've had bloodwork done and DID find a mild thyroid problem with Bon.. so he's been started on ThyroL, One AC, and we even did beer for awhile.. no change. Aside from the fact that he seems to be putting on weight, he doesnt sweat any more than he did. He basically doesnt sweat at all. Starting around noon everyday, he stands in front of his automatic waterer in his stall and pants. All day.

Does anyone have any ideas? Our vet is out of them. Anyone here have a vet that thinks outside the box? I'm thinking of getting Bon a "window unit" for his stall so he'll literally be standing in AC all day, or at least have it blowing on him. Is that crazy? Or a major fire hazard? Its a barn master barn, so its all metal. We'd only run it in the heat of the day.. seriously, is that totally nuts? I'm desparate!

I'm not sure if this will help or not but one of my friends had a pony that didn't sweat at all. She tried giving him some kind of medicine to make them sweat but that didn't work. Then she had someone do acupuncture on him and she said that the next day he was sweating like a pig.

Like I said, I'm not sure if this will work, it's just an idea.

Sounds like he has Anhydrosis... keep trying the ThyroL and such... may take a while to work, if it does work. If it doesn't work, I'd probably keep him in an air conditioned barn in the summer... here is a link that you may or may not have seen... just thought I'd post it anyway http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=111

Trust me if you put in a window unit it will cost a good $3000.00 dollars a month to use it because it will be trying to cool the whole barn and excaping out of windows and doors. we thought about that for fantacy and decided that isnt the way to go. good luck!

I agree that while lost of us would do the air conditioner if we thought it would help it would be very costly unless you moved him to a fancy air conditioned barn. I would stick with the thyroid and make sure to recheck his levels to as they can change but then I would also see about acupuncture. I was skeptical and we had a dr come in and do it on some of our dogs and cats and horse and it works on some things better then others and it wouldnt hurt to give it a try. Acupuncture is gunna cost less then air conditioning for a month

Thanks guys!! Acupuncture is the last thing to try, and I've heard from several people that it works. Where would I find a local acupuncturist in my area? Is there a certification association website? Thats how I found my equine chiro..?

As far as the AC goes.. Bon only has trouble between noon and 6 or so in the afternoon.. I was planning on putting the unit on energy saver and on a timer so it would only run for the few hours in the hottest part of the day, not 24/7.

Also.. he HAS been diagnosed with anhydrosis from a vet. Bloodwork has been done, but my vet is very "old school" which is fine, but.. I'm needing more ideas bc traditional option are not working.

Thanks!

I found this...
http://www.komvet.at/ivadkom/_usa.htm#tx

Don't know anything about them, but it's a start.

Here's a few more...
http://aava.org/cgi-bin/datamanager/dire...ORK_CITY+dfd=No

And yet another link...
http://www.ivas.org/members_search2_pub.cfm

ETA the second link.
ETS the third link.

Wow... GREAT! I sent out quite a few emails, so we'll see!

Oh, good luck! There were lots out there, but I only picked the ones with accreditation with associations I've heard of.

I'll keep my fingers crossed someone can help!

I just read another article about it. It says a cooled box stall can help anhidrotic horses begin to sweat again "The most economical and best treatment is to put them in a box stall with plastic sheets on the walls and a window air-conditioning unit" This was quoted from the June John Lyons magazine. Vit E and Selenium were mentioned again. And products that contain tyrosine...an amino acid building block which helps balance and build thyroid and melatonin hormones which in turn help control the endocrine system. You can get this from (Life Data Labs) Work + Farrier Formula. Also organic iodine is supposed to help. And of course moving the horse to a cooler less humid area which I know you don't want to do.

Thank you so much.. I thought I was CRAZY, to be honest. I really appreciate you're help. I really have a feeling that managing this problem will be finding the right combination of things.. I'm also putting him on a daily wormer and Hard Keeper Solution to give him extra calories and take as much "toll" off his body that I can. Such a process!

Thanks again!

I checked the "labels" on both the "ThyroL" and One AC that he's on .. both contain "L-Tyrosine" so I assume thats the same thing?

Have you personally used Life Data Work Plus Farrier? What is the difference between that and the Farrier formula?

No I haven't used it. I just read the artical the other night and thought about you. I know they were using that product for Quarter horses (barrel horses)...for their feet..I assume. These horses had the same thing your horse does and it was noted that they started sweating a bit more. So they gave them a higher dosage of it and it worked. I don't know what the toxic levels of it are so can't advice as to how much to give. The girl who wrote the article is Jessica Hein "Anhidrosis" and in John Lyons Perfect HOrse Mag. It was a texas vet who discovered the benefits of (Life Data Labs) Work plus Farrier Formula. He was treating for the other issues and had them on organic iodine and the above. When the horses began to sweat again, the clients asked if they could increase the dosage of the Work + Farrier Formula and he agreed....just a little bit intensified and the horses got more normal and started sweating more again. So it is the Life Data Lab product that contains tyrosine. And combine it with organic iodine. I hope something works out for your horse. This must be so stressful for you.

Instead of doing the ac try a misting fan.
http://www.coolingline.com/
Might be cheaper in the long run too.You will probably need it for future use anyway.Once a horse stops sweating you will have to be careful from now on about him over heating.
I wouldn't give up on the One AC or the beer just yet.Sometimes it takes a while to work.Maybe the combination of the misting fan (or ac) and the other remedies will be the answer.