excessive salivation

[Cam]

What might cause excessive salivation in horses?

[motorgypsy]

clover - gives them the "slobbers"! Probably other things will too but ours were slobbering something terrible when they were changed to a pasture with a lot of clover in it.

[appyday]

Yep what she said...nice green clover..mine slobber almost every spring..

[GeorgeGuns]

Nya Nya, no slobbers here, which kind of amazes me. (I'll probably find out different tomarrow just for jinx)
Its the little white clover - it grows a fungus that many horses are sensative too and a few are downright over-reactive. Usually it merely causes mild irritation to the mouth and that is why they slobber.. bucketfuls. Best cure is to pull them off and give hay - works within hours! OR you can just not worry about it and make sure you don't find yourself under their mouths when they let loose. yuck.

[Cam]

If I am able to rule out clover, what might be some other causes? He actually spent most of the late afternoon and evening inside due to heavy rains (his choice) and he found a section he could stick his nose through to pick at hay piled on the other side. This was last season's hay, not fresh. I just gave him a new mineral lick which he has been without for a week, but he's had one all along otherwise. He seems to be fussing with his mouth, chewing/grinding like he's a cow with a cud. I've stuck my fingers in all around. It feels overly warm, a little bumpy on the inside cheeks (which I have no idea if its normal or not), sticky/tacky feeling. I was feeling for perhaps a splinter of hay or wood stuck in the tissue that may cause irritation. His teeth were done about 8 months ago, but I thought I felt a sharp edge, so will call the dentist to schedule his yearly checkup early. His nose is a little bit runny, looks clear. He keeps wanting to rub his muzzle on me. Otherwise it does not seem to be affecting his ability to eat or swallow. He's peeing and pooping. He isn't drooling so much this morning. Everything is the same...same hay, same water, same pasture. I'll probably check with vet anyway.

[appyday]

Rabies!!!!http://forums.somd.com/images/smilies/yikes.gif

[Cindy]

Sounds like he has something stuck in his mouth. Check again and check WAAYY back in the back molars to see if there is a stick or something lodged back in there.

[motorgypsy]

Sounds like he got into something or perhaps has a splinter somewhere or an allergy. The clear runny nose is normal. Slobbers from clover is so much drooling you think you spilled a bucket of water under them. If it doesn't go away I'd get his teeth checked and have him thoroughly examined to see if he doesn't have a splinter or something caught in his mouth???

[Abejita]

clover slobbers is more like they are standing there..and suddenly they throw up...which you know is wrong because horses are not able to throw up...

[Helene]

"Foxtail", a type of weed in hay. It's really nasty and causes saliva to drip out of the mouth (as well as redness and bumps).

[Helene]

Foxtail weed causes excessive salivation, redness, and bumps.

[PasoVicki]

I never thought about finding foxtail in hay. It's a common weed here, though, and dangerous when the weather is hot and dry. One of our Boxers got a foxtail stuck up her nose when she was a pup, and it had to be removed under anesthesia. Nasty things -- they aren't very big, but they're very sharp and manage to imbed themselves into soft, moist tissues.

[Cam]

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/WEEDS/foxtails.html

Is this what you mean? (foxtail)

[PasoVicki]

Here's an article that shows what the foxtails in the Western U.S. look like -- but I believe there are similar species in other parts of the country. As I said, they're nasty things, because they burrow deeper the more the animal tries to shake them loose.


http://www.vizsladogs.com/CLUBS/nva/nva6.htm

[PasoVicki]

Here's another look at one of the foxtail species:

http://www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/plant01.htm

[Helene]

Vicki has the pictures of the weed. I had bought hay with foxtail in it...I didn't know about it....fed it to all my horses for several days. One morning one of my horses started dropping huge amounts of saliva out of her mouth. I had no idea...looked in her mouth and saw these bumps...I took the horse to the vet who sedated her and looked under her tongue and way back in her mouth...she had this stuff imbeded everywhere...The vet worked with tweezers, trying to get out as much as possible. He said it all would eventually work itself out....but he showed me pictures of another horse with foxtail that had caused a nasty infection and it was not a pretty picture.

[Terry Wallace]

When the horse slobbers...is there also slobber on his knees? Does he "nose" his knees...like he is trying to get something OUT of his mouth?

Check that mouth over thoroughly...look to see if there are slobber spots on the knees... a good indication he cannot remove what is bothering him.

[Laura S]

Hi CAM! How is he doing now? Have you found the source of what is bothering him? Hope he is doing better!

[Cam]

Terry, Yes, I noticed he was swiping his muzzle on his leg just below the knee, plus rubbing on me.
Laura,
it seems to have resolved. He's still fat and sassy so no harm done whatever it was.
Thanks for all the input everyone.

[appyday]

Terry, Yes, I noticed he was swiping his muzzle on his leg just below the knee, plus rubbing on me.
Laura,
it seems to have resolved. He's still fat and sassy so no harm done whatever it was.
Thanks for all the input everyone.

Did you ask him what the heck was making him slobber like that??

[motorgypsy]

Oh - I just remembered a case with a slobbering cat. The cat was slobbering something terrible and off his feed and I happened to be over at the friend's house who owned it so we put a stick or something very strong in the back of the jaw to prevent us from being bitten and the owner secure the cat in a towel while I checked in his mouth. He had a cockle burr stuck to his tongue and causing part of his tongue to be stuck to another part. I had to get tweezers and very gently dislodge it so none of the hooks came off in his tongue. He was not a happy cat during the procedure but wow was he happy afterwards! So animals can acutally get those really sticky burrs stuck to their tongue and under their tongue they are in agony because they can't get them out. So that's the first thing I check when they slobber and their mouths seem to bother them.

[Terry Wallace]

Take his muzzle and turn his upper lip to expose the underside...Run your fingers over the surface ... do you feel sharp points or bumps? If so...get as many out as you can. It will resolve itself if it is weeds, foxtail, or the like...but...if you can remove any bumps/points it will heal a lot faster.

Some may abcess, but all will usually work their way out in time. It took me three days to get all the "stickers" out of my husband's gelding. They will keep erupting every day, if he has eaten something "stickery"....

It wouldn't hurt to check... some of them you can squeeze out like little pimples.

Do you use a bit..and is he o.k. with it? If he doesn't want anything in his mouth...best to check those inside corners of his mouth.