Avaliação da ingestão hídrica por equinos da raça Quarto de Milha no Semiárido Pernambucano e relato de polidipsia psicogênica em cavalo atleta sob criação intensiva.

Abstract

The first chapter of this dissertation presents the result of a study aimed at evaluating the water intake of quarter horses raised in an intensive livestock farming system in the backcountry of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. The study involved eight healthy horses housed in individual stalls, fed on hay and a commercial concentrate, with unrestricted access to drinking water. The animals were being trained for cattle herding and were only taken out of their stalls for training. The water intake and hay and concentrated feed consumption were measured daily for 35 days. Blood samples were collected weekly from the horses for hematological and serum biochemical tests, and their physiological parameters were also evaluated. After the follow-up period, it was determined that the average water consumption for these animals, under the conditions submitted, was 23,331±2,351/day, being found based on other research. Positive influence of ambient temperature on water consumption. Although our findings were similar to those of other studies, we could not find regional data on water intake for the species under study. The second chapter describes a case of polyuria and polydipsia in a quarter horse raised in an intensive livestock farming system and kept in a stall. The 4.5-year-old animal was being trained for cow herding and was taken out of its stall only three times a week for training sessions of about two hours each. Bucketfuls of water were provided ad libitum. The animal was reportedly drinking a lot of water and urinating abundantly, and was sometimes put in another stall because the one currently occupied was soaked in urine. The water pipes were initially examined to check for a possible leak, but proved to be intact. After this, the animal was clinically monitored, subjected to laboratory tests and its water intake volume measured for 28 days. The horse was kept in its original stall during the first 14 days, and in a paddock for the remaining days, albeit undergoing the same treatment. The tests performed were serum biochemistry, blood count and urinalysis. The animal’s water intake was 107.714±17L/day during the two weeks in the stall, and 52.653±20L/day during its stay in the paddock. The tests revealed no changes in hematological and serum biochemical indices, only a decrease in hematocrit while the animal remained in the stall. The urinalysis revealed urine density of 1008 and 1027 on the days when the animal stayed in the stall and paddock, respectively. The diagnosis of psychogenic polydipsia was made by quantifying the volume of water ingested, clinical follow-up and laboratory tests, and the change of environment was decisive in the conclusion of the cause.