Re: dark urine

[Cyberpony <Cyberpony@aol.com>]

In a message dated 98-05-08 09:52:01 EDT, you write:

> Has anyone else ever noticed dark urine right at the end of normal colored
>   unination?  What causes that in a healthy non-stressed horse? . . . . 
> Sediment
>   at the bottom of the tank ? 
>    >>
>  
>  One can certainly have dark urine due to dehydration and subsequent 
> concentration of urine.  Hence the dark color is still a significant 
> observation, even if there is no tie-up going on.  However, there IS a
subtle 
> color difference between concentrated urine and urine containing myoglobin (
> the muscle "ingredient" that one sees being eliminated in the urine in a
tie-
> up) that one learns to recognize with time and experience.  If in doubt, 
> still treat dark urine as a serious problem and run bloodwork to make sure.
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heidi~

I've seen this several times and never had any problems.  Horse was always
eager, bright and ready to go (no pun intended).  From the responses I've
gotten, there are a lot of other folks that have observed this type of thing
too.  The majority of the urination is normal colored.  Its just the last 1 or
2 inches that appear dark.  When 99% of the stream looks okay and the last 1%
is dark, would you still recommend blood work? 

 When you say "treat dark urine as a serious problem" (above) do you mean that
a rider should pull from a ride if only the last bit of urin was dark and all
other signs appear to be fine?  Or do you mean that the rider should just be
extra sensitive to their horse's condition?

Nora & Tucker
Ocoee, FL