Horse Question

[patandchickens]

Yes to most of the above posts -- the best thing you can get her is a vet appointment. They can assess whether she has any other problems that might be contributing to her thinness or complicating her recovery from it (heart, lung, etc) and see if her teeth can be improved any from their current state. It is even possible she may need a tooth or two *extracted* to eat more comfortably.

And, from seeing the actual horse, the vet can suggest a good plan for worming/feeding to get her back to a better state.

Please don't put a skin and bones horse on pasture, too often it is too much for them and you end up needing a backhoe. Also while she most likely needs worming, don't worm her without a vet exam first (depending on her condition, you may need to wait a while, or worm 'gradually', etc)

Until you can get her looked at, my inclination would be to feed soaked beet pulp if she'll eat it, possibly some finely-chopped grass (not alfalfa) hay if she'll eat it, and some Senior pellets, moistened with water if needed.

GOod luck to both of you,

Pat

 

[CountryMom]

I have to agree with what Pat is saying and most of the posts. GO SLOW whatever you do. I would have the vet look at her ASAP so you know right away what you need to do. Watch your protein levels and don't get too high on that. Senior is a 14% protein feed, but it is specially designed for older horses and easier for them to digest. Soak everything at this point. Any form or beet pulp can cause choke if not soaked - and I highly recommend beet pulp.

Also when it comes time to work on worming look into the daily wormer pellets to start off slowly. Sometimes it is better to feed them that over a few weeks before hitting a skinny wormy horse with a paste or full dose of wormer period.

Once you get to the point of worming I sugest Panacur and not Ivermectin or combination wormer with Ivermectin or even Quest. Panacur isn't nearly as hard on an older horse's gutt and can be used over several days to worm them slowly. The others can have a mass kill affect on the worms in their gutt causing blockage and upset tummy resulting in colic.

Good Luck with her. I love senior horses. They are worth the work on feeding and health care in most cases.

 

[americana-chick]

make sure you dont feed her that fast if she hasnt been eating in a while. it can hurt her. but i would just feed her grass, hay, horse feed, and just everyday horse feed really. it may take her awhile but she should gain weight adventually. And i will also have to agree on getting her an appointment with the vet. hope this helps!
~Bri
edited to say: sence you said she is missing some teeth i would have to, agree wet things that she eats to make it easier for her.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Another vote to having the vet assess the situation and give you a course of action.

A vet from your area would be able to help you out the best. As well as maybe give you a little something to boost her in the right direction.

Hope you find some help,
-Kim

 

[Appytaz]

I feed a Senior Feed and also use Purina Amplify. It has done wonders to keep weight on my gelding. I don't feed as much as recommended, I just feed in with his evening feeding. Also, check your senior feeds, if her teeth are bad, some of them are a complete feed that does not require hay. That would give her more nutrients and she can still have to hay to munch on.

 

[PoultryScienceAggie]

Thanks for all the info!!! We have called the vet and he is going to come out this week. For now she is eating grass great and I am feeding her a good feed and mashing it down. She looks like she is feeling better already and its only been a week. I am going to try and post pictures later today.

 

[rebecca100]

Honestly the teeth alone could be the cause for the weight loss. She may be wormy, too. I usually don't give full amount of dewormer to a horse I believe is extremely wormy. All the worms dying at once can colic them(had that happen, too!) But honestly it is probably has several causes. My in-laws used to buy/sell horses and often would get them in poor shape and would fatten and ride them then send them on their way to a new home. We ended up with all kinds of problem horses. Some are just hard keepers and lose condition quickly. Out-of-date bread is a great fattener if you can get it in bulk from a bead store, just be SURE it isn't moldy. And corn oil is very good to put on their feed, too. Don't expect it to just gain weight overnight. It will probably take a couple of months.

 

[CovenantCreek]

When the vet comes, make sure the mare's tested for heartworm as well as everything else.

 

[Ricky Crawford]

You live near one of the best vet schools around. They used to take animals in for their students to work on. I don't know what they charge, but it would be worth checking into. Lot's of good advice offered here.

 

[lizardz]

Glad to hear things are going well, so far, and that you have the vet coming out to do an assessment. With her having tooth problems, keep a close eye on her. If she's unable to chew her food well, it could cause choke. Over the years, we've lost two older horses (a 34 y.o. pony and 28 y.o. horse) to choke. Hope everything goes well for you all and you soon have a fat and sassy mare roaming around!
Liz