Please share your tips for hard keepers!

[res]

The vet recommended the feed she is on and his advice was pretty much that she may just be getting tall fast and using lots of calories to do it. He did bloodwork a few months ago.

How much of the current feed are you giving? How many pounds does the feed bag recommend for her age? It might be as simple as just feeding MORE of what you already have, vs. trying to add in this-or-that. Some feeds, like Senior feeds, do not supply a complete nutritional profile unless you feed 5lbs daily.... Read you label, and most importantly, feed by WEIGHT, not volume. A 1 qt scoop of 5 different feeds can each weigh differently, sometimes up to as much as half a pound more or less than the other, and the nutrition is based on the weight of the feed....

 

[yickenscarf23]

Nothing had improved so went back to vet day. Found out she had a bunch of teeth problems so he pulled them and hopefully we will see improvement!

 

[Folly's place]

Dental problems are miserable, and she will definitely feel better now!
Actually, I don't think she's too thin; much better than too fat!
Are her parents easy keepers?
Mary

 

[yickenscarf23]

Dental problems are miserable, and she will definitely feel better now!
Actually, I don't think she's too thin; much better than too fat!
Are her parents easy keepers?
Mary

Her dad is Hot N Blazing so I never got to speak with his owners and her mom was a little ribby when I saw her but she also was nursing a baby. Vet wanted her locked in a stall under a fan so she isn't standing out stomping and running from flies (she shreds fly sheet in minutes) and she's hating her confinement.
Poor thing had so much dental work made me emotional for her.

 

[Folly's place]

'Stall rest' is often more like 'stall pacing', or 'destroy the stall'; I think it's over rated as being helpful. I've had the most success with the 'FlyRid' type products, applied every ten to fourteen days. The sprays last a couple of hours, it seems.
Also, the Spalding fly predators do work pretty well.
Hate those flies!
Mary

 

[yickenscarf23]

'Stall rest' is often more like 'stall pacing', or 'destroy the stall'; I think it's over rated as being helpful. I've had the most success with the 'FlyRid' type products, applied every ten to fourteen days. The sprays last a couple of hours, it seems.
Also, the Spalding fly predators do work pretty well.
Hate those flies!
Mary

I'll look up flyrid. Sprays seem to not help at all. I've tried the whole shelf at tractor supply lol. Their pasture borders a field of cows and the cows seem to make flies ten times worse. I stalled my other mare next to her and she's calmed down quite a bit.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Yeah, I was going to ask when was the last time you floated her teeth..? Glad you got that done and bet things will turn around for you.
I had an Arabian founder and he dropped weight like CRAZY in just a few weeks. The HS was all over my butt... Unfortunately I had him in a sand pen on the directors jogging path. Bad luck. I heard from her almost every day wanting to put him down. I was feeding him 25lbs a day trying to beef him up. I wanted him thin while we did the corrective trimming ordeal but not skin and bones like he was. It wasn't until I started to top his morning feed (I had to feed him 3x a day) with a little (1/4 cup) veggie oil that he started to gain some ground with his weight. The pain uses up LOTS of calories. Go figure. Nice by product was his coat became amazing.
By comparison, I feed our other two 5lbs of cubes and let them split a leaf of Timothy, plus they graze some. That is total a day and they are perfect weight.
I use Ecovet fly spray. It works great. You spray legs and under belly and it keeps flys and gnats off and it smells great. A bit pricey though.

 

[Folly's place]

We also have a few steers, and it does add to the fly problem. Fortunately they get sprayed too, which helps. My latest topical purchase is 'Freedom spot on', and it's working for the horses. I price shop for the stuff too. The horses are on pasture 24/7, so spraying umpteen times per day is out, and fly sheets get ripped right off, likewise face masks.
Mary

 

[TropicalBabies]

Her dad is Hot N Blazing so I never got to speak with his owners and her mom was a little ribby when I saw her but she also was nursing a baby. Vet wanted her locked in a stall under a fan so she isn't standing out stomping and running from flies (she shreds fly sheet in minutes) and she's hating her confinement.
Poor thing had so much dental work made me emotional for her.
View attachment 1840387