What in heavens name could be happening with my horse

[primalchick]

How many pounds does your half a bale equal. Everyone's bales vary in size and weight. Is he fed his meals (both hay and grain) in a stall or in a field; any competition for his hay? During the winter months in particular, my horses have free access to hay 24/7. Hope you can get to the bottom of his weight loss.

Ditto this, how big are your bales? Is he in with other horses who may be bullying him and eating up his share? My squares are considered big at 75 lbs (though in winter I have them on 1400 lb round bales, free choice) and to be putting weight on a thin horse I'd be feeding more than 1/day. Just to make sure he had hay in front of him 24/7. I realize he may not need the alfa alfa in a normal situation, I was just suggesting it to help put weight back on him. That's going to make the biggest difference, quality hay in front of him 24/7, and getting him into a stress free environment.

Even if he vet checked out fine 4 years go, that doesn't mean he's sound now. How is he moving? Navicular, absesses, etc...can all stress a horse out and make them drop weight as well. Cancer may be something to look into as well, though the horse isn't older he's right in his prime at 13. We had a horse get cancer in his sheath and he wasn't eating and dropped weight quite fast. You may want to talk to your vet about that.

 

[Peaches Lee]

I would start showing up at this place on a regular basis, preferably at feeding time. I am very suspicious of people, and the fact that you are buying both his hay and grain makes me wonder if the food is indeed going to your horse. Discounting a serious medical problem, if an animal is losing weight I would lean towards not getting any food at all (i.e. someone is feeding your feed to another horse). Or this young girl is riding/harassing the calories right out of him. Schedule for another Vet visit, maybe get a different Vet for a second opinion, at a time you are able to be there. I can't remember, but did you get a full blood panel? Did the Vet check his thyroid levels at all? I do feel more of your presence or a friend of yours at this place would definitely help out. Good luck and I hope you can get to the bottom of this.

 

[Kelly G]

Seriously, I agree. If you really have used a vet to rule out all the likely medical causes...he's not getting his food.

Horses drop weight when they're sick or not being fed enough.

I'm really sorry - I can only imagine how upsetting this must be. If we were close, I'd tell you to drop him at my place - it is my great pleasure to fatten up a skinny horse! I find it very satisfying.

Good luck...I know this is really hard.

 

[ChaoticCritters]

I had the same problem last winter with my 4yr old gelding. Dropped MASSIVE amounts of weight and no matter how much we jammed down his throat, he didn't gain an ounce.

Vet came out multiple times, bloodwork all came back fine, his grass hay was good quality, everyone was just stumped.

After consulting with a few different Vets, we gave him SandClear for a 30 days (a 30day treatment of SandClear will heal hindgut ulcers which are notoriously hard to diagnose/treat), a double de-wormer dose which we then verified with a fecal a few weeks later, alfalfa, beet pulp and a halfdose of Cool Calories.

Mr Tubby is now down to 1 flake of alfafa 2x daily, all the grass hay he can munch, 1 1/2qts beet pulp (soaked) and 1 1/2qts of Strategy Healthy Edge and he's nice and ROUND!

Alfalfa is a great way to put weight back on and if it's ulcers (which will cause rapid weight loss), it's very soothing.

 

[yomama]

I had the same problem last winter with my 4yr old gelding. Dropped MASSIVE amounts of weight and no matter how much we jammed down his throat, he didn't gain an ounce.

Vet came out multiple times, bloodwork all came back fine, his grass hay was good quality, everyone was just stumped.

After consulting with a few different Vets, we gave him SandClear for a 30 days (a 30day treatment of SandClear will heal hindgut ulcers which are notoriously hard to diagnose/treat), a double de-wormer dose which we then verified with a fecal a few weeks later, alfalfa, beet pulp and a halfdose of Cool Calories.

Mr Tubby is now down to 1 flake of alfafa 2x daily, all the grass hay he can munch, 1 1/2qts beet pulp (soaked) and 1 1/2qts of Strategy Healthy Edge and he's nice and ROUND!

Alfalfa is a great way to put weight back on and if it's ulcers (which will cause rapid weight loss), it's very soothing.

That reminded me of my llama that I had. Not sure how well it relates to a horse, though. We were new to llamas, and once sheared, we noticed how thin one was. (They were VERY skiddish at first, so I wasn't able to touch or feel their body condition for a long time.) No matter what we did, he didn't seem to fatten up. Vet did blood work, fecal everything. After xrays, turns out it was stomach ulcer issues too. Can't remember what we did, antibiotics or something, (this was quite a few years ago) but it cleared up and he got nice and healthy again. Maybe your horse is having tummy troubles too?

 

[N. Virginia]

I had an old mare who dropped a LOT of weight over one winter. Think she had some kind of virus; she got laminitis very badly in the spring, although she wasn't on rich grass, and looked like a scarecrow. She was so thin that her legs didn't touch in back at all. We treated the laminities with ace and bute and malox, kept her feet on ice (in icebags) for a week, kept her in a stall for 4 months on heels, gradually tapering the heels from high to nothing, fed only hay. She pulled out of it and was fine, no founder, until several years later when she colicked and we couldn't save her.

This mare also was put out to pasture with other horses when she was young and in only 3 weeks had lost a tremendous amount of weight. Turns out the other horses were bullying her, so I brought her in and turned her out just a little w/another mare, fed her in the stall, and she regained the weight with no trouble.

You have either have a sick or a starved horse. He is too young to loose weight for no reason.

Good luck figuring out which. Put your name on the waiting list at other barns!

Cheers,
N. VA.

 

[Nahnah]

If you have been using the same type of wormer you made need to switch it up, i.e. if you have been using an ivermectin try a moxidectin or pranzaquil (sp? sorry) as they each treat different types of parasites, also you should consider an equine chiropractor, it is possible that his jaw or poll are out of alignment making it difficult for him to chew, or his back could be out and blocking meridians which can inhibit gut function, any of these as well as other chiropractic issues could also explain the swaybacked appearance, but when choosing a chiropractor get as many references as you can to make sure you are getting a good one. Another possiblity is that he for some reason has lost some of the gut bacteria necessary for digestion, you should be able to pick up some probiotics at a good feed store fairly cheap, I know I can get ProBios for about $11 here and have had very good luck with it. Also if the vet recommended senior feed (don't be alarmed it is very common for younger horses to need it) was it a complete feed or a concentrated one (i.e. Purina Senior Complete v.s. Purina Senior Active) and was his reasoning purely for weight gain or because your horse seemed to have trouble chewing hay and such, if it is a complete feed is he getting the recommended amount (which will seem very high, as this is a complete feed with hay built in). Another thing to consider is there are suppliments that could be further added for weight building, i.e. Purina's Ampliphy (please don't feel that I am pushing Purina's products there are many other good options available, it is just the brand that is most widely available and that I have the most training and familiarity with). I also agree that the young girl could be a big part of the issue and this needs to be brought to the attention of the owners of the stables and to her parents, its possible just knowing that people are noticing her behavior will be enough to stop it and if not if other people are made aware they will know to be more vigilant. Best of luck for a speedy recovery for you and your horse.

 

[Nahnah]

Another note, while I do agree that alfalfa can be a great way to put weight on a horse, be very careful how you do it, if his system is not used to it or it happens to be very high protein (third cutting or such), or is fed in large quantities in pellet form without soaking, it can cause additional health issues.

 

[Nslangton]

Think the horse is stressed out. They probably are not feeding what you provide. The little brat probably causes the horse anxiety. A thirteen year old horse should not need senior feed. Don't think the horse is swayback either. It probably just seems that way with the lack of work and extreme weight loss. Wouldn't stress too much about cancer. Some spike or decline in the counts would have been detected in the blood work. What is the soil like? A treatment of sand clear might help if it is ulcer related which could be the case if he is stressed. Vegetable oil and beet pulp can help safely put on weight. The beet pulp needs to be soaked first and I am not sure that would happen at the barn he is at. 1/2 cup of vegetable oil daily is very safe and it is cheap and can just be poured over the grain. I would watch adding too much additional high starch foods because of the colic risks especially if there is an ulcer problem. Hope your knees and the horse get better soon.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

I would start showing up at this place on a regular basis, preferably at feeding time. I am very suspicious of people, and the fact that you are buying both his hay and grain makes me wonder if the food is indeed going to your horse. Discounting a serious medical problem, if an animal is losing weight I would lean towards not getting any food at all (i.e. someone is feeding your feed to another horse). Or this young girl is riding/harassing the calories right out of him. Schedule for another Vet visit, maybe get a different Vet for a second opinion, at a time you are able to be there. I can't remember, but did you get a full blood panel? Did the Vet check his thyroid levels at all? I do feel more of your presence or a friend of yours at this place would definitely help out. Good luck and I hope you can get to the bottom of this.

Quite a number of years ago, I had my horses in a public barn and made friends with someone who offered to do my evening feed for me because I worked late each evening. Seemed like such a kindness on her part...right up til I discovered that yes, she fed my horses each night AND her own...out of my feed barrel. She laughed in my face when I called her on it and everyone else knew what she was doing and never said a word. It's a harsh ol world out there. Unless you have eyes on your horse every single day, you do not really know WHAT is going on. Horses do not lose weight for no reason. Someone/something is happening that you are not aware of.

JMO


Rusty