# A couple recent photos of "the gang"



## Chickerdoodle13 (Oct 27, 2009)

Here are my guys:

Stetson, our Mexican ranch horse.







Our poor old Sonny. He's definitely seen better days, and he's getting up there in age. Probably between 25 and 30. He's been a great boy and its sad to see him getting so skinny. We feed him like crazy and he just won't gain back weight. We have been trying all sorts of things, but the things that used to work aren't working for him anymore. He's always been hard keeper to begin with.






Our two year old, Cheyenne. Still not sure how big she'll get. She's just a bit smaller than Sonny, and he is 15 hands. I hope she gets big enough for us to ride here, but she has another year of growing yet. She still has such a baby face!






The whole gang. We finally mixed Cheyenne into the herd before I left for school. She was the outcast for awhile, but is working herself in nicely. They've been teaching her some manners and she has been a lot more manageable lately!


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## StacyV (Oct 27, 2009)

You have very nice looking horses!  Thanks for sharing.


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## lupinfarm (Oct 27, 2009)

Your paint is gorgeousss


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## ksalvagno (Oct 27, 2009)

Nice looking horses!


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## big brown horse (Oct 27, 2009)

Beautiful herd of horses!  

You should post Sonny's photo in the Senior horse thread.  And if you are willing to try anything to put some meat on his bones, you should contact/pm freemotion, she has a simple, unique yet proven method of feeding her livestock and has tons of experience in keeping a senior horse in tip top shape.


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## mully (Oct 28, 2009)

I had a rescue 25 -30 yo gelding that was as skinny as your Sonny. What I found that worked was to put him on senior feed and had the vet grind his teeth so he could chew.  Older horses have an overbite that keeps them from feeding properly.  You might have to pasture him separate until he puts weight on. Also a drench would help him.  Good luck, old age is no fun for any of us.


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## Chickerdoodle13 (Nov 1, 2009)

Thanks guys and thanks for the senior horse advice.

We've currently been trying to add some beet pulp in his diet and I believe my dad separates him for feeding so he can have his senior food. We've also been trying corn oil on and off. I mentioned to my dad that he might want to try a small handful of black oil sunflower seeds but he doesn't seem to be so receptive to the idea.

Sonny gets his teeth floated yearly and the dentist said his teeth were in decent shape, but I'll ask about the overbite next time. Could be be a possibility that its something we've missed.

There are a few other things we are looking to try. I hate switching feeds on him so much, but so far we haven't had luck. The purina feed we have our horses on now is supposed to be complete enough for senior and younger horses, but I think my dad supplements him with the senior feed because it has some molasses in it. Our other horses can't have molasses because it makes them crazy!


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## allenacres (Nov 23, 2009)

You have some nice looking horses however a bit on the thin side, especially the 2 year old.  It might be that they just need more food, good quality grass hay.


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## ducks4you (Nov 23, 2009)

Nice looking gang!!  
Story:  We bought our first horses in 1985, when my eldest DD was 5 years old.  She had been naming striped caterpillers, names that ended with "... Coma"--her favorite name was "Montana Coma."  So, our first gelding, a big-barrelled paint pony (13'2hh) came to us as "Spot."  Of COURSE, that name wouldn't do, so I suggested "Montana Coma."  She said, "NO, we CAN'T,' arguing that he wasn't black and white.

I guess if we EVER get a paint the color of yours, we'll know just what to name him.


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## Chickerdoodle13 (Nov 25, 2009)

allenacres said:
			
		

> You have some nice looking horses however a bit on the thin side, especially the 2 year old.  It might be that they just need more food, good quality grass hay.


Yeah, we have actually been working with their weight. The wet summer was tough on all of them! The palomino gets a mix of senior feed and purina strategy. The other three are currently getting a coffee can and a half of the strategy, two times a day (Per vet's orders). They get 24 hour free choice grass hay that we put in a round bale feeder and they devour it pretty quickly. Sometimes we feed square bales when we can't find good, covered round bales to give them. Any advice on feeding is welcomed though. We have never had a problem with weight on our horses until this past summer and we've been trying all sorts of things.

I did go out today to see all the horses (I am home from college on break) and the sorrel and roan are actually looking pretty good. The palomino is still thin, but I know my dad is still trying to find something to put the weight on him. The two year old we bought in late march/early may of this year and she had worms when we bought her. She was even more thin than she was in the picture above. My dad decided to buy her on a whim from a guy who was a horse dealer. We felt really sorry for her and bought her real cheap. However, within the past month, she has gained a substantial amount of weight. I'm really hoping she is just gaining weight from the extra feed we've been giving her, but my dad fears she may be pregnant. We don't have a stallion, but we have no idea what she was exposed to before we bought her. I really hope she is not pregnant since she is so young, but we will probably have the vet out just to make sure. She acts normal otherwise. She turned two in may, so she is only about two and a half now. Of course now I'll be worried that she hasn't had the proper nutrition if she is in foal, but hopefully it turns out to be nothing and we'll just have to cut back on feed for her.


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