Do you think he's improving?

[dianneS]

I know its early, but I'm wondering if anyone can see any improvement in my rescue horse? He's got a long way to go. He had some skin issues hidden by his winter coat. He still has bites and cuts that are healing. His winter coat is shedding out in a strange way, but his summer coat is coming in and its dark red! So does he look different? He has lost a lot of shaggy winter coat already too.

His first day here (about two months ago).

Today:

 

[DonnaBelle]

Well, I don't know much about horses, but I can see an animal that was neglected, and now I see an animal someone is caring for.

I think it will take a while for him to come back but he is a beautiful guy, and I'm sure you'll get him taken care of.

About a year ago, there was a rescue of some horses North of Tulsa, and they were on the nightly news show. Now they really look bad. The other night was an update, and I would not have believed they were the same horses.

Thanks, Diane for doing what you are doing.

DonnaBelle

 

[dianneS]

I know that its really hard to tell by the pics and I'm probably expecting too much too soon, but I'm so anxious to get him back in shape!

I really can't wait for his summer coat to come in, that will make a huge difference in his appearance. He probably won't gain much more weight. He needs to build muscle. I hope to find the right conditioning program to improve his topline developement. I do realize that it takes at least a year to develop a good topline. I just can't wait to get there!

 

[that's*satyrical]

I think it took a long time for him to get to looking that bad and it will probably take a while to get back to where he once was before he was neglected. It's great that he has a new home where he is well cared for though There is a product by farnham called weight builder that I've used before it is a really good product. A lot of nutrients in a little scoop or 2 you add to the feed with good fats in it.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Glad you got him, and his red coat is nice! Can you tell us how you're feeding him?

 

[dianneS]

Glad you got him, and his red coat is nice! Can you tell us how you're feeding him?

He is getting a low protein high fat pelleted feed, its Purina... I think its Horseman's edge?? To that I add ground flax seed, BOSS, and he gets beet pulp shreds. He gets a joint supplement daily, probios regularly, I've been worming him more frequently and he's had free choice hay in front of him 24/7.

The spring grass is now coming in, so hopefully that will help a lot too. I'm thinking of switching him to a higher protein pellet soon since he really needs to start building muscle.

 

[yankee'n'moxie]

Well, that sounds like a really good program to me! I fed high fats for awhile, and just like you said, we came to the point where we needed to switch to something more protein based!

Oh, and as far as him looking better, yes, (1) I can't see as many ribs, etc, and (2) he just looks happier and more attentive! In the first pics he just looks bored, kind of passive about the world, but in the others, his ears are up and he looks happy! Thanks for rescuing him!

 

[dianneS]

I'm glad that his ribs are less visible. Especially considering that he has lost a lot of hair since that first pic. Its hard to tell, but he really has shed out a lot of his winter coat already.

He was scared to death of everything when he first got here. Beaten up by the horses in the pasture at his previous home, he was so timid that my pony and mini horse were bullying this 17.2hh guy! It was pitiful.

Now he's content and found his place in the herd and doesn't take any guff from the little guys. He and the pony run together now and play a lot, and its certainly for fun and he's not being chased and running in terror anymore!

I think he'll put on more weight just due to the simple fact that he's not a nervous wreck, burning off calories from anxiety and getting chased and kicked all the time.

 

[currycomb]

i had a mare given to me in november(a couple years ago now) she was twice as bad as your guy. almost dead actually. started her out on alfalfa cubes and beet pulp, soaked in warm water. she got a 5 gallon bucket of this 2X a day. by march, she was fat a slick. she shed out with no new hair to replace it for awhile, but it did finally grow in. (horses start their winter coat in august, and start their summer coat in feb or some where like that, so the poor nutrition when the hair should have started growing just didn't happen) the cubes and beet pulp is safe to feed large quantities, it is all roughage. you could add grain, possibly senior feed for a more rapid response. this mare was 15 1/2 hand tall, and quite broad across the back as she was a quarter horse, and old to boot

 

[dianneS]

That's good to know about the hair shedding. This guy is shedding in places with no new hair to replace it as well. Its coming in, but slowly. This guy is 16 and will probably always look a bit on the thin side since he is a TB and a lighter boned, more refined horse too.

I think I am going to incorporate some senior pellets into his diet and some coat and hoof supplements, maybe weight builder too. He really needs muscle now. The farrier comes next week. His hooves are in good shape but a bit on the dry and cracked side but nothing serious. I've been putting him and my other TB mare in my goat pasture during the day lately. The grass is better up there and lots of clover that the goats don't eat. The horses beg to be put in that pasture!