Skinny horses?

[carolinagirl]

I can understand wanting to use organic stuff for animals that we consume, but horses? I am not sure why organic is necessary for them. I suppose as long as fecals confirm that what she is doing is good enough then it probably doesn't matter. I am glad the that you are concerned enough about the welfare of these horses to ask about it though.

 

[patandchickens]

I would not pass judgement on the no-chemical-wormers thing, necessarily, without knowing more of the situation.

Chemical wormers are only necessary if you have significant wormload. In boarding barns (for instance) that is really universally the case; but in backyard circumstances, sometimes it's not.

I know a couple people who don't worm at all, period, ever. They have fecals done twice a year that always come back *fine*, and the horses hold their weight well and show no sign of worms.

That said, if I had an older horse who was on the skinnier side of "okay", I would for sure be using ivermectin or having a fecal float done or both; but, do you know for sure she *hasn't* had any fecals done?

Pat

 

[mydakota]

Age alone is not a reason for a horse to be skinny. It just isn't. There are some side-effects of age that make it more difficult to keep weight on. Lack of teeth/poor condition of teeth, for instance. But even then it can be done--it just requires more effort. You might have to feed a lower-on-the-pecking order horse separately, or a horse who eats slower than its herdmates for one reason or another. (lack of teeth for instance) If a horse is skinny, there is a reason and age alone isn't it. Age may exacerbate it, but it isn't the age itself. I am especially alarmed that she has several who are skinny. One skinny horse in a herd of slick, fat, herdmates might have something medical going on, ( in which case it is incumbent upon the owner to get the vet out and get to the bottom of it). Most of them are thin? Your friend is not taking her stewardship seriously enough. All that said, 15 isn't even old. I would postulate, on the information given here (realizing it isn't necessarily the whole picture) that your friend is not feeding/caring for her horses adequately. If she can not or will not do that? She should not have them.

This is my last foster mare. These pics were taken 8 weeks apart. The first ones are from the day she got here. As you can see, THIS 15 year old mare had NO problem gaining/holding weight once someone actually started FEEDING her adequately. Her teeth were bad when she came, and she was too weak to withstand the tranq to float them. So for 3 weeks I took a mash made of Sr Feed/alf pellets/beet pulp/RedCell/corn oil every 2-3 hours around the clock. When she was strong enough (3 weeks in) I had her teeth floated. The regimen was less grueling after that. She did great. But it took EFFORT. Sometimes it is not enough to throw hay over the fence twice a day.

 

[MissDanni]

I've found that with almost every horse I take in there are a few main problems when they come in looking skinny so I have my checklist I run down whenever I bring in a new horse.

1. Deworm - I don't want them bringing anything around that I don't want.

2. Teeth - If the horse hasn't been fed regularly, chances are no one has cared enough to tend to the teeth. Floating alone is not always enough, sometimes there are teeth that need to be removed, and there may very well be infection in the mouth. Taking a look at the poop can sometimes give you some insight, if you find lots of un-chewed pieces, this could be an indication of a problem.

3. Hooves - Sore hooves can cause a lack of appetite.

4. Food - Lots of food! I feed Timothy hay, they eat whatever they want whenever they want. Beet pulp, I soak it between feedings so its soft and easy to chew. This helps if they have teeth issues. Oats, I offer them oats after the beet pulp, to watch for a difference in the way they are taking in the food.

5. Water - My horses have water at all times. I have never had any problems with bloating. You would be surprised what a few days of having water will do for a horse. Most often its the main problem with horses I take in, they just have not been getting enough water.

6. Blood and fecal - I'm not religious about this all the time, but if I see a problem, or its a new horse to me, I want to be certain of whats going on inside.

7. Love - How much do you feel like eating when you're sad? Something as simply as grooming and talking to the horse can really change their overall well being.

Just a few suggestions from what I do myself. Everyone is different and so is every horse.

@mydakota - Amazing! You should feel very proud, you did a wonderful job. Bless you!