Crest worries

[Slave 2 Magic]

Hi
My arab mare has developed a really big crest and I'm abit worried. Assuming that it means she has too much feed, what do you think?
She is out during the day on average pasture. In at night she has ad lib hay, 1 and a half scoops of chop, half a scoop of stable mix and halfa scoop of Blue Chip. That is one meal in the evening. Does that sound too much? Last winter she was on 2 feeds a day and didn't have a crest. I only put her on Blue Chip 5 months ago though.

[DeirdreBarlow]

Crests can also be the result of muscle building in the upper neck area, so I wouldn't panic about weight just yet ;) .

With regards to her feed, you mention she didn't have this last winter (whilst on double the food) - is she on any less exercise than she was back then?

How old is she?
Muscle development and fat stores alters with age.

Is she working differently (ie, in more/less of an outline) than she used to do?

Has she gained weight elsewhere (her belly for example)?

Has she had her hormone levels checked?
It's unlikely, but sudden weight and/or muscle gain can be indication of hormonal/thyroid imbalances.

A bit more info would be helpful :) .

[coss]

more info definitely would help as a thick crest can mean that laminitus is on its way and that it can be worse sometimes :( Blue chip feed is meant to keep the weight on better than other feeds (although i haven't used it myself) so she may be holding the weight better, i would cut her food down a little as you can always build it up if she appears to lose a lot of weight

[Slave 2 Magic]

Thanks
She's not on any less exercise than last year. She was only broken this time last year so is doing more work. I started having lessons with her and she is going more in an outline. Her belly and hindquarters look more muscled. When I got her she was really skinny looking with a big belly!
I'll try cutting her feed abit or maybe change from Blue Chip to Baileys Low Cal?

[Slave 2 Magic]

Hopefully attached Feb 06 picture and Sept 06 picture. Spot the difference?

[coss]

she looks like the back end has muscled up (or is that her just filling out?). If its muscle on the back it could be muscle on the topline developing but looking at the 1st pic she looks like she's got a fairly thick neck there so i would just watch the weight, arabs are know for having quite a big barrel, both of mine do. old wives tale: You are meant to be able to sit a plate of food on there back as it is meant to be flat and broad :)

[DeirdreBarlow]

I agree - she's already got "crest definition" in the first pic - it looks like it's just been built on.

I was going to say that coss had an excellent point regarding laminitis, but looking at those I wouldn't be too worried.
Always worth keeping an eye out for though ;) .

She's lovely by the way :) .

[Jessey]

In at night she has ad lib hay, 1 and a half scoops of chop, half a scoop of stable mix and half a scoop of Blue Chip.
I assume you have weighed out the blue chip? because as a balancer it is normally fed by the cup full rather than the scoop full :p
Balancers like blue chip are good, they are very concentraited nutrients and will give alot more weight/muscle gain than the same ammount of mix etc :D

Her neck will also have built up as you are schooling her, I would perhaps condition score her, just to be on the safe side, to make sure she isn't gaining fat rather than muscle :D

J x

[hackedoff]

A crest can be a sign of magnesium deficiency you could try a mag supplement and see if it helps.
Hope you get to the bottom of it :)

[Megans mum]

agree about the magnesium just started mine on it and crests are definately going down