losing weight...normally good doer...advice?

laceyfreckle

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2007
9,701
42
48
Essex/Suffolk
ok so my mare is losing weight which for me is normally a good thing as she a tendancy to be rather a good doer;) However when she went on loan she dropped a significant amount of weight in only 2 weeks. She came back is getting a good diet again (about twice the amount i would normally feed her though) she is doing no work but IS STILL losing weight. Her ribs now show a bit. She has got a bad back atm which she came back off loan with.

she is stabled at night (although before loan lived out 24/7) has ad-lib hay at night (eats about 3or 4 sections, some always left in the morning) is out grazing in good pasture minimum of 7 hours a day.

She is currently fed

2 large scoops Hi-Fi original
1/2 scoop pony pasture nuts
mag -ox
seaweed
comfrey (for her bad back)
linseed nuggets (for oils and coat)
garlic

Is it worth changing her diet again or will she be ok until the spring grass comes through? I'm sure she'll pile it on again then.

she's currently turned out in a m/w turnout rug and stable rug at night. While on loan she was given very very drastic clip back to the skin in a trace but surely that wouldn't make her drop so much weight?

This is a pic taken two weeks ago but i would say she is actually a fair bit thinner now as her ribs show a bit more now. she measures 300kg on a weight measure.....not sure what she's meant to weigh though??
EBAY088.jpg


this is what she looked like before she went and is typical of her normal winter weight which is slightly fatter then i'd like her to be
EBAY946.jpg
 
Last edited:
with out sounding obvious, when was she last wormed and had her teeth done? Cos this could be a cause!

If you are concerned, maybe switch her to a chaff with oil and maybe conditioning cubes

Maybe provide some hay/haylage during the day

But beware of adding too much weight before the spring grass!
 
Aslong as she's not dropping a considerable amount of weight, just keep doing what you're doing and see how the new grass makes an impact on her, we shouldn't have long to wait (actually it's already starting to come through). If, after then, she isn't any different/worse etc, then look into upping her feed or looking into what else could be upset inside.

It has to be said though, or i'll get shot...worming, teeth? etc? :eek:
 
thank you:)
she was wormed about 8 week ago but is due to be wormed again as she has come back off another yard. Doesn't seem to have big belly like she has a obvouis worm burden though. She is due her teeth to be rasped again next month, they were last done 5 months ago (checked every 6 months) but she isn't dropping food or overally chewing food and finishes her feed eagerly.

I did think about adding some oil to her feed but am a bit worried about her putting on weight and then stuffing herself when spring grass comes through?? when will the spring grass come through properly? she has a fair amount of grass in her 3 acre paddock.

I did start giving her hay during the day but she left it and ate the grass:confused:

would it be worth adding some sugarbeet?? I'm far more used to cutting her feed back to nothing rather then feeding more lol


with out sounding obvious, when was she last wormed and had her teeth done? Cos this could be a cause!

If you are concerned, maybe switch her to a chaff with oil and maybe conditioning cubes

Maybe provide some hay/haylage during the day

But beware of adding too much weight before the spring grass!
 
Aslong as she's not dropping a considerable amount of weight, just keep doing what you're doing and see how the new grass makes an impact on her, we shouldn't have long to wait (actually it's already starting to come through). If, after then, she isn't any different/worse etc, then look into upping her feed or looking into what else could be upset inside.

It has to be said though, or i'll get shot...worming, teeth? etc? :eek:

lol should have said about the worming, teeth etc;)

she isn't painfully thin, just don't want her to drop too much more but if the spring grass is coming through that might help?? hopefully she'll be living out again once she;s put a bit of weight on (hopefully by beg of April)

edited to add she seems to be dropping about 15kg a week according to the tape measure.
 
If you want caloried but not wanting ot worry about lami then I would try adding oil like corn oil or sunflower oil to her diet introding it lightly.

I measure it with a coffee cup and Kia in winter gets 1 cup in the morning and 1 at night in the feed I up this when he looks as though he is dropping weight.

Works for me and means I am not stuffing him with lots or carbs and sugars as I am petrified of Lami because he is native :eek:

Nikki xxxx
 
thanks that could be a good idea for Lace. She hasn't had Lami but being a Welsh that 'tends' to be a bit podgy i do tend to guard against it anyhow;)

I think lace will prob need a lot less then Kia as she's only 12.3hh but definitely a idea that might stop her dropping

If you want caloried but not wanting ot worry about lami then I would try adding oil like corn oil or sunflower oil to her diet introding it lightly.

I measure it with a coffee cup and Kia in winter gets 1 cup in the morning and 1 at night in the feed I up this when he looks as though he is dropping weight.

Works for me and means I am not stuffing him with lots or carbs and sugars as I am petrified of Lami because he is native :eek:

Nikki xxxx
 
If she's been stressed due to her move (which it sounds like she has!), this in itself could account for her weight having dropped. Hopefully she'll be much happier now she's back home and you'll see her weight stabilise; as long as she's not still dropping weight, I'd be inclined not to change her feed too much, particularly if she's the type to do well on the grass alone come the spring.
 
thanks that could be a good idea for Lace. She hasn't had Lami but being a Welsh that 'tends' to be a bit podgy i do tend to guard against it anyhow;)

I think lace will prob need a lot less then Kia as she's only 12.3hh but definitely a idea that might stop her dropping

My friend weighs hers out with a tea cup for her 13hh welshie :)

I would have to ask her what she gives but I'm pretty sure a tea cup is half of a coffee mug :)

I will ask her and post back after. She also fees Hi-Fi and pony cubes along with a hoof supplement and hay so I will ask her what she thinks if you like :p

Nikki xxxx
 
As for when spings coming....not too soon by the sounds of it, we're expecting snow on tuesday :eek:

Personally I would probably pop a little oil in there and taper it off mid april when hopefully the grass will start to reappear :) I have had great results with beet pulp and barley rings recently, so if you want to get a little weight on the beet may be a good way to go, but really depends on if you think she's lost enough to start feeding up for :)
 
If she is normally a good doer then I would be happy not to add any more to the diet at this stage because once the spring grass comes :eek:

Do her ribs actually show or can you just feel them?

All this depends on how much you think she will stick on over summer.


If it were my mare then I'd be happy for her to go destinctly ribby knowing she would turn into a big fat heffer just from looking at the spring grass :rolleyes:
 
Ive not read the replies so sorry if anything is repeated. A) is she needing wormed?
B) Is she getting essential vits and mins? (baileys low cal is great for this without actually fattening up!!)
c) Are her teeth due a check?
 
Can you see her ribs yet? If not she's not too thin! Many people get used to seeing horses too fat and have a panic when they get slim.

She looks good in the first photo but I wouldn't be at all worried if she has lost a little weight since then. Grass will be through in a month, so unless the weight is falling off her I wouldn't leave be, and be thankful it's coming off easily;)

I would want to know WHY she's loosing weight if she shouldn't be. Worming and teeth sounds fine. Is she cold? Other thing might be stress - you said she is now living on her own? Many horses don't look outwardly stressed but being a poor doer when they should be a good doer is a classic sign.
 
Can you see her ribs yet? If not she's not too thin! Many people get used to seeing horses too fat and have a panic when they get slim.

She looks good in the first photo but I wouldn't be at all worried if she has lost a little weight since then. Grass will be through in a month, so unless the weight is falling off her I wouldn't leave be, and be thankful it's coming off easily;)

I would want to know WHY she's loosing weight if she shouldn't be. Worming and teeth sounds fine. Is she cold? Other thing might be stress - you said she is now living on her own? Many horses don't look outwardly stressed but being a poor doer when they should be a good doer is a classic sign.

hi:)

yes you can see her ribs fairly clearly at the moment.......they are prominent now where as in the second picture they were only just starting to show.

i have put her m/w back on in case she's cold....she does want to come in every night quite eagerly come 4.30pm

stress i would say could be a factor, she had a rough time at her loan home and from what i can tell was kept with very limited pasture and hay but a lot of high cereal fizzy feed. she was very stressed when went to get her and her back being sore atm probably isn't helping her stress levels although she seems ok now. I can't really help her being on her own atm although hopefully she won't be long term. When she was kept on her own before she was very very outwardly stressed and refused to settle at all which she isn't like at the moment.

She is quite edgy with new situations still at the moment where she wasn't before, things like new people coming to see her....think she might be worried about going away again.

i think the biggest reason she's losing weight is because of how severe her clip is, it's right down to the skin on her clipped parts which include her entire face, neck and belly. It is so bare i daren't leave anything on her like a headcollar for too long.

am thinking about adding a bit of oil as she seems quite thin now and has lost 'conditon' as well as weight. I will try and get a pic tomorrow. am thinking about getting a vet out for general check and her back rather leaving her to see if it mends with rest.
 
If her ribs are clearly visable then yep, she sounds too thin.

From what you've said I supect the two main contributing factors are being cold with her stupid clip and being stressed, with the moving about and from being on her own (if she didn't like it last time she's unlikely to be happy this time, maybe just less.......... 'expressive' about her stress).

A MW rug isnn't much for the temps we're getting at the mo. You need to make up for the large amount of heat she'll be loosing through her face and neck. I would have her in a HW full neck (as anti-rugging as I am:eek:) and make sure she has plenty of hay to keep warm eating.

As for feeding I would have her on an all fibre diet (esp if she may have an ulcer) and cut out the pasture nuts entirely. Rather than adding oil to her feed I'd give her Alfa-Oil as it already has Vit E in it to aid oil digestion. And as it's chaff you could stop the Hi-Fi lite and give just the Alfa-Oil. You could add a bit of speedibeet too for more weight and make it taste yummy.
 
Why on earth did they clip her so severely? Especially at this time of year? Poor mare - mine would be absolutely miserable if that was done to her.

Would she tolerate one of those rugs that would fit over her face - lycra...holes cut for eyes etc..name escapes me (again), help keep her warmer. I appreciate your concerns re weight gain and spring grass, think we've got a bit of time still before it really comes through, so perhaps supplementing her hay with some haylage might add on some calories to her diet, as well as the other suggestions.
 
newrider.com