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  Discussion on Weight Loss
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New Member:
Ashelton

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 6, 2006 - 1:54 pm:

Hi Everyone,
I recently started managing a small barn. There are 3 horses and 3 mini-donkeys. I have a 28+ year old (at least) gelding, who within the past month has lost a lot of weight. I just recently added corn oil to his grain to try and help put some weight back on him. 3 weeks ago I started giving him more grain which the vet recommended. He is now getting about 4 quarts a day of senior, plus corn oil. He doesn't really touch his hay. The hay is not the best quality unfortunately. I try to find the best bales for him, but even the good bales he only picks through. I have tried soaking the hay but he still won't eat it. Big D has COPD and I wasn't sure if alfalfa is a good choice for him.
He had his teeth done about a month and half ago, the dentist pulled at least one tooth and did a lot of work.
The vet was out 3 weeks ago and put Bid D on 3 days of dex, because his lungs sounded wet. The vet said to increase his grain, which I did, and give him a little hay to munch on if he feels like it.
All of the horses are on a deworming schedule, they were just given Ivermectin last week.
Is there anything else that I can or should be doing for him? I really appreciate any advice.
Member:
Stevens

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 6, 2006 - 2:12 pm:

Andrea,

You could try either rice bran, or hay pellets (more consistent quality) or both.

Good Luck!

Chris
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Dec 7, 2006 - 8:09 am:

Andrea, alfalfa cubes will not have mold spores so safe for COPD horses and can be soaked for horses with teeth problems. There are many other suggestions for a horse like you describe in the article on Geriatric Horses.
DrO
Member:
Mleeb

Posted on Thursday, Dec 7, 2006 - 9:55 am:

Andrea,
My own 30 yo gelding was on death's door he was so thin. The big change happened not on the double dose of oats and canola oil (although it did make a difference), but when I switched his diet entirely to soaked alfalfa cubes and pelleted alfalfa, with some senior pelleted feed, and 1 1/2 cups of canola oil. An equine nutritionist developed the ratios of this diet for me, and said that as he got to an ideal body weight, I could cut back on the senior feed and oil to help maintain his weight. I never thought that would happen.
I started this diet in late August. He was 14.2 hh and more than 100 pounds underweight in my estimation. His hips and withers protruded sharply, and I could count all of his ribs from a distance. In a month's time, he was fatter. When it rained though, he couldn't keep warm, and I would be running outside to bring him into the shed and blanket him. By October, he was fatter still, and the winter blanket I bought him hadn't come out of the bag. By November, I was cutting back on the senior pellets, and yesterday, I cut them back again. I haven't fed the oil in over a month. He can stand outside in the worst weather and not even shiver. I now proudly consider him to the be the second fattest horse in my little herd.
PS He also has poor teeth. They are so worn down, the molars don't meet to grind his food. He enjoys poking around in a pile of hay, but everything he chews just gets wadded up and DrOpped on the ground again.
Member:
Erika

Posted on Thursday, Dec 7, 2006 - 12:19 pm:

Welcome Andrea,
This has been a popular topic on this board. Try doing a search on the subject (after reading the article, of course) and you'll find lots of suggestions.
For my old toothless wonder, a combination of warm Senior mush and Dengie HiFi worked wonders and brought him back from the brink.
I think a warm blanket helps too.
Good luck!
New Member:
dawndnj

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 13, 2007 - 2:00 pm:

I have a 35-ish Percheron cross who had issues with weight when I acquired him. I have found adding beet pulp to his feed and using Blue Seal hay stretcher has worked wonders on him. I replaced hay in his stall with 4-6 scoops of hay stretcher (in his evening feed). The only hay/grass he gets is when he is in the field with my other horses. I also feed twice a day. I tried adding oil and also tried using supplements like Fat Cat. They didn't do as much as the beet pulp and hay stretcher did. As Erika L recommended, I keep him in a blanket all winter long (if you're in cold weather).
Member:
sonoita

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 13, 2007 - 4:08 pm:

I think beet pulp is the answer. I really worry about uping grain. You can get in a lot of trouble with that. Wet cubes would be good for fiber. Maybe even lunch would be good
Happy Trails,
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 14, 2007 - 9:30 am:

There are some concerns about beet pulp so be sure to read the section on its use in Horse Care » Equine Nutrition, Feeds, & Feeding »
Forages for Horses, an Overview.
DrO
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