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  Discussion on Fat rolls?
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Member:
Heidim

Posted on Friday, Sep 16, 2005 - 10:03 pm:

I looked at an aged pony mule today that was for sale. At first glance, I could tell her health wasn't what it should be. She appeared a bit thin around the ribs with a heavy swag-like belly. She had deep dimples just below her hips. She also had bumps about the size of two fists on her rump and another smaller one just above the dock of her tail. It was quite unattractive and kind of hard to look at. The owner said they were "fat rolls" and the dimpling effect was much like cellulite on people. I have seen overweight horses but never anything like this. The owner said she was wormed regularly. My first reaction to all those bumps and dimpling was some sort of tumors and/or cancer. Dr. O, I'm really curious about this condition. Can horses really get fat rolls?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 - 8:20 am:

Hello Heidi,
I am surprised that she wasn't a bit cresty too. Donkeys and mules are prone to storing fat in these areas and after a time these areas seem very slow to breakdown. When examined on necropsy this fat has an odd quality to it so I have wondered if it may be a case where the fat saponifies making it difficult to metabolize.

So you often see these guys on the thin side with firm fat deposits remaining from better times. We have some members that have tried magnesium supplementation to address these issues, usually cresty equines, but I can't remember anyone ever writing back that it helped.
DrO
Member:
Heidim

Posted on Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 - 3:45 pm:

So it's a long-ear thing. That's why I hadn't seen it before, as I started with horses. It's kind of embarrassing but when I came home I saw the start of the very same condition on our old donkey. I'd been feeding him extra thinking the pasture was running low, but apparently the last two rains rejuvenated the grass because he became quite overweight. Needless to say, I immediately cut him back. Thanks for the info--had I not known, I would've called the vet thinking cancer!

Along the same line, I can't tell you how much my investment in this Web site has paid off financially. We've run concerns by you first (except for emergency situations, that is) and checked the other information available here before approaching our vet. Once, when I did call him for something and relayed what I'd learned from the site, he remarked that I must've tapped into one of the better online resources for horse owners. I considered that a compliment, and thought I'd pass it along. Keep up the good support!
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