"anorexia" in emaciated rescue horses

Box_Of_Frogs

Box_Of_Frogs

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Desperate for information as title. This story leads on from my earlier one a few days back.

I took on Rockin' Robbie 8 days ago. Since last November he'd been at the yard that the Local Authority uses for seized and abandoned horses and ponies. Robbie is only 6.2hh and a 2ft 9in rug. He's between 3 and 4 years old. He has no outer guard hairs on his fluffy coat, a symptom of his long term starvation I think. He is the friendliest and most unflappable little lad - humans, dogs, other horses, anything. He was condition score 1 at the time and, worryingly, he's still a condition score 1 now. Hmmmmm. You'd think that an emaciated rescue pony would wolf down anything edible but this is soooo not the case. He is the most picky eater I've ever known. I have 4 serious good-doers and know a lot about keeping weight off but not much about putting weight on. He's already had his teeth done and has had bloods taken that don't show anything major at this first stage. Weighed him at the vets today and he's a shocking 45.8kg. I reckon he should be about twice that. He will graze happily but there isn't much nutrition in the grass this time of year. He'll nibble a tiny bit of good quality haylage. This is what he WILL eat: Calm and Condition, a few tiny pieces of apple, bread, Lo Cal. I can't give him huge feeds of just Calm and Condition. I'm not even sure he should be on that but at least it's high in calories and he'll actually eat it. My understanding that ponies starved for a long time stop feeling hungry and that it can take a year or more to get them eating normally again. My fear is that he has not an ounce of spare flesh as reserves. I need to get high calorie FIBRE into him.

Been reading about Readigrass - seems ideal. Anyone tried it? Does it have to be soaked? My YO knows of a horse that choked on it but I've read glowing testimonials about it. Or any other palatable alternatives to C and C? Any help or experience at all would be gratefully received (also in NL)
 
I have had a tb that raced only twice that was anorexic, slightly differently in that she was fine until she was in work then she stopped eating almost completely and I never got the feed into her, she went to stud in the end as work was just not possible she looked like a rescue case.
Also more recently a pony that came at livery had been fed a strange diet of oats for energy and very little fibre, he would eat grass but hardly any hay/ fibre type feeds, it took 6 months to get a decent amount of hay down him and for him to produce normal piles of droppings, they were originally like rabbit droppings, tiny and hard.
So I think it will take time, probably until he can get some good grass into his system, feed what he wants for now he needs it. C&C should not be too bad, FF would be better possibly mix a little in or some speedibeet, I would feed, if you can, a tiny amount every hour or two throughout the day until he can take more haylage.
He may benefit from a vitamin shot from the vet to kick start things, but generally dont worry too much, it is easier to say than do when they are so poor, but spring is on its way and that will make all the difference, he is alive and must be a fighter to have survived until now, he is sure to pick up soon it will take time he needs to adjust and get his appetite back.
I have not used redigrass so cannot help with that, Fast fibre is good, oil for calories, brewers yeast, if he will eat it for his gut balance, mint is good for appetite, apple juice to soak some speedibeet would be worth trying.
Good luck with him.
 
Highly recommend the Readigrass, some damp it others don't. I do as it is very dry, almost crispy.

Have you tried Alfabeet, various different companies make it but I used to use the Dengie one. This transformed an arabian stallion that came to live with me who started out as a condition score of 1.5.

http://www.dengie.com/pages/products/additional-products/alfa-beet.php

Please do keep us up to date on his progress. I have three little people :)
 
Readigrass is quite sharp - almost like needles but has a very pleasant (if unusual) smell. Fibre beet is very fibrey, easy to eat and calorific. I think (lack of) condition-induced anorexia is likely to be blood-chemistry linked, although the starving horses from Spindles Farm and the like weren't ever recorded as being inappetant? I wonder if he has been dumped because they failed to keep his weight on... I do hope he recovers x

ETS Can you get any hydroponically grown stuff, if he'll eat grass? What are his droppings like?
 
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I'd steer clear of Fast Fibre, for now at least as it contains garlic and the last thing you want to do right now is upset his gut flora.

The thing with shy feeders is that sometimes the thing that you think they won't eat they do so things to try to tempt eating could be

Cider Apple Vinegar
Rosehips
Mint
Fenugreek
Seaweed
Marmite
Honey
Clivers
Nettle
Guinness

I definitley would keep things simple. Where are you because if you are nearish me I can give you Readigrass, speedibeet, cider vinegar, rosehips, seaweed and alfalfa to try. Lets face it its not going to be much with a little squirt like him but could cost a fortune to buy all these things only to find he won't eat them!

Oops just seen that you are in deepest Wales, sorry as I am in southern Hamphire, but far to drop by!
 
Just had a thought, are you on a yard, or near a yard? Maybe if you drop by and explain your circumstances I can't see anyone with a heart refusing to give you samples to try.
 
Perissa said:
I'd steer clear of Fast Fibre, for now at least as it contains garlic and the last thing you want to do right now is upset his gut flora.

The thing with shy feeders is that sometimes the thing that you think they won't eat they do so things to try to tempt eating could be

Cider Apple Vinegar
Rosehips
Mint
Fenugreek
Seaweed
Marmite
Honey
Clivers
Nettle
Guinness

I definitley would keep things simple. Where are you because if you are nearish me I can give you Readigrass, speedibeet, cider vinegar, rosehips, seaweed and alfalfa to try. Lets face it its not going to be much with a little squirt like him but could cost a fortune to buy all these things only to find he won't eat them!

Oops just seen that you are in deepest Wales, sorry as I am in southern Hamphire, but far to drop by!
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Ring round all the feed companies and ask for samples, explaining your problem. None of them in their right minds will refuse. Link them to here and they can a) see the case is genuine and desperate and b) the big 'thank yous' to them you will duly be noting! :) ;) :D
 
brighteyes said:
Ring round all the feed companies and ask for samples, explaining your problem. None of them in their right minds will refuse. Link them to here and they can a) see the case is genuine and desperate and b) the big 'thank yous' to them you will duly be noting! :) ;) :D
Click to expand...

Good idea, Allen and Page sent me samples and money off voucher when I contacted them so worth doing, with your little ones size the samples will really be enough to see if he likes them.
 
I use Pegasus grass nuts - and I soak them which makes a mash - haven't yet found a horse which says no thanks!

They don't have mollases in so it is just pelletised grass so it's a natural forage and not full of cereals
 
You may wish to discuss his lack of appetite with your vets. For a couple of reasons.

First off, has he had any blood tests done? If not, I'd suggest this may be worthwhile.

We have taken in ponies which have been very thin when they arrived, and they often have poor appetites. Sometimes this is purely because they've just not had enough to eat. Sometimes it is because they have an underlying liver / kidney problem - sometimes related to having been starved, sometimes related to worm damage / ragwort damage, etc.

In many cases, they can bounce back from it, and eventually regain their appetite, and the organs can regenerate.

But the vets may be able to medicate the animal to help them along - there are things that can be given which will stimulate the appetite, and also to help support the organs which are under attack, if any.

As far as stimulating appetite - in the first instance, get them to eat anything they will. We find using cheap brand apple sauce mixed in with whatever you want to feed them can help. Some people say they've had success with mixing apple juice in, or dried mint. Once you've got them eating something, take whatever you want them to be eating, and add in just a table spoon to the first meal, then each subsequent meal, double it. It will gradually build up, and they gradually get used to the taste.

We've also found that feeding multiple feeds is better than one or two big ones. With those seriously underweight, we have fed up to five or six times a day, with around three hours between feeds. Don't be tempted to make up huge feeds - the size of the average horses stomach is only the size of a rugby ball - more food than that will just get wasted. As yours is smaller, you have to scale down accordingly.
 
Hi BOF,
What a story!...Poor moppet.
I have used readigrass and I fed it damp as it is spikey as OP suggested.
Just a thought....what about contacting WHW...they have a (pardon the pun) world of experience in feeding malnourished beasties...and together with your vet...may be able to help?
Best of luck
Bryndu
 
No experience of this at all, I'm afraid.

However, there is a really good pamphlet on looking after horses with chronic grass sickness, particularly ideas on encouraging them to eat.

So although there is no implication of grass sickness here, it may be that some of the ideas for encouraging the horses to eat may be useful, especially if the pony is seriously emaciated at the moment?

Here's the link to that document:

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...sg=AFQjCNHn7tgY6T82BjqPX-uXXVyDuBzj8Q&cad=rja

Is he at a stage where you can introduce a companion, either with or next to him, so that he might get encouraged to eat by watching/being near to another?

Hope you find something to tempt the littlun with.

Sarah
 
I really can't thank you enough everyone. Some superb advice and suggestions. This Forum is amazing. And yes, I am worried that Robbie was abandoned and in the state that he was because of existing nutritional problems. Could be malabsorption, could be something else internal. I do wonder if he was bred to be tiny or if his tiny size is just a random genetic thing. If it is random genes, then the likelihood of it bringin more problems with it is high. When he was found he was too weak to stand so he's made some improvement but to my mind not enough. His droppings are a little too hard for my liking, considering he's grazing fore 4 hours a day. I'd have expected wetter greener ones, certainly in his first few days with me. Brilliant idea to ring all the feed companies and ask for samples. Also brilliant idea about ringing WHW. The overriding thing with little Robbie is how really tiny he is. And he only weighed 45.8kgs at the vets on Friday. I think he should be at least twice that. Will let everyone know how he gets on xxx
 
Hi BOF, sorry I havn't read your previous post so don't know how long you have had this little guy. First of all if he is BCS 1 he could be worse and I think you have a good chance. It is very important that starved horses do not over eat in the first 10 days, in fact feed should be severly restricted and fed little and often or you risk killing him of re-feeding syndrome around day 5-7. So it is actually very good that he is limiting himself and please do not give him concentrates other than 100% fibre products for the first week. Our protocol for such cases at horse world is steroid injection on day 1 with iv multivit. Panacur single dose on day 2. Very often these horses develop diarrhoea at some point in the first week and need codeine. Water with balanced electrolytes should be available at all times. Many cases require IV fluid therapy although with your guy at BCS 1 hopefully you will avoid this. I cannot urge you strongly enough to get proffesional advise from WHW or similar. Good luck x
 
As hard as it seems, don't be tempted to try to "feed him up". An animal that has been neglected that much will have a shrunken stomach and quite probably damaged organs and you could make him really ill by trying to feed him like a healthy pony. You will need to obey the rule of little and often to the extent that it is tiny and often. The best thing is grass, however poor you might think it is at the moment because even that is more than his system has been accustomed to. Failing that, small quantities of soft hay which will go through his system easily. Then add soaked hi fibre nuts by the handfull and once he is settled with that, some sugar beet. Gradually increase the amount he is getting until he is eating no more than 2% of his bodyweight during the day until he reaches an acceptable healthy weight. Grate some treats such as apples and carrots into the food but strictly limit the amounts as carrots in particular can give them the trots.

Poor little chap. I wish you luck on the long road to his recovery.
 
Well once again, many many thanks everyone for all the wonderful advice and guidance. I've had him 12 days now and today was a bit of a breakthrough in a tiny way. Last night during the night, he ate all his chopped apple (half an apple) and slice of bread soaked in apple juice. He ate enough of his Fast Fibre to give me hope, ate a little tunnel down to the bottom of the half full feedbucket that had dampened Readigrass in it and, best of all, when I left him today he was happily pulling at his haynet (soft haylage off YOs fields). A bit of a first eating from his tiny haynet! He'd been out from 8.30am to about 3.30pm but the weather had turned that awful drizzly wet and his tiny rug doesn't cover his neck. With just fluffy undercoat covering him I don't want him to get a chill just when we seem to have turned a corner of some kind. We have a lovely lady on our yard who is a "learner" animal healer. Now I'm the world's worst cynic over some aspects of that but I do believe that the people who can truly empathise with an animal are perhaps just very very good at reading the tiniest and subtlest of body language. She told me today that she'd picked up that Rockin' Robbie was happy now and was starting to enjoy life again. So hey, whatever the process, I'd like to think that he IS happy and is feeling better x
 
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