any idea whats wrong?

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DoesDressage

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Will try and summarise as much as I can other wise you will be here all day. I bought a just backed 15.2hh irish sports horse, 5 yr old last june. She lived out in a 2 acre paddock with 5 other horses on the farm she was born on. She was about 50kg over weight and very unfit. She made the 3 hour journey to me and settled well. Ridden work was going well etc until she was kicked in the stifle in the field. It got infected and she was rushed to the medical centre. A week of treatment followed by 2 weeks box rest I slowly bought her back into work. During this time she had bute/ antibiotics etc. Little things about the yard were putting me off plus the risk of her getting kicked again made me move. During this period she was fed 2 handfuls of a pony cube twice a day (Americans don't do hifi) and 2 sections of hay while in in the day.
September we moved yards. Much better set up, care etc but very bare paddocks. Continued to go out at night with hay and came in to 2-3 sections and same feed. Work was coming along well, now working softly in w,t,c and jumping 60-70cm courses. hacking out in company. By this time she was looking fitter and had lost about 4kg according to the weigh tape.
October they came in at night but still go out from 8am-530pm with hay. Noticed slight weight loss but nothing awful. Upped her feed to half a scoop twice a day (feed 12% protein, 6% fat). Was still loosing weight over following few weeks so upped again to 1 scoop x2 and increased hay. She was wormed. Appetite was good but attitude under saddle changed. She became hot headed and sensitive to my aids. Put this down to the increased feed so hunted high and low for a forage type feed and finally found one. Came off the hard feed totally and was on 2 scoops of hifi stuff twice a day with half a scoop of bran. Attitude much better but weight not so. By December she had lost another 20-30kgs. Spoke to vet who said it was to be expected with her first winter in work. I kept her well rugged, only blanket clipped her and gave her ablib hay. Come end of jan she was looking very poor. Work under saddle still good but only working 3 times a week to not use too any calories. Vet came and suggested a high fat low starch feed as I think its the starch that sends her crazy. She has been on this since end of Jan. Feeds are: am- 2 scoops of hifi stuff, 1 1/2 scoops hi fat and fibre feed, 1/2 scoop bran, cool calorie supplement. pm- 3 scoops hifi stuff, 2 scoops of hi fat feed, 3/4 bran, cool calories and a cup of oil. Vet is booked for Monday to talk next steps. Have sent a worm count off, looking into ulcers but no symptoms apart from weight loss. She is a 15.2hh tbxid and weighs 480kg according to the weigh tap (not accurate I know but helps me monitor). This is far too light surely? How much more food can I pump in? Ulcers?

Help me please :(
 
The most obvious thing would be worm damage as she lived in a tiny area with 5 others the burden could have been serious even though she was overweight, worm counts will give you an idea of what is going on now but are no help with finding any encysted or previous damage that may have been done, I would blood test a routine test to check on all levels plus test for tapeworms, to rule out worms before looking into other problems.
Ulcers are possible even with no other symptoms, the stress of injury combined with restricted access to forage may have triggered them with your improved diet keeping them limited but not actually getting them totally cleared.
 
thank you. She was worm counted when I first got her and has been on a strict worming schedule since the day she was born ( I bought her from the breeder). I have just sent another worm count off so should have the results soon. She had bloods taken in Jan and were all clear.
 
Rather than weigh taping her, have you condition scored her? Can you see her ribs easily? If she is actually too thin, have you tried a probiotic supplement of some kind, with the aim of restoring the gut bacteria that may have been disrupted by the antibiotic treatment? If the balance of the gut is not right, then she won't be able to digest fibre efficiently, so losing weight.
 
Agree with Welly, that weight actually sounds pretty good, she sounds as if she will look fit though you say not. Can you post a photo of her on here? I have a cob x who weighs 470 and is 15.1.
Esp in winter, horses can lose a bit of weight but its more natural that way, leaving plenty of room for the spring/summer grass..
If you want a bit more on her, i would give her more fibre ie Hay, no more in her breakfast or dinner. Shes having plenty..
 
Thank you all. Her ribs are visible and her hips and shoulder blades are becoming more and more. She will look good for a week or so and then something like a day off or a day in because of weather and she looses weight and so much top line. Her spine and neck loose all covering. Her hard feed is at lest half forage and she eats about 3/4 of the 14kg of hay I give her. She also has a round bale in the paddock all day so is never without food.
Not sure if this picture will work:

 
I see what you mean! Not looking brilliant but particularly poor behind. Are you happy that the stifle is fully recovered and do you feel she is moving properly behind as it does look like there may be some muscle wastage there. Have you had her teeth checked to ensure she is chewing her hay efficiently? Or added a probiotic supplement to ensure gut bacteria are working properly after the antibiotic treatment?
 
I would start by getting bloods done including tapeworm, as best to cover that off.

Bran is quite high in starch, it is possible this is causing an upset, I would remove it. Especially as you are feeding it with a fair bulk of fibre- this could be pushing undigested starch in the bran into the hindgut and causing a disturbance to the micro flora there. Therefore think that a good pre/probiotic would be a good thing to try, as mentioned above. Something like Protexin. Their Quick Fix is also good as fast acting so maybe start with that and then move on to the gut balancer. What are your actual feeds that you are feeding? It may be ulcers but tbh I would have more money on hindgut issues.
 
TGM said:
I see what you mean! Not looking brilliant but particularly poor behind. Are you happy that the stifle is fully recovered and do you feel she is moving properly behind as it does look like there may be some muscle wastage there. Have you had her teeth checked to ensure she is chewing her hay efficiently? Or added a probiotic supplement to ensure gut bacteria are working properly after the antibiotic treatment?
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She is completely sound and working really well. She's been under saddle for 9 months and is working novice at home and jumping 80cm courses. Her attitude to work and life is easy going, cooperative and laid back. Teeth were done in novemeber. I have watched her eat her feed and she get it all in. No spitting out or signs or dicomfort. She's also very settled in the mouth while working. I will have a look for a probiotic. Her hind end suffers the most as does her neck and over all too line. I have been looking into muscle disorders as well as a nervous system disorder that can effect weight/muscle. I just don't think I want to put her through the stress of being scoped
 
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Fuzzypuff said:
I would start by getting bloods done including tapeworm, as best to cover that off.

Bran is quite high in starch, it is possible this is causing an upset, I would remove it. Especially as you are feeding it with a fair bulk of fibre- this could be pushing undigested starch in the bran into the hindgut and causing a disturbance to the micro flora there. Therefore think that a good pre/probiotic would be a good thing to try, as mentioned above. Something like Protexin. Their Quick Fix is also good as fast acting so maybe start with that and then move on to the gut balancer. What are your actual feeds that you are feeding? It may be ulcers but tbh I would have more money on hindgut issues.
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Bloods are all clear. She had a full screening and lymes disease tests at the beginning of feb. I chose the bran as she is very sensitive to starch but seems to be able to tolerate it. I am currently in the process of moving her onto a omega flaxseed supplement. I live in the states so not sure how to compare to feeds. Feel like I need maybe a simple systems or something like that but can't find it here. I was thinking hind gut issues as she's not a classic ulcer horse. What kind of management/treatment would you suggest?
 
Had a thought today. Could this be happening because she is gowing? I measured her 6 months ago and she was 15.1 1/2hh and today she measures 16hh with the same measuring stick. She is 6 but half Irish draught and I know IDs can grown until 7/8/9
 
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