Comments on the condition of this horse please?

[Sukistokes2]

Background: 20 years old, lightly ridden , mostly retired. Diagnosed ringbone, asthma. Currently living out, rugged at night.
What are the views on his weight please.

https://www.facebook.com/100005641607850/posts/939801542884557

for more pictures

 

[Sukistokes2]

Sorry about number of pictures, still getting the hang of new picture posting 😜

 

[Puzzled]

For an older horse going into winter I’d be happy with his weight.

 

[AmyMay]

He's a little fatty.

 

[twiggy2]

Looks to be belly weight only to me, I would want him to come out of winter a little lighter and for him not to get any heavier than he is but overall I would be fairly happy with his weight.

 

[Nudibranch]

I wouldn't want him to lose any actually. There's belly but not a lot of topline. So given his age and workload I'd be happy enough as he is.

 

[ester]

I'd be overall ok with his weight, I would be asking if you if he'd been cushings tested though.

 

[ihatework]

I’d want to see him in the flesh before committing as pictures can be deceptive.
There appears to be a lack of muscle over his top line consistent with his age and workload.
Belly is dropped, looks to have a decent covering over his ribs and a fat pad behind shoulder. Crest difficult to know.
He is a chunky type so this can be deceptive, initial impression is he is a fatty but actually on a second look I’d say a little overweight but not horrific. This side of winter I might not panic, coming into spring I’d be more concerned

 

[SEL]

Very much reminds me of my retired Ardennes. With a quick glance you'd think he was overweight, but it's all ribcage (he's as wide as he is tall) and dropped belly. No muscle tone any longer so without a decent bum on him he isn't really in proportion. I can feel his ribs under the fluff so although I don't want more on him - for the sake of his joints - he's not yet fat. (But he'd be quite happy to have bigger dinners!!)

 

[Pearlsasinger]

The last picture makes him look a bit bony above his tail and the first, side-on photo shows a prominent hip-bone but he does look well covered elsewhere, so it could be the way he is standing in those photos. It would be easier to judge if i could see him in the flesh (obviously). As above, if he hasn't been tested for Cushings, I would do that now. What do the professionals who know him think about his condition? I always find that the farrier is a good person to give an opinion, they see him regularly but not every day, so will notice changes.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

About right for an older horse this time of year. The muscle loss through ageing means he has a saggy belly but he’s not at all fat imo.

If anything I’d be keeping an eye on making sure he doesn’t drop off too much once the grass stops growing. Probably worth a Cushings test I do my oldie every year now to make sure he’s ok. Just waiting on results at the moment.

 

[tankgirl1]

I am far from an expert but I think he looks well. Yes maybe he could do with a bit more topline, but so could my girl atm as she is pretty much out of work.

 

[Micky]

Looks a bit like mine, mostly belly (due to lack of work/muscle) but mine has cushings and is 20 yrs old and I’ve not schooled him in a few months hence the dropped belly.one of classic signs of cushings..😁 tho my belly’s dropped too 😂

 

[DD]

looks just right

 

[SpringArising]

He's a bit heavy but I wouldn't be worrying about it as we go into winter.

 

[Leo Walker]

They can drop topline but still be carrying excess weight. Can you feel his ribs? Some of it is his belly dropping combined with a large rib cage but he looks to have a fairly good covering across his ribs and fat pads on his shoulders. Has he had a cushings test? That shape always screams cushings to me

 

[honetpot]

It would depend if he gained weight quickly. If he was my old TB I would be increasing his calories, but he was out 24/7. If its a fatty type and was going to be stabled with hay I wouldn't want him to put any more on.
Its always a bit of a gamble because when they get older you have no idea what under lying issues are happening and will only show when they are stressed. At a certain age they all seem to loose the ability to compensate for cold weather.

 

[holeymoley]

He's got a belly. I wouldn't want him any heavier. The upside is that we're going into winter so I wouldn't be too bothered. Like someone else said, depends how quickly he gains & loses it.

 

[Sukistokes2]

So, I had a concerned phone call from the vet, apparently she felt my horse was under weight and thin. I could not see this. I have not ignored her , I have called in another vet , who knows my boy well and I have upped his rug and his food. I have been very busy with work ( ofsted) and an exhibition. Once October is over I can work him a bit and get his top line better. I will see what my other vet thinks when she visits.

 

[ester]

I really would get him cushings tested.

 

[splashgirl45]

another one whose first thought was cushings....this causes lack of topline and i couldnt improve this on my cushings horse no matter what i did...i would say his weight is ok as he is going into winter and i would be careful about upping feed as you could bring on laminitis if he is suffering from cushings...

 

[JanetGeorge]

He's starting to show his age a bit - and the top line is where it shows first. I have a 17hh, 25yo Irish draught - and his top line is far worse because SOMETING inside has stoppped working properly despite the best of care - blood tests, etc show nothing wrong - but he always has the squits. There are some back lifting exe3rcises you can do that will help with the top line (basic one - just run two fingers FIRMLY along the lowest part of his belly - from front to back. If he doesn't 'LIFT' his back, use a hoof pick (belly fat gets in the way.) Do it 5 times a day and you should see an improvement very quickly. This also helps with young, bum-high horses.

 

[meleeka]

So, I had a concerned phone call from the vet, apparently she felt my horse was under weight and thin. I could not see this. I have not ignored her , I have called in another vet , who knows my boy well and I have upped his rug and his food. I have been very busy with work ( ofsted) and an exhibition. Once October is over I can work him a bit and get his top line better. I will see what my other vet thinks when she visits.

Bloody cheek, that horse is not thin! It’s lacking in top line but thin? Really?! It would be nice if all horses of that age looked like that.

If you find maintaining weight is becoming difficult, then do get him tested for cushings.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Meep, that horse is not thin, what a silly vet! He does have a poor top line, though. Echo the others to get him tested for Cushing's without delay. If he does have PPID and you give him more food now without medicating him, there is a real risk of triggering a lami attack. Unexpected autumn lami attacks are a common first major symptom of untreated PPID horses, though the smaller signs will have been brewing for a while.

 

[southerncomfort]

How ridiculous! I feel for you because I know I'd have been very upset if a vet had said that about my horse.

My 25 year old mare looks very like that. Big droopy belly but lacking any topline. Vet is perfectly happy with her. Says she just looks like what she is....elderly!

I've just had her retested for cushings just for my own interest but she doesn't have any other symptoms so I do think it's just old age.

 

[ester]

So my thought is that the vet chose the wrong words for what they were trying to express. ie they were worried about his condition but thin really was probably not the right word to try and communicate their concerns to you.

To me this horse looks older than his 20 years and even with the issues listed I would not expect his top line to look like it does for his type at his age without there being an underlying cause.

 

[splashgirl45]

for info so you can compare.........this is my cushings horse in june 2012 age 23....sadly lost her at age 25 as cushings took over. she was diagnosed at age 20 and levels kept on going up till she was on 4 prascend daily...you can see how much her back has dropped, and she was still being hacked out 5 times a week when this pic was taken...

 

[Sukistokes2]

He will be tested but if positive I will be in a delicate situation, as that would be three life limiting conditions and two lots of medication, so it starts making you think. However the top line is the only change he is showing at the moment. He is very well in himself, he keeps weight well and is a good doer. However although his top line is not as bad as it looks in that he has always had a prominent back bone and high whither , people tend to think a cob type should be flat backed but he has always been more warm blood shaped. So a bit of it could be put down to that misconception. As for lami ( touch wood) he has never shown any sign of it at all.

 

[Gloi]

He will be tested but if positive I will be in a delicate situation, as that would be three life limiting conditions and two lots of medication, so it starts making you think. However the top line is the only change he is showing at the moment. He is very well in himself, he keeps weight well and is a good doer. However although his top line is not as bad as it looks in that he has always had a prominent back bone and high whither , people tend to think a cob type should be flat backed but he has always been more warm blood shaped. So a bit of it could be put down to that misconception. As for lami ( touch wood) he has never shown any sign of it at all.

He does have the look of Cushings to me too. I have a 29yo who has been medicated for about 4 years but only needs 1/2 a tablet a day fortunately. Just that small amount of drug makes such a big difference to him so it's worth it.

 

[Tiddlypom]

OP, if you get him tested for PPID at least you'll know if he has Cushing's and can make decisions accordingly. I recently posted about my senior PPID mare, she's currently bright and alert on 2 prascends daily, although her top line looks awful. She's on a 'one more thing goes wrong and your time's up' notice from me and her vet. I was able to manage her ACTH levels on 1/2 tablet a day for quite a while, but I've had to ramp the dose up this last year.

PPID can make them pretty sick even before major symptoms appear.