depressed pony

[Archangel]

she's out 24/7, she's only have 1 feed a day as with collage I physically can not get up more. They get hay in field and when I bring her in she has a net of hay

I've had a few horses reach significant ages now.
They were all different in how they aged, but the thing they all had in common was that they needed more fibre - nothing fancy - just lots of easy to chew soaked fibre.
I think your horse needs similar and ideally that will need 2 feeds a day.

As an example, my latest horse to get old is now 32, he can eat grass and hay fine, but his teeth now have grooves in them so he doesn't get the full benefit from his food.
In the winter he gets 4kg supplementary soaked fibre (Spillers Senior Supermash/Bailey Meadow Cobs) a day - in 2 feeds.

He looks fabulous, but without the above, he would come out of winter like a hat rack.

 

[Melody Grey]

she's got thick coat and isn't cold. She's survived this winter amazingly up until penny died, which has caused her depression. i cant put a rug on her as she gets suck in them and the vet advised to not put one on her as she's fluffy and will be fine

That’s largely true for a horse up to weight, though a fluffy underweight one is much more likely to be cold.

Do you have anywhere you can bring her in for hay/ out of the wind and rain for part of the day?

 

[nagblagger]

Sorry to say this @lifewithflash i think she is starving, when my horse was 'depressed' he didn't really want to eat.
However you can turn this round, even tomorrow, by giving her at least 2 feeds. Small and regular feeds to begin with. Do you measure the amount or just 'one scoop'.

 

[SpotsandBays]

she's got thick coat and isn't cold. She's survived this winter amazingly up until penny died, which has caused her depression. i cant put a rug on her as she gets suck in them and the vet advised to not put one on her as she's fluffy and will be fine

Cold doesn’t necessarily mean shivering, but sounds like she’s been using her fat stores/calories from food to keep herself warm which is why she’s not maintaining the weight

 

[lifewithflash]

Do you measure the amount or just 'one scoop'.

I give her 2 scoops of it

 

[AmyMay]

I feed her the Dodson & Horrell sixteen plus mix which was recommend to us by someone who has older horses. I want to feed her more but I don't know what is right for her, which is why we getting someone out to assess what she's missing. I don't know much about feed and don't want to end up giving her something that will do more damage than good.

So, how many feeds a day and is anything added to it like a good chaff (ie Alfa)?

And how much hay do you give her?

The more info you give the more it sounds as if she’s simply starving. And that’s a massive welfare issue.

If the horses only have access to hay in one place, that’s also a problem. There should be many sources of hay available to horses to prevent bullying.

 

[Archangel]

I wouldn't wait for the weighbridge. Give a feed helpline a call. I don't think this horse is getting enough easy to digest fibre.

 

[lifewithflash]

So, how many feeds a day and is anything added to it like a good chaff (ie Alfa)?

And how much hay do you give her?

The more info you give the more it sounds as if she’s simply starving.

ill buy some alfa as soon as possible.
I don't weight how much I give her but it's decently large sized hay net. when she was in I was giving her a big wheelbarrow of hay

 

[Auslander]

How much hay are they getting in the field, and is she getting free access to it (not being bullied off it)?
I know it's tough when you've got college to juggle, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if your vet says that she needs multiple small feeds per day in addition to ad lib forage that is guaranteed to be going down her throat, not her fieldmates. If it's simply a case of her not having enough to eat, you're going to have to figure out a way to meet her needs.

Anything on my yard that arrives skinny, or drops off gets 4 small feeds a day, usually a conditioning mash as it's tasty and easy to eat, and as much forage as I can pump into them. I also hand walk them to eat better grass than I have in my fields. It's hard work, but it has to be done

 

[nagblagger]

You need to weigh how much food is in a scoop, 'scoops' are not an accurate way of measuring food.
I was in a similar situation with an extremely thin horse and had to give 4 meals a day +ad lib hay. You are going o have to make arrangements for someone to feed her.

 

[Melody Grey]

Deal with the hay situation first and foremost. With hard feed (also much needed by the sounds of it), don’t be tempted to give more as just one large feed- there’s a big colic risk there, needs to be little and often.

 

[lifewithflash]

You need to weigh how much food is in a scoop, 'scoops' are not an accurate way of measuring food.
I was in a similar situation with an extremely thin horse and had to give 4 meals a day +ad lib hay. You are going o have to make arrangements for someone to feed her.

yeah I agree. im going to get my mam to call a feed helpline tomorrow.

 

[lifewithflash]

Deal with the hay situation first and foremost. With hard feed (also much needed by the sounds of it), don’t be tempted to give more as just one large feed- there’s a big colic risk there, needs to be little and often.

I will.

 

[santas_spotty_pony]

As others have said ad-lib hay and a good conditioning mash such as Spillers Super Senior mash will do her wonders. If she can still eat chaff I’d recommend Spillers Conditioning fibre too. Little and often is key with the older horses so I would be looking at 3-4 small feeds per day. If you can’t do it, you may need to ask locally maybe on facebook or something and find somebody who can, what about your yard owner?

 

[SpotsandBays]

This winter has been particularly hard for horses with the weather, especially the older ones. As a horse owner it’s really important to have a good understanding of feed and forage. There’s lots of information available on online to help. I’ll paste some links below with useful info:

Feeding Horses: Horse Diet & Feed | The British Horse Society

Like us, horse’s need a healthy, balanced diet, so it is important to understand the basic requirements for feeding horses.

www.bhs.org.uk

The 10 golden rules of feeding horses

Horse nutrition is key to keeping your horse in peak condition and so it is crucial to know and understand the "golden rules of feeding"

www.horseandhound.co.uk

Feeding horses - World Horse Welfare

Guidance on feeding to get the right nutrition for your horse including how to begin when making changes to their diet.

www.worldhorsewelfare.org

Poor Doer and Under Weight Horse Nutritional Guide

Take a look at Spillers to see our different treats, mixers, feeds and much more. We have plenty of tips and guides so you can keep your horse happy and healthy.

www.spillers-feeds.com

As politely as possible,
You need to start feeding more hay - as much as you can, immediately. This is a welfare issue and your pony is starving…

 

[Boulty]

I’d say your best bet for feed advice is one of the independent nutritionists who could help you come up with a plan to get weight back on safely. Nikki Meggison & Clare Macleod are the ones I know of with a good rep. It’s great that you’re getting a weighbridge out as well to get an accurate weight. I’d also advise you to look up how to body condition score / muscle condition score properly as that will help you keep a record of improvement / deterioration.

Would advise asking vet about PPID testing and tbh would ask about general bloods as well to check for underlying reasons for weight loss. I had a horse who became depressed & lacking in emu & lost weight & muscle rapidly twice in his life. Once just before he was diagnosed with PPID (he did improve on meds but always ran a bit light and was difficult to get muscle on) and again when he had raised liver enzymes.

If she’s this thin then I personally would rug overnight or when it’s cold/ wet even if just with a lightweight so that she’s not wasting energy keeping warm. If she’s prone to getting tangled make sure it fits well and that the belly straps are sufficiently tight & possibly avoid leg straps & opt for a fillet string instead. (Unless of course she tangles herself up in every single rug she’s ever worn but from your OP it sounds like there was a one off incident?)

If she’s being pushed away from the hay & there’s no grass then yes she probably will do better with alternative field arrangements where she’s not having to fight to get hay.

 

[Snow Falcon]

What does your mum think about the pony? I think it would be wise to run some bloods too. It does sound like there's not enough food going in. The mix you describe is full of molasses and therefore not great for fibre content. I hope the vet visit is successful and that you are able to get a better management/feeding plan in place.

 

[lifewithflash]

This winter has been particularly hard for horses with the weather, especially the older ones. As a horse owner it’s really important to have a good understanding of feed and forage. There’s lots of information available on online to help. I’ll paste some links below with useful info:

Feeding Horses: Horse Diet & Feed | The British Horse Society

Like us, horse’s need a healthy, balanced diet, so it is important to understand the basic requirements for feeding horses.

www.bhs.org.uk

The 10 golden rules of feeding horses

Horse nutrition is key to keeping your horse in peak condition and so it is crucial to know and understand the "golden rules of feeding"

www.horseandhound.co.uk

Feeding horses - World Horse Welfare

Guidance on feeding to get the right nutrition for your horse including how to begin when making changes to their diet.

www.worldhorsewelfare.org

Poor Doer and Under Weight Horse Nutritional Guide

Take a look at Spillers to see our different treats, mixers, feeds and much more. We have plenty of tips and guides so you can keep your horse happy and healthy.

www.spillers-feeds.com

As politely as possible,
You need to start feeding more hay - as much as you can, immediately. This is a welfare issue and your pony is starving…

thank you so much for this x

 

[lifewithflash]

(Unless of course she tangles herself up in every single rug she’s ever worn but from your OP it sounds like there was a one off incident?)

she has done it in every rug she's owned for years now whether is fits perfect or not.

 

[lifewithflash]

What does your mum think about the pony? I think it would be wise to run some bloods too. It does sound like there's not enough food going in. The mix you describe is full of molasses and therefore not great for fibre content. I hope the vet visit is successful and that you are able to get a better management/feeding plan in place.

she doesn't really see her often as she just drops me off everyday. When I talk to her about her being depressed she says she know why (penny) and getting her bloods tests that she has them done and she was fine (first ones where 4 years ago and the 2nd time was was around a year ago or so).

 

[Jemima50]

But you said that Penny , her friend , died in September?
We were only just coming out of summer then.

she's got thick coat and isn't cold. She's survived this winter amazingly up until penny died, which has caused her depression. i cant put a rug on her as she gets suck in them and the vet advised to not put one on her as she's fluffy and will be fine

 

[lifewithflash]

But you said that Penny , her friend , died in September?
We were only just coming out of summer then.

no no penny died in February. I stoped riding her in September

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

I'd be bringing her in overnight with a huge net of hay so she can get enough food, undisturbed, and have a good rest in a nice deep bed

I PTS due to the COL increase, however prior to that I'd spent a few months pouring food into him as he wasn't really eating his hay so he was having a couple of scoops of that grass stuff dengie do (can't remember the name), and cush care as he had Cushing's (he also had prascend) and a good scoop of sixteen plus cubes

He'd started to go back to hay towards the end, but hadn't really put on much weight despite big feeds. I was also worried he was going to go down with colic at some point (big feeds and not really eating his hay until the last couple of weeks)

I wonder if his Cushing's was catching up with him

If you want to keep going, I'd get her tested for Cushing's and bring her in at night with a scoop or 2 of forage to munch through in addition to her dinner, and a big net of hay

However there's absolutely no harm in calling it a day, especially if costs of investigations etc will be an issue, as she may have reached the point where they will only temporarily help, not fix it

If she's standing at the gate for hours, she won't be eating, if she wants to be in, let her come in overnight to a nice big haynet and a big comfy bed

 

[Boulty]

she has done it in every rug she's owned for years now whether is fits perfect or not.

Ah ok in which case yeah probably best left without. Some horses just don’t know when we’re trying to help them.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

Can you say what Penny died of/with OP? Just wondering if there could be a connection.

 

[Equi]

16+ is full of sugar and not much else to be honest. I have a theory (just a theory I’ve never looked into it) that horses loose weight on surgery foods cause they’re wired to the moon and tense even if they don’t show it so are using more calories thus drop weight.

She will do better on a high calorie mash/also a cube and micronised linseed and adlib hay.

 

[lifewithflash]

Can you say what Penny died of/with OP? Just wondering if there could be a connection.

her arthritis was getting bad and her owner wanted to put her to sleep while she was happy instead of waiting till she couldn't take it anymore.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

Thank you, no connection then.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

That horse is far too thin she needs as much hay she can eat and if she doesn't put on weight she needs a vet, there is obviously something seriously wrong with her you need to get your mother to understand that the horse looks like a welfare case.

 

[Above the snowline]

What are her droppings like and how many piles every 24 hours. Worms?