Diastema, putty and feeding help please!

alivetnurse

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Hi there, I am desperate for some help or advice from people who have gone through this. My mare has a diastema and had a large amount of dental work done yesterday and the result of which means she has had putty used in the gaps etc and for approx the next 6 weeks she is not allowed hay, grass or chaff. I have just got a load of alfa beet pellets, fibre beet and calm and condition all of which can be soaked into a slop for her.While she is eating it very reluctantly,it all just looks so unappealing if she has to be on this forage free diet for so long can anyone suggest anything more appealing. She is a TB type and is prone to loosing weight easily so I have just got a sack of micronized lineseed powder to add to her food as this always seems to help with her weight and condition. Luckily she can go out and have a run around the school and I have a friend who is popping up daily to give her a groom, cuddle and play in the school to keep her active. I am rotating her friends in the stable next door so she has company as she goes bonkers if left alone. In that respect she is ok it is in fact her pony friend my other mare that when I turned her out this moring she just galloped up and down the field screaming for her and when I did a drive by on the way to a call out she had managed to anialate most of the temp electric fencing and was pacing around the gate. Apparently she had settled a bit later so on the plus side she should loose some weight and be very fit by the end of it, or knowing my luck damage herself and end up on box rest as well!!! Any advice and positive stories very welcome. Thanks xxx
 
Hi. When I went to view my last horse to buy him he was very underweight and lethargic. I noticed he was dropping hay (quidding) so they got an EDT out who did some routine rasping on him and gave him a clean bill of health. I thought it was going to be a matter of feeding him up and he'd be fine.

I was pummeling feed into him and he would not put any weight on and had no spark. I got the equine specialist vet out. Turned out his teeth were an absolute mess. I won't say the name of the EDT that missed all the problems initially but let's say I felt mighty upset with her.

£2000 later and a heck of a lot of blood (all work done in one 3.5hr session at the vets surgery), sedation, pain killers etc he was on the road to recovery. It was a couple of years ago but I remember having to syringe his meds mixed with water down his neck to ensure he got them. So after around 2 weeks for his mouth to heal I started to ride him and just brought him on slowly. He started to put on weight quickly and it was like he had a personality transplant as he was feeling so good :) All he needed after the initial work was routine work every 6 months rather than once a year. It had no effect on him.

I had him on Calm and Condition and Baileys No1 when he had to have slops and he scoffed it. We might not like the look of it but they seem to like it.

Good luck :) There's defo light at the end of the tunnel.
 
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My oldie is on Allen & Page Veteran Vitality, which you just soak for 2 mins so can be a good slop - he has a missing tooth. It smells amazingly nice as has several herbs in it, and is very tasty and he loves it. Could you add some herbs like mint, or apple juice to make it more flavoursome?
 
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