EMS pony now lost too much weight and isn't gaining.

[Madsprite]

Wondering whether anyone else with a pony that's been diagnosed with EMS has ever found them to loose the right amount of weight and then drop too low and struggle to gain? Our 9yr old has dropped from a good 343 to 329. She is 13.2hh and looks bright and happy, just quite tucked up in work. Have her on recommended amounts of light chaff, light balancer, speedibeet and 10kg of low sugar hay per day in nets. Have just introduced Coolstance Copra. Feel like we are trying all the right things, but with out the right results. Any help with this would be great.

 

[ycbm]

Photo? With so many fat horses around, it's easy to think a pony of a good weight is thin.

 

[TGM]

If she is looking tucked up then my first instinct would be to increase the hay if you can, rather than increasing bucket feed.

 

[Boysy]

My EMS pony went through this earlier in the year, he was fit as a fiddle and bright but had indeed dropped too much weight and looked tucked up all the time. I simply put him on Dengie grass pellets for a few weeks and it came straight back on, introduced them slowly to watch his reaction to them but no problem at all. Wouldn't hesitate to use them again if he drops too much. Mine lives out 24/7 and is still muzzled half and half at the moment but the goodness in the grass is just starting to drop off although I still have too much of it so he will be without the muzzle soon as the grass will just be full belly fodder rather than too rich for him.

 

[Madsprite]

Thank you for your reply. I will have a look into the grass pellets and see how we go. Such a worry as you just want them to be okay.

 

[TGM]

Just be aware that Dengie grass pellets are 12% sugar which is higher than the usually recommended 10% threshold for laminitics/EMS ponies. If you know your hay is low sugar it would be better to increase that if the pony will eat more than 10kg. If that is the maximum amount he will eat, then you could increase the Speedibeet which is only 5% sugar.