Fat horse suddenly dropped underweight, WWYD?

Snowysadude

Snowysadude

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 October 2009
Messages
2,124
Location
Hertfordshire
Visit site
So one of my boys (Snowy) has dropped a LOT of weight recently, I have owned him 4 years and he has always had the nickname "fattie" for a reason..... Hes the one that comes out of winter morbidly obese even though hes been fed nothing. Anyway hes been away at school for 4 1/2 months and the rest of the time the workload has been kept up and hes been fed more than hes ever had in his whole life! He should look like a mean well muscled dressage machine, however he doesn't. The following photos will show you:
Before (morbidly obese 6 months ago)
photo1631.jpg


After (skinny ill looking minnie)
skinnysnowy3.jpg

skinnysnowy4.jpg

skinnysnowy5.jpg

skinnysnowy2.jpg

skinnysnowy.jpg


I know he looks tucked up and lacking all muscle but he should look well muscled, he was very warm but had eaten everything. Approx 3 1/2 months ago he had a virus whilst away on schooling but got better and the all clear. Hes also come up all lumpy which is unusual for him, like blocked pores. He was not skinny then at all, if anything at a good weight and slightly over after the time off! Would you just feed up, let the grass do its magic or get bloods re run for peace of mind? He seems fine in himself but then when he had the virus there were no external symptoms I just knew something was not right, and I feel there is not now. I am not made of money though and if the vets find nothing feel it will be a waste of time! Anyway thank you if you read all of this essay, any constructive help welcome!
 
Snowysadude said:
So one of my boys (Snowy) has dropped a LOT of weight recently, I have owned him 4 years and he has always had the nickname "fattie" for a reason..... Hes the one that comes out of winter morbidly obese even though hes been fed nothing. Anyway hes been away at school for 4 1/2 months and the rest of the time the workload has been kept up and hes been fed more than hes ever had in his whole life! He should look like a mean well muscled dressage machine, however he doesn't. The following photos will show you:
Before (morbidly obese 6 months ago)
photo1631.jpg


After (skinny ill looking minnie)
skinnysnowy3.jpg

skinnysnowy4.jpg

skinnysnowy5.jpg

skinnysnowy2.jpg

skinnysnowy.jpg


I know he looks tucked up and lacking all muscle but he should look well muscled, he was very warm but had eaten everything. Approx 3 1/2 months ago he had a virus whilst away on schooling but got better and the all clear. Hes also come up all lumpy which is unusual for him, like blocked pores. He was not skinny then at all, if anything at a good weight and slightly over after the time off! Would you just feed up, let the grass do its magic or get bloods re run for peace of mind? He seems fine in himself but then when he had the virus there were no external symptoms I just knew something was not right, and I feel there is not now. I am not made of money though and if the vets find nothing feel it will be a waste of time! Anyway thank you if you read all of this essay, any constructive help welcome!
Click to expand...

If you feel something that is not right then I would run bloods for peace of mind.

He does look tucked up and lacking top line but would much rather his weight in the after photos than the first. A much healthier weight in the after photos, not skinny at all, just needing muscle.

But yes if this is unusual for the horse to lose this weight then I would definitely be investigating further.i wouldn't be upping or adding any feed just yet.
 
Last edited:
If he has been at a college I would strongly suggest he has been overworked and underfed and left to stress the rest of the time.

For me it would be first call the vet
 
Apart from a slightly dropped looking belly, this horse does not look to thin to me he just looks like he's been in work he certainly does not look lacking in all muscle although hes got less muscle in the saddle area than i would like to see he's muscled more like a hunter or eventer than a dressage horse ATM .
The dropped belly and the under muscled back probally go together as poor abdominal muscle and top of the back muscle often go together.
If you feel the horse is not right You will know best .
I would call the vet better safe than sorry however I much prefer the look now look to the fat horse in the first picture.
 
What's changed? Was he clipped more than usual or on different grazing? How much work was he doing, and how's that different to what he does most winters? What feed was/is he getting? How long has he been back with you after being away for schooling? Did the change happen while he was away or since he got back?

He's your horse, you know him, and if you feel something's not right then I'd talk to the vet. However, if he's bright in himself, eating, drinking, a normal colour and temperature and working as usual, and the only major change is that he's now a better weight (if marginally under) than he's always been in the past, TBH I wouldn't be rushing to spend lots of money on it. He's better a bit under than a bit over, but then from the pictures he looks a bit light rather than "skinny" to me.
 
Gingerwitch said:
What do you mean - he has been away at school?
Click to expand...

Sorry been away on schooling livery with a professional rider (daily full schooling) as I was having issues and it was where I worked so he worked through them with him as I lost my nerve!

Thank you for the comments, I will call the vet in the morning.
 
The first picture really was quite shocking.... i will probably get shot down for saying that !

Vet to run tests may be a good idea.
 
my horse dropped loads of weight after this winter and i tried all sorts of food, had vet, couldnt find anything wrong so i was really worried as she is 22,and i thought maybe it would soon be pts time.

however, she was changed to a new field which had been rested and once it had rained the grass started growing she looks great now,,.. i will prob be worrying that shes too fat soon!!!!!! maybe yours will pick up with some good grass
 
Snowysadude said:
Sorry been away on schooling livery with a professional rider (daily full schooling) as I was having issues and it was where I worked so he worked through them with him as I lost my nerve!

Thank you for the comments, I will call the vet in the morning.
Click to expand...

Sorry mate - If this was my horse after being on schooling livery i would be asking for a refund ! In fact I would be bloody fuming - 4 months schooling livery - what on earth have they done to him ? and what the hell have they been feeding him on, as I would strongly suggest nothing - unless he has just stressed the weight off him?
 
Gingerwitch said:
Sorry mate - If this was my horse after being on schooling livery i would be asking for a refund ! In fact I would be bloody fuming - 4 months schooling livery - what on earth have they done to him ? and what the hell have they been feeding him on, as I would strongly suggest nothing - unless he has just stressed the weight off him?
Click to expand...

What they have done is put him on a diet.
 
Theocat said:
What's changed? Was he clipped more than usual or on different grazing? How much work was he doing, and how's that different to what he does most winters? What feed was/is he getting? How long has he been back with you after being away for schooling? Did the change happen while he was away or since he got back?
Click to expand...

Hes been in the same amount of work just the type of work has changed. Hes gone from hacking a minimum of 3-4 times a week (long 1.5 hour plus hacks usually fast and varied) and some schooling and jumping to not really jumping at all and being schooled more intensively! Hes now working at ad. med. and ready to go out at elementary. Only not out due to lack of transport.

He was not clipped more than usual but was on a different yard for a while. It was 5* treatment and I know as I was there every day. It was £35 a day livery. Grazing did change but hes back on the yard now where he first got that fat! Hes been back almost 3 months (moved him after the virus as it was not dealt with in a professional manner) and he was at a much healthier weight but still if anything slightly over and he has dropped in the last 2-3 weeks :(. He is my baby and I do really worry about him!
 
tessybear said:
The first picture really was quite shocking.... i will probably get shot down for saying that !
Click to expand...

Not by me. He looks drastically improved in the second set.

The question is, whether it has been more appropriate management which has caused the weight loss, or whether he has had food chucked into him and he is incapable of putting it on due to an underlying issue.

For peace of mind, I would get a vet check and bloods, and, if clear, chuck him in a field with some grass to see if he puts weight on. If he starts to put it on, bring him off the grass, keep working him and managing him to keep him this way. He looks awful in that first photo.
 
Agree with Gingerwitch, he may have been large to start with but he should after a months work started to muscle up, not look like a rescue case, if any of my horses looked like this, I'd be spitting fire at myself as I break my own in and feed as needs be, have they over done him.
 
Gingerwitch said:
Sorry mate - If this was my horse after being on schooling livery i would be asking for a refund ! In fact I would be bloody fuming - 4 months schooling livery - what on earth have they done to him ? and what the hell have they been feeding him on, as I would strongly suggest nothing - unless he has just stressed the weight off him?
Click to expand...

I'm afraid I disagree, at least on the grounds of weight - if I sent a perennially overweight horse off for schooling, and it came back a bit light (which IMO is all it is) at the start of the grass season, I'd be pretty happy. And if I were a pro who was sent a fatty for schooling, I wouldn't feed it to keep it at its fatty weight; I'd feed it so the weight came off with work.

The OP has concerns, and she knows the horse, but if this was just a random picture of a horse I suspect it would fall into that area where some people think it's a bit on the lean side, and others think that's how horses ought to look. A bit of hard work can work wonders (granted we don't know how much the workload increased).

I think (hope) most people would prefer to see a horse in the "after" condition than in the " before".
 
Last edited:
blackcob said:
Is it just me that thinks he looks better in the after photos then? :o
Click to expand...

Nope.
He is not skinny-boney rescue case, he just looks eventing/hunting fit! - OK, not what the OP wants with her horse, and I'm sure something along the way isn't the same, and maybe there is an underlaying issue, but I wouldn't be spitting feathers and going grey over it yet.
 
Echo Bravo said:
Agree with Gingerwitch, he may have been large to start with but he should after a months work started to muscle up, not look like a rescue case, if any of my horses looked like this, I'd be spitting fire at myself as I break my own in and feed as needs be, have they over done him.
Click to expand...

This horse does not look like a rescue case.
 
Echo Bravo said:
Agree with Gingerwitch, he may have been large to start with but he should after a months work started to muscle up, not look like a rescue case, if any of my horses looked like this, I'd be spitting fire at myself as I break my own in and feed as needs be, have they over done him.
Click to expand...

There is no way by any stretch of any imagination think that this horse looks like a rescue case .
However reading OP's last post that this sudden wieght loss has occurred in the last two to three weeks while he's been in the care of his original yard I would say again call the vet .
 
Just to say I agree he looks horrific in the first photo but that is him, I can show you pictures of all my others at a perfectly healthy weight. The vet thought he had EMS as he was like that at the end of winter, in work for the past 3 years! It was just to show what he was like prior to the virus, schooling and weight loss. I too would rather he looked like he does in the second photos than the first, but the worry for me is how drastic the change is, he has never been less than morbidly obese in the 4 years I have had him!
 
Echo Bravo said:
Agree with Gingerwitch, he may have been large to start with but he should after a months work started to muscle up, not look like a rescue case, if any of my horses looked like this, I'd be spitting fire at myself as I break my own in and feed as needs be, have they over done him.
Click to expand...

Are you serious?

If this is a rescue case, please call the RSPCA about mine now :rolleyes: I'll await their visit and hand them over happily.

If the horse is still losing weight, it needs checked over by a vet and bloods taken. However, that doesn't change the fact it actually looks at a rather healthy weight now - far more so than before hand.
 
JFTD said:
Are you serious?

If this is a rescue case, please call the RSPCA about mine now :rolleyes: I'll await their visit and hand them over happily.

If the horse is still losing weight, it needs checked over by a vet and bloods taken. However, that doesn't change the fact it actually looks at a rather healthy weight now - far more so than before hand.
Click to expand...

Yes it looks a healthier weight - but where on earth is its muscle ?
 
No he doesn't look like a rescue case, but after 4 months he should have a little more weight and muscle. But there again the proof is in the eye of the beholder, as in what you see others may disagree, each to their own.:)
 
My summary is that he went away for schooling but to where you work so you know what he was doing. he came home 4 months ago after a virus but looking ok and in the last 2-3 weeks he has dropped weight? if so I would be looking at getting a vet to have a look at his teeth and run bloods :( what are his poos like and is he feeling well in himself?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top