Help please - Hanoverian weight loss and erratic behaviour

F

FlickandSerg

New User
Joined
2 September 2013
Messages
9
Location
Warwickshire
Visit site
I have had my horse for coming up to two years now and in the time I have had him it has been a constant uphill struggle to keep any amount of weight on him.
He is a 17.1 Hanoverian. I have had blood tests and worm counts done as well as having his teeth done regularly. The blood tsts came back clear as did the worm count.
In the time I have had him I would say he has never got above looking lean regardless of the great pasture he is on and his hard feed, hay and haylage.
As well as this he behaviors fairly erraticly. He's very sensitive to change, but even when settled somewhere its not unlike him to leap around his stable for no reason bucking, rearing etc. He's got nappy out hacking and feels fairly stuffy. When being lunged he goes beautifully and then loses the plot, acts like he's been stung by somethnig, really odd.
Obiously I do have a vet involved as it is getting worse but I would appriciate peoples comments if they have ever experienced anything similar or know people that have. He's so special to me but I am at a loss.

Thanks x
 
Having had a horse with similar behaviour problems (although she retained fluid and was overweight), I'd be looking very carefully at the diet, removing all cereals and added sugar. I would replace the hard feed with grassnuts and grass chaff/alfalfa. IME vets don't always think of the feed as a source of trouble except from a calorie/weight pov.
Speedibeet/alfabeet can be a very useful addition to a sensitive horse's diet
 
Last edited:
I have a 17.2hh ISH and I had massive trouble getting the weight on him as he is highly sensitive to his feed. He is now looking so much better but I feed him Blue chip original about 2/3 of what they recommend for his height, also alan and page calm and condition, this he gets the full quantity of per day and dried grass like ReadIgrass, I also add NAF Biotin for his feet and NAF garlic to help keep the flies away, as well as good grass and hay and I am happy to say he is starting to look like a chunky monkey ready to go in the winter :)
 
Also altho worm counting, does the horse get wormed one a year for encysted redworm (don't show up on worm count) and either blood tested or wormed for tapeworm (don't always show up on worm count)?
 
I am getting him scoped so hopefully this may answer some questions - thanks for all your advise definitely food for thought.
Although he loses weight very easily he does always look well in himself, really shiny coat, bright eyes and plenty of dapples in the summer.
 
Hi there. My mare sounds very similar to your horse (also a hanoverian). She is very sensitive and when I first had her I really struggled to get weight on her.

I originally had her on every type of weight-gain feed out there (trying each one at a time obviously!!)... blue chip, calm and condition, alpha a oil, a balancer and allsorts!

What I realised afterwards was that the high levels of sugars, carbs & oil etc. just fed her nervous energy (and also made sensitive stomach uncomfortable causing her to want to keep on the move) so as quickly as I was feeding it her, she was burning it off again!

Now she is on a very simple diet and it works much better for her. She has adlib hay and some Just Grass (or similar). That's it! She was on the non-mallassed Alpha A which she got on fine with too but the dentist recommended the Just Grass as she has got a slight gap between a few of her teeth.

If she drops weight through the winter I will add in some linseed and speedibeet (which she had a little bit of last winter to see her through). She gets on well with those too.

I also have to be careful not to rug her up too much in the winter as being too hot can cause a horse to eat less (they produce heat when they eat so if they are hot already, they are put off their food).

Is your horse a fussy eater? How old is he?

ps, I had my horse scoped for ulcers and they didn't find anything. She's always happier when she has got plenty to eat {good quality hay} though and she's not good with lots of different supplements etc. so generally she seems to have a sensitive stomach

pps, sorry for the waffle but I think my general point is keeping it basic worked best for my horse!!
 
Haha don't worry about the waffle :)
He is 12 years old. Not fussy at all, I've had him out this summer 24/7 in a field with lots of grass to try and get him to put some weight on ready for winter. He's been fed twice a day (alpha and top line cubes).
In the winter he had adlib hay and a net of haylage every night. Interesting fact about the rugging up I didn't know that!
I'll keep everyone up to date, I really appreciate all of you spending your time replying to me :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top