HELP with horses weight.

[Calumjt]

Hello!

So, im going to to try and keep this short but looking for anyone who may have experienced the same or have any ideas what could be going on with my horse.

I have a 17.2 ISH 10yo. He is a lovely lad, he went out on loan for a month or so just before Christmas but after visiting him and seeing he wasnt being very well looked after and had lost some condition I decided to bring him home. He came back at the end of December in quite a state, since then I have tried my very best to try and get him to gain weight, he is being fed two big feeds a day. I have tried various feeds (Allen & Page sooth and gain, linseed, sugar beet, balancers) and he is also on good quality haylage but just isn't gaining, if he does gain weight it doesn't managed to hold it for very long and now has quite bad muscle wastage. He was wormed before going out on loan and I re-wormed him 3 weeks ago, I sent off his dung for worm count but it came back negative. I also sent off salvia tests for tape worm but that also came back negative. There is a second part to all of this, since coming back he has developed a "neck twitch". Its really hard to explain what I mean by "neck twitch" but the best way would be to say he throws his head up and down in the air at random times, he does this when under saddle and when he is just in his stable. When being ridden he has become very anxious and difficult, we went out hacking yesterday and he tried to sit on 3 different car bonnets (this is very unlike him). I had the physio come out and check him over, she advised me to get a vet out to look at his neck as she couldn't work out what it was, which I have done, the vet is booked for next week to come and take a look at him and take some bloods, but I was just wondering if any of you had experienced the same or could have any idea of what could be going on as im currently going out of my mind trying to piece things together!

Thanks for your time reading this essay!!

 

[Leo Walker]

Mine does the head flick thing almost as a vice the way horses weave or crib bite. She very rarely does it so we just monitor it. So it could just be a stress or it could be a pain reaction. I think given its random I'd be inclined to think pain and wait for the vet.

 

[Leo Walker]

has he had his teeth done?

 

[chaps89]

I wonder if he had an accident whilst out on loan? Might explain the behaviour (sitting on cars) and physical issues if he was injured. Sometimes if horses are in pain they do struggle to put weight on. I think the vet visit sounds like the best plan.

 

[NOISYGIRL2]

Could be a number of things, I'd have full bloods done to rule out anything wrong with his organs and general health, could be ulcers, muscle wastage can be a symptom of PPID test is free but you'd have to still pay vet to draw blood, if he is coming anyway I'd get bloods drawn for that and general health. Check teeth to make sure all ok there. Twitching thing could be related to ulcers or he's done something whilst on loan and they haven't told you

 

[twiggy2]

What did the loaner say when you went to see him

 

[PSD]

I’d have him scoped for ulcers. Head throwing can be due to the pain, my mare did it when she had them and I thought she was a head shaker. Turns out she had grade 4 ulcers