Horse dropping weight fast, anyone else?

Blizzard

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I took Beau's rug off today and was shocked to see how much weight he has lostin the last 5 days, I could easily see where he had lost weight.

He was 700kg when I weighed him 5 day ago, today he was 655kg.
frown.gif

And you can see the difference:

1st Dec:
DSC09416.jpg


5th Dec:
DSC09594.jpg


I have been trying to really hard to keep the weight on him, but they arent getting hay out in the field yet,and as he lives out, he isnt getting much.
Ive now taken to bringing him in for 5hrs a day just so he can get some haylege down his neck.

Not a happy bunny, guess that means there is definitely nothing left in the grass now!
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RunToEarth

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Sorry hun, this is the time of year they will drop it, mine usually frets weight away in the new year after the boxing day meet. My lad keeps much better when he is turned out in the daytime, even if it means chucking hay over for him as it means he isn't in his stable pining to go out.
A common misconception is to pump them full of expensive weight gain feeds. My godmother is a equine nutritionist for ARGO feeds and swearing by bulking- use alfa A and fibrebeet, I honestly can say it has kept my skinny coloured a little fuller this season.
 

molehill

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He is probably cold and hungry.Could you stable him at night?
If he was mine i would feed him ad-lib hay stabled at night,with hay out in the field when he is out.If he doesnt start to pick up he may have peritonitus.Call the vet out and ask them to do a perineal tap.Also make sure he is wormed up to date,and correctly
 

hadfos

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I would be kicking up a fuss!!!It is now december and he needs hay!What sort of livery are you on??sounds like hay included though??Bet the yard owners are not sat at home eating breadcrumbs?And i bet the stabled neds getting their good share of hay at night?If you are paying for it demand he has it!!!
 

Blizzard

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thanks Rosiie, he is getting Alfa oil now instead of his normal hi fi, hopefully they should be getting haylege in the field in 2 weeks, which will be adlib.

The curse of them living out in a large herd I guess, some are still fat, so dont need haylege. Mine does LOL.

I tried putting him in the starvation paddock before with unlimited hay but after a few days he just chrurned it up wanting to be out with the others.
Cante ven bring him in overnight as he will be the only one and wont settle, ho hum, will just have to keep on bringing him in during the day until they get hay.
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Blizzard

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[ QUOTE ]
He is probably cold and hungry.Could you stable him at night?
If he was mine i would feed him ad-lib hay stabled at night,with hay out in the field when he is out.If he doesnt start to pick up he may have peritonitus.Call the vet out and ask them to do a perineal tap.Also make sure he is wormed up to date,and correctly

[/ QUOTE ]

Umm he is perfectly healthy just hungry!
blush.gif


He cant come in overnight because he will be the only one and wont settle when the other liveries bring theirs in, in a few weeks he can come in.
 

hadfos

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When my lad was stabled and turned out by day(no hay in the field)he dropped weight,however when hay was also introduced into their field for daytime he looked fab!!He now lives out and has acess to big round bale 24/7 and looks as good now as he did in the summer(other than the woolly coat,lol)and he is full tb!!He needs acess to hay to eat as much as he needs and he will keep the weight on!!!
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RunToEarth

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I wouldn't consider it too much of a problem- he is obviously not too upset by being out in the field, horses do drop weight in winter tim, my horse has more haylage than you can shake a stick at but there is only so much he will eat. I can rest easy knowing he is happy, fed and getting all that he needs, is he in work?
 

Blizzard

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[ QUOTE ]
I would be kicking up a fuss!!!It is now december and he needs hay!What sort of livery are you on??sounds like hay included though??Bet the yard owners are not sat at home eating breadcrumbs?And i bet the stabled neds getting their good share of hay at night?If you are paying for it demand he has it!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Im on DIY, YO is a friend,all the horses are still living out, we arent paying for hay yet.
When we do, in about a fortnight, they get it adlib no problems, the problem is they are all out together and most of them are still fat or ok from summer.
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hadfos

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He should be absolutely fine out!!As you say he needs the hay,poor bugger is hungry and you shouldnt have to fetch him in to fill his belly!!
 

RunToEarth

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[ QUOTE ]
I would be kicking up a fuss!!!It is now december and he needs hay!What sort of livery are you on??sounds like hay included though??Bet the yard owners are not sat at home eating breadcrumbs?And i bet the stabled neds getting their good share of hay at night?If you are paying for it demand he has it!!!

[/ QUOTE ]
Glad we didn't have you on our yard, not all livery yards supply hay t the drop of a hat you know.
 

Blizzard

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[ QUOTE ]
I wouldn't consider it too much of a problem- he is obviously not too upset by being out in the field, horses do drop weight in winter tim, my horse has more haylage than you can shake a stick at but there is only so much he will eat. I can rest easy knowing he is happy, fed and getting all that he needs, is he in work?

[/ QUOTE ]

He has been off for a month, vets orders, has been lame.

Thats the thing he loves being out, he wants to come in when he sees me, but after a few hours heis getting nosey and bored...once his tummy is full!
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hadfos

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[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I would be kicking up a fuss!!!It is now december and he needs hay!What sort of livery are you on??sounds like hay included though??Bet the yard owners are not sat at home eating breadcrumbs?And i bet the stabled neds getting their good share of hay at night?If you are paying for it demand he has it!!!

[/ QUOTE ]
Glad we didn't have you on our yard, not all livery yards supply hay t the drop of a hat you know.

[/ QUOTE ]

Read the post properly!!!
laugh.gif
It says quote"sounds like hay included" with a question mark!!Asking if it is???if it is she should be getting!!
 

SpruceRI

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Mine have started dropping off now that the fields are trashed. Started giving them hay morning and evening last week, and a big bucket of minty chaff each every morning as I've got several sacks I need to get rid of.

I'm glad the youngster and Shetland have dropped off at last because they were too fat. Rosie has maintained her weight as she's rugged and on proper feeds.
 

ajf

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I'm still waiting for this to happen to one of mine! Otherwise by xmas hes goin on a diet, never known a horse like him!!!
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Daphnelia

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I have an anglo arab who is out at grass. They arent given hay yet, and what has kept the weight on him is a big fibre feed everyday. I give him a scoop of healthy hooves for the biotin content, and a scoop of hi fibre cubes (he's a wiry little 14.3) He looks really good on it. I dont feed my welsh cob, as she is a pork pie without any help from me
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rachier

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Equivite body builder is amazing, its a bit expensive, but if your desperate (17 quid a tub). Gave it to my TB last year and it didnt fizz at all, its like milky pellets.

A unique concentrated non-heating* conditioning pellet, that can make a visible difference in as little as 2 weeks.


* EQUIVITE® Body Builder is an effective alternative to those traditional, high starch weight gain feeds that usually lead to excitability.

* The most effective conditioner for safe, rapid weight gain. Concentrated in a high calorie milk pellet, with quality protein to build topline without excitability.



Use EQUIVITE® Body Builder if:

1. You have a horse or pony that needs to gain condition quickly and safely.
2. You need to maintain condition in box resting or convalescing horses or ponies
3. You wish to wean youngstock or orphaned foals early


Its made by Spillers
 

AmyMay

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Why can't you bring him in at night? You say he will fret, but presumably he's happy comming in in the day.

Giving him adlib hay should stop him from loosing any more weight, and help him to put what he's lost back on.
 

zoesophie

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Now I could be wrong
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(memory not great) but Im sure my friend used to feed her mare yea sac (sp?) to help he maintain weight........she was going blind and got quite stressy so was advised by the vet to give her yea sac to help her digestion system and absorb nutrients etc better therefore help her maintain her weight.....

Just googled it and found this snipit on the Baileys site for their product No.17 Top Line Conditioning Mix:
"Yea Sacc1026 yeast culture is also included to stimulate fibre-digesting bacteria and promote gut efficiency, of particular benefit when gut health may have been compromised or at times of stress. "

Im sure you can get it as a suppliment just by itself though...
 

bellaM

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Have you not talked to the yard owner about this? You should and friend or no friend she should have your horses interest at heart I have ben on livery at a place where the old guy took pleasure in doing as little as possible. I had bloods done on my pony as it was then hard to put weight back on and part of it was she was stressed from all that trying to fight for food. The other thing is if he's hungry he's more likely to fight with the others. I'd get on her case a bit or move. Don't do what I did and pussy foot around someone because they are a friend as your horses welfare will suffer!
 

Blizzard

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[ QUOTE ]
Why can't you bring him in at night? You say he will fret, but presumably he's happy comming in in the day.

Giving him adlib hay should stop him from loosing any more weight, and help him to put what he's lost back on.

[/ QUOTE ]

Our stables are 11 and a half foot square, he is 17.3hh, I dont think he has enough room to live in comfortably TBH. He loves being out and does well out usually.
He only eats so much when he is in, then wants to go back out.
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Blizzard

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Can you put some haylage or hay out in the field, or does he share (sorry didn't read all posts, may have missed something)

[/ QUOTE ]

He is out in a herd of 10...most of which are still fat.
 

Blizzard

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[ QUOTE ]
Have you not talked to the yard owner about this? You should and friend or no friend she should have your horses interest at heart I have ben on livery at a place where the old guy took pleasure in doing as little as possible. I had bloods done on my pony as it was then hard to put weight back on and part of it was she was stressed from all that trying to fight for food. The other thing is if he's hungry he's more likely to fight with the others. I'd get on her case a bit or move. Don't do what I did and pussy foot around someone because they are a friend as your horses welfare will suffer!

[/ QUOTE ]

I dont pussy foot around anyone, like I said the only reason they arent getting hay in the field is because most of them are still fat and they live out together.
 

AmyMay

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[ QUOTE ]
Our stables are 11 and a half foot square, he is 17.3hh, I dont think he has enough room to live in comfortably TBH. He loves being out and does well out usually.
He only eats so much when he is in, then wants to go back out.

[/ QUOTE ]
It may be time then to consider where you keep him? Clearly if he is loosing weight he needs more food, that is hay. If his stable's not big enough for him, and ultimately you can't keep him satisfactorily where you are, maybe it's time to move??
 

KatB

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To be honest, he doesnt look unwell of massively underweight. It is natural and healthy to drop weight through the winter, aslong as he is getting enough fibre (hay in the day as you say you are giving him) Alfa Oil, Alfa Beet and Topspec would be the best to feed him until they get hayledge.
 

Blizzard

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[ QUOTE ]
To be honest, he doesnt look unwell of massively underweight. It is natural and healthy to drop weight through the winter, aslong as he is getting enough fibre (hay in the day as you say you are giving him) Alfa Oil, Alfa Beet and Topspec would be the best to feed him until they get hayledge.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks thats exactly what he is fed
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And Topspec said I can feed him more if I need to.

He is getting 5hrs of hay a day and stops eating after about 4hrs.
 
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