Horse 'Tucking Up'.......

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el_Snowflakes

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Probably should have posted in vetrinary but thought i might get more responses here!


Last weekend I turned my 18 yo mare (who is in medium work) out for summer. There is grass in the field but not an abundance. Last night I noticed she was a bit tucked up (particularly on her right side) after riding but i put it down to the fact that she had been working quite hard. So this morning I brought her in to get ready for a hack and she was still a bit tucked up. At the start of hack she was a bit flat but soon perked up. After hacking she looked tucked up more so, but no signs of pain- eating well and bowels moving. She drinks well & we have had alot of rain so there is also plenty of moisture in the grass. I am putting this down to a reduction of food as she has gone from ad lib haylage every night to being out on the grass so gave her extra feed & a pile of haylage before she went back out (she only get 'just grass' and a couple of carrots and some oil with her supplements) I will be going back later to check her. Another livery who has just turned her horse out for summer has noticed hers has been a bit 'flat' so I can only assume its the change of routine/feed regime. Anyone have any thoughts or experiences please?

Thankyou :)
 
If she has gone from ad lib hay readily available in front of her for with no effort required other than actually eating it, to being out with no hay and little grass which she will be constantly moving to find as well as daily exercise then it is not surprising she has lost some weight and appears tucked up, she would probably have benefited from a slightly more gradual reduction in hay by having some put out every day while she adjusted.
If she is working fairly hard she really needs a little topping up with hay or feed until the grass comes through to give her the energy to work and reduce the risk of colic.
 
Thanks for your reply BP :)

Yes, I think I'll bring her in for some haylage later. The thing is, she is a very good doer & her belly is rounded however I have noticed it looking smaller the past few days. We can't have haylage in the fields but I can Definitly bring her in to munch for a bit later :)

Ps. Might even give her another small feed.
 
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Just keep in mind the possibility of laminitis, sore hooves can lead to tucking up and might explain the bit flat effect. Could be gut upset as well.
 
Thanks Amandap

She is a warmblood so not your 'typical' type predisposed to laminitis. She certainly wasn't footsore when out hacking on the roads today. However, I'm aware that any horse can get it so I will bare that in mind too.
 
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